EXCEPTIONAL, MUSEUM-CALIBER MILITARY PORTRAIT OF BRIG. GENERAL WILLIAM HAINES LYTLE, THE "POET-SOLDIER OF THE UNION" KILLED IN ACTION AT CHICKAMAUGA

Three-quarter length seated studio portrait of Brigadier General William Haines Lytle. Albumen photograph. Cincinnati, Ohio: Porter & Hoag's Gallery, n.d. Paper label to mount verso. Contemporary 19th-century mat and parcel gilt walnut frame. 

Provenance: From the historic collection of Richard "Rick" Carlile (1941-2025). 

This photograph represents an important and highly poignant piece of Civil War iconography. Lytle was a celebrated Cincinnati lawyer, politician, and nationally acclaimed poet before the war, most famous for his 1857 masterpiece, Antony and Cleopatra. When conflict broke out, he took command of the 10th Ohio Infantry - the famous "Bloody Tenth" - leading them with conspicuous gallantry. He was wounded at Carnifex Ferry and again at Perryville, where he was captured and subsequently exchanged. Promoted to Brigadier General, Lytle met a tragic and heroic end at the Battle of Chickamauga on 20 September 1863. While leading a desperate, mounted countercharge to stem the breaking Union line on George Washington Snodgrass's ridge, Lytle was struck in the face and killed. In a testament to his literary fame, when Confederate officers checked the body and recognized the author of Antony and Cleopatra, they placed a guard over his remains, recited his poetry in camp, and safely returned his personal effects and sword through the lines under a flag of truce.

The image itself is a masterfully composed three-quarter length seated portrait, capturing Lytle in full dress uniform. He wears a double-breasted general officer's frock coat with prominent shoulder straps, his hand confidently resting on the hilt of his model 1850 staff and field officer's sword while holding his field glass. The reverse of the frame features a spectacular and scarce paper gallery label for "Porter & Hoag's Gallery, No. 100 Fourth St., Cincinnati." This prominent studio was highly active during the war years, and finding their original label intact provides an ironclad, localized Ohio provenance for this magnificent portrait.

Rick Carlile was a cornerstone of the antique photography collecting community. For decades, he was an advanced collector, beloved friend, generous mentor, tireless researcher, and an iconic presence whose passion for the preservation of 19th-century military portraiture left an indelible mark on everyone fortunate enough to share a conversation with him. His collection and insights are featured in Military Images magazine and over 50 books and other publications, including Time-Life and National Geographic magazines and Ken Burns’ acclaimed PBS documentary The Civil War along with its companion book. 

Note: This lot cannot be packaged and shipped in-house. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio.

 [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, Stereographs] [Civil War, Union, Confederate] 

Excellent. The albumen print exhibits exceptional clarity, deep contrast, and crisp fidelity throughout eve minute details. The print shows very minor, age-appropriate toning along the outer edges of the oval aperture, entirely consistent with 19th-century framing. The frame is structurally complete and solid, showing only honest surface scuffs appropriate to its age.