More photos are forthcoming.

 

Original CDV Album with 30 albumen CDVs, 22 of them Civil War soldiers in uniform. Embossed leather with brass clasps. A complete listing of images below. 

 

Exceptional casualty album containing identified photographs of the officers and command of the 39th Illinois Infantry, including perhaps the rarest known "from life" CDV photo of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. The album features 18 images of identified soldiers from the 39th, 16 of whom were either killed or wounded during their Service. Most of these images are identified or otherwise inscribed in period ink, and several are the only known photographs of these men.

 

In addition to the officers of the 39th, there are also photographs of President Lincoln, the aforementioned Grant, General Quincy Gilmore (under whom the 39th served), and, interestingly, a pair of photos of Maj. Carlisle Boyd of the 5th New York Infantry (“Duryee’s Zouaves”). Boyd lived in Chicago prior to the Civil War and may have known many of the Chicago-based men of the 39th. The placement of his images at the front of the album among other civilians suggests that the album may have belonged to him or a loved one. 
 

The 39th Illinois Regiment, known as "Yates Phalanx," exemplified bravery as one of the few western regiments to serve in the Eastern Theater of the Civil War. They served with distinction, particularly during the second half of the War, as they racked up battle honors that included Fort Wagner, Bermuda Hundred, Drewry’s Bluff, and the Petersburg and Appomattox campaigns. The unit’s crowning achievement occurred on 2 April 1865, during the attack on the Confederacy’s Fort Gregg, described as "the key to the works around Petersburg and Richmond." Displaying extraordinary courage, the 39th charged across open ground under heavy fire and became "the first to plant its colors upon the works." In recognition of their achievement, Major General John Gibbon presented them with "a magnificent brazen eagle." The 39th also played a pivotal role in the Appomattox campaign, witnessing the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia and guarding the camps of the conquered Rebels.

 

Details of each photograph in this remarkable album can be found below. The album pages are, in part, unbound, but all remain, making this important archive a potential candidate for professional conservation. Despite the wear to the album cover, the photographs themselves each appear to be in excellent condition.

 

In order of appearance, views include: 

 

1. Unknown woman admiring the pages of a CDV album. Inscribed on verso: “July 1861 Staten Island [Marian McGee?] with the compliments of the other side/Chicago January 2nd 1863.” No backmark. A very artistic image. 

 

2. Unknown woman. New York: Faris.

 

3. Bust shot of an unknown man. New York: Rintoul & Rockwood.

 

4. Same man as previous, this time standing with hat in hand. Unmarked.

 

5. Maj. Carlisle Boyd, 5th New York Infantry ("Duryee’s Zouaves"). Unmarked.

 

Boyd, an Irish immigrant, lived in Chicago before the Civil War, a possible connection to the 39th Illinois Infantry as the regiment was raised there. He served as Major of the 5th NY between January and May of 1863, which helps date this image. During that time, he was wounded and captured at the Second Battle of Manassas. He completed his service as an officer in the VRC.  

 

6. Alternate view of Maj. Boyd from the same session. Unmarked. 

 

7. Seated man holding coat, possibly Maj. Boyd in civilian dress. Boston: Whipple. 

 

8. Seated man holding top hat, same man as pictured in photo 3 above. Boston: Whipple. 

 

9.  President Lincoln. Boston: Tomlinson.

 

10. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant by Matthew Brady.

 

An extremely rare and desirable “from life" view of the General with his signature stern expression. While many photographs of the popular Grant were produced during the War, this version is frustratingly difficult to acquire, ranking it as perhaps the rarest of all wartime Grant views. Perhaps Brady (or Grant) did not favor the image and thus produced it in only extremely limited quantities. This particular example exhibits wonderful tone and clarity. 

 

11. Col. Joshua Blackwood Howell. Philadelphia: Gutenkunst.

 

Howell commanded the 85th Pennsylvania Infantry and, for a time, commanded the brigade to which the 39th Illinois belonged. This image was likely made when Howell was recovering from an injury sustained when his bombproof shelter was hit with artillery fire during the Union’s 1863 siege of Charleston Harbor. He returned to service only to be mortally injured when his horse reared back and fell on him at Petersburg, Virginia, on 9/12/1864. 

 

12. Maj. Gen. Quincy Adams Gillmore. Mathew Brady.

 

The 39th Illinois fought under Gillmore for a good portion of their service. Gillmore's legacy was integrating African American troops into fighting roles, including the 54th Massachusetts at Fort Wagner.

 

13. Col. Thomas O. Osborn. Chicago: Fassett.

 

Osborn, a Colonel of the 39th Illinois, was eventually promoted to Brigadier General in 1865. He was WIA (elbow) during the Battle of Spotsylvania on 5/13/1864. 

 

14. Surgeon Charles M. Clark, 39th Illinois. Mathew Brady.

 

Clark wrote the regimental history. Clark signed the verso in ink, “Respectfully yours, Charles Clark, Surg 39 Ills Vet Vols.” 

 

15. Adjutant Joseph D. Walker, 39th Illinois. Chicago: Johnston.

 

Walker was mortally wounded at Drury’s Bluff, Virginia on 5/16/2864. Some sources credit Walker as the first man to plant a US flag on Ft. Wagner. 

 

16. Lt. Elisha Kingsbury, 39th Illinois. Washington, D.C.: Holyland.

 

WIA (lost arm) 5/16/1864 Drury’s Bluff, Virginia. 

