This outstanding 5-piece collection of CDVs represents the absolute peak of regimental leadership for one of the most celebrated and hard-fighting mounted commands in the Union Army, the 1st Maine Volunteer Cavalry. This archive brings together rare multi-sitting and grouping sequences of the regiment’s first two commanders: the pioneering Colonel John Goddard and his successor, the heroic Colonel Calvin S. Douty, who was killed in action leading a legendary charge.

The lot includes:

1. Colonel John Goddard (Full-Length Standing Armed Study): Full-length standing studio portrait albumen CDV. Portland, ME: Butler & King, [ca. 1861]. A magnificent, crisp study of Goddard in his early-war colonel’s frock coat, holding his model 1850 staff and field officer's sword vertically at his side. He poses next to a classic studio architectural column and carved leather chair. The reverse features a prominent Butler & King backmark, an and a pencil identification reading "Colonel John Goddard / 1st Regt. Maine Cavalry." 

2. The Goddard Family Military Trio: Full-length standing group portrait albumen CDV. Portland, ME: T. R. Burnham, 90 Middle St., [ca. 1861]. An extraordinary marketplace anomaly capturing three members of the Goddard family in uniform together during mobilization. Posing side-by-side with crossed arms are Private Charles W. Goddard, Lieutenant John H. Goddard, and Colonel John Goddard. The reverse features a crisp blue Burnham backmark. 

3. Colonel John Goddard (Full Dress Presentation Study): Full-length standing studio portrait albumen CDV. Portland, ME: T. R. Burnham, 90 Middle St., [ca. 1861]. A powerful variant view from the same Burnham session, capturing Goddard alone in his full double-breasted dress frock coat with fringed epaulets, gauntlets, and his cavalry saber slung at his side. The reverse carries a matching blue Burnham imprint and a later ink inscription reading "Col. John Goddard / Husband of Lydia / Johnson."

4. Colonel Calvin S. Douty (Oval Vignette Portrait): Oval vignette bust portrait albumen CDV. Dover, ME: D. C. Dinsmore, [ca. 1862-3]. A deeply poignant study focusing closely on Douty’s intense gaze, dark officer frock coat, and full beard, set within a rich dark brown oval mount. The reverse bears a prominent vertical Dinsmore backmark, separate pencil identifications "Col. Douty / 1st ME CAV," and an explicit reference notation reading "See picture in Oval frame taken by MLR."

5. Colonel Calvin S. Douty (Full-Length Standing Variant): Full-length standing studio portrait albumen CDV. [ca. 1862-3]. A commanding variant view from the same overarching studio sequence, showing Douty standing cross-legged in his full-dress frock coat, leaning his right arm on a massive fluted pedestal next to a heavy drapery curtain. The verso is blank. 

The 1st Maine Cavalry earned an immortal reputation for hard fighting, ultimately suffering the highest number of killed and mortally wounded officers of any cavalry regiment in the entire Union Army. John Goddard was the wealthy lumberman appointed by the Governor to organize and forge the regiment into a cohesive military unit during late 1861, setting the high standards of discipline that defined the command. The inclusion of the Burnham family trio layout alongside his individual sittings adds tremendous personal depth to the archive.

Following Goddard's resignation, Calvin S. Douty took the reins, leading the regiment into the vortex of the 1863 cavalry battles in Virginia. On 17 June 1863, during the fierce cavalry clash at the Battle of Aldie, the federal advance stalled under a punishing Confederate counter-attack. Seeing the danger, Colonel Douty personally leaped to the front and led a furious, desperate counter-charge that successfully broke the rebel line and secured the high ground, but he was shot through the heart and killed instantly at the moment of victory.

Bringing together a multi-sitting variant sequence tracking both the organizer and the martyred commander of this legendary regiment represents an extraordinary opportunity made possible by Rick Carlile's collecting eye. 

[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]

Both images and mounts are in very good condition.