Vignetted bust portrait albumen CDV. New York: Fredricks & Co., 179 Fifth Ave., [ca. 1863-4]. Photographer's imprints to mount recto and verso. Research pencil identification to mount verso reads: "Col. Frederick F. Wead / 98th NY KIA 6-3-64."

This striking vignetted bust portrait captures Col. Frederick F. Wead of the 98th New York. Wead is shown in his double-breasted officer's frock coat, with his colonel's shoulder straps clearly visible. His intense, focused gaze is typical of the high-quality portraiture produced by Charles D. Fredricks, one of New York City's premier mid-century photographic artists.

Wead led the 98th New York, a regiment raised primarily in Wayne and Franklin counties. Operating within the 18th Corps of the Army of the Potomac, Colonel Wead and his men found themselves squarely in the center of the horrific, doomed frontal assaults ordered by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Cold Harbor on 3 June 1864. It was during this massive, futile charge against heavily fortified Confederate entrenchments that Wead was killed in action, joining the thousands of Union casualties suffered in mere minutes that morning.

This is a striking portrait of a New York regimental commander who was killed in action during the infamous 3 June assault at Cold Harbor.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [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]

The image is in excellent condition, featuring a soft, expertly executed vignette that focuses entirely on Wead's facial features and rank insignia. The albumen surface is well-preserved with minimal age-related toning.