 

17. Homer A. Plimpton 39th Illinois. Unmarked.

 

WIA Hatcher’s Run, Virginia. Ink inscription on verso “Wounded in head Oct 7th 1864 Near Hatcher’s Va.” Plimpton climbed the ladder from Private to Lt. Colonel during his nearly four years in service. Ink signed on front, “Respectfully, H.A. Plimpton 39th Ills.” 

 

18. Reese Bishop, 39th Illinois. New York: D. Appleton & Co.

 

POW 5/16/1864 at Drewry’s Bluff, VA; Confined to Andersonville Prison, Georgia; Died in Andersonville on 11/7/1864 and is buried in the National Cemetery there. Native of England. Ink signed on the front, “Respectfully, Rees Bishop, Sergt. Maj. 39 Ills Vols Inft.”

 

19. Charles F. Frisby, Commissary Sergeant 39th Illinois. New York & Washington, D.C.: Brady. Pencil signed on verso “[Compliments of] Chas. F. Frisby, Com. Sergt 39 Ill Vol.” 

 

20. Captain Joseph Woodruff, 39th Illinois. Ottawa, Illinois: J. Martson.

 

KIA by a Confederate shell “which carried away the side of his abdomen” on 9/23/1863 at Morris Island, South Carolina. Inscribed on verso in ink: “Killed Sept.” As a teenager he served in the Mexican War and fought at Cerro Gordo; he also led a local company of Wide Awakes during the 1860 Election. 

 

21. Capt. Chauncey Williams, 39th Illinois. New York & Washington, D.C.: Brady. 

 

Killed in action at Deep Bottom Run, Virginia on 8/16/1864. Ink signed on front “Williams, Capt. 39th Ills V. V. “. Ink inscription on verso, “Killed Deep Run Va Aug. 16 1864.” Williams was the Grand Master of the regiment’s masonic lodge.

 

22. Lt. John Frame/Frane 38th Illinois. Rockford, Illinois: George W. Barnes.

 

Ink inscription on verso “Killed Deep Run Va. Aug 16th 1864. Frane was KIA at Deep Run. 

 

23. Capt. Lewis T. Whipple. New York & Washington, D.C.: Brady. 

 

Ink inscribed on front, “Yours Truly, Lew Whipple, Capt. 39th Ills VV”. Whipple sustained a traumatic brain injury during an incident in 1862 when he was nearly killed by a cannon fired at close range. Whipple complained of headaches, dizziness and other post-concussion symptoms for the remainder of his life. This was the proximate cause of his suicide in 1870. The GAR Post in Kankakee, Illinois was named in his honor. 

 

24. Lieutenant Charles J. Wilder 39th Illinois. Keene, New Hampshire: French & Sawyer. Tax stamp on verso with 3/65 cancellation.

 

Another photograph of Wilder can be found in the 39th Illinois regimental history. Wilder was killed in action on 13 May 1864 at Darbytown Cross Roads, Virginia “…while leading a charge upon the enemy’s works and buried at the foot of a tree where he fell. His comrades cut his name in the bark.” Lt. Wilder lived in Chicago prior to the Civil War. Was born in Keene, New Hampshire, and had family living there during the War era. 

 

25. Capt. Adolphus B Hoffman, 39th Illinois. Chicago: Carbutt.

 

Ink signed on front, “A.B. Hoffman, Capt. 39th Illinois". Hoffman’s brother Stuart was also an officer in the regiment. Two other brothers served in the 22nd Illinois. All four veteran brothers are buried together in their hometown of Straban Township, Pennsylvania, which is just a few miles east of Gettysburg. He died in 1865 in Chicago, where he had gone prior to the Civil War to become a wholesale cigar merchant. 

 

26. Capt. James Wightman. New York & Washington, D.C.: Brady. 

 

MWIA in head and lungs at Drury’s Bluff, Virginia on 5/16/1864. Wightman was “shot down while waving [his] sword on the top of a rifle pit,” and died the next day (5/17/1864). 

 

27. Lt. Nathan E. Davis, 39th Illinois Infantry. Unmarked.

 

WIA in the side and arm on 5/13/1864 at Darbytown Cross Road, Virginia. “Suffered exsection of four inches of bone of the arm,” per the unit’s regimental history. Davis died of his wounds on November 16, 1864 in a Union hospital. Signed in ink on the reverse, “Sgt. N.E. Davis Co. B 39th Ill. Vols.” 

 

28. Lt. Wiliam W. Lamb, 39th Illinois Infantry. Chicago: Alschuler.

 

WIA Deep Bottom Run 8/16/1864; KIA Fort Gregg, Virginia 4/2/1865. Signed in ink on verso, “Sergt W.W. Lamb, Co. F, 39th Ill. Vols.” 

 

29. Capt. J.H. Russell, Co. F 39th Illinois Infantry. Chicago: Brands.

 

WIA Deep Bottom Run 8/16/1864. Served as company clerk. Signed on verso, “Corp. J.H. Russell, Co ‘B’ 39th Ill. Vols.” In 1865, Russell was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 38th United States Colored Troops.

 

30. Young man standing. Inscription on reverse, “Yours Truly, [?] Sawyer.” B/m Gillett, Ann Arbor, MI. Verso also has a canceled tax stamp. 

 

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