Sixth plate outdoor tintype. N.p., 1861-1865. Full thermoplastic case with Lady Liberty motif (Berg 1-67 S). Case maker's imprint behind photograph. 

Photograph as seen in The Image of War: 1861-1865 (Doubleday, 1981). 

A clear tintype showing an unidentified Union cavalry unit with five contrabands sitting in front. While everyone in the photo is in uniform, two of the contrabands are without shoes. The photo is captioned in The Image of War as follows: "An unidentified cavalry unit with some of the contrabands who followed them and tended to their needs, including washing and cooking. Many contrabands simply exchanged one form of servitude for another." 

A remarkable piece of military and social history. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [African Americana, African American History, Black History, Slavery, Enslavement, Abolition, Emancipation] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards]