Full-length studio portrait albumen CDV. Photographer uncredited, [circa 1861]. Period ink identification to mount verso reads: "Charles P. Trumbull. / Massachusetts Sixth Regt. / Passed through Baltimore April 19th / 1860."

This remarkable full-length portrait captures Charles P. Trumbull of the 6th Massachusetts Militia in complete, early-war marching order. Trumbull is posed in a studio setting, heavily burdened with a full knapsack, chest straps, and a canteen resting on his hip. He wears a distinctive tasseled militia fatigue cap and holds his rifle-musket with the bayonet fixed. The reverse of the mount features a highly significant period ink inscription that places Trumbull at the very first bloodshed of the American Civil War, despite a fascinating period slip of the pen regarding the year.

The 6th Massachusetts Militia holds a legendary place in American history as the first fully equipped regiment to respond to President Lincoln's call for troops following the firing on Fort Sumter. On 19 April 1861, while transferring between train stations in Baltimore, Maryland, the regiment was attacked by a violent secessionist mob. The ensuing Pratt Street Riot resulted in the first combat casualties of the war. The inscription on the reverse proudly notes Trumbull's presence at this historic event, stating he Passed through Baltimore April 19th. The writer mistakenly dated the event 1860 rather than 1861, an understandable period error, but the historical context remains unmistakable.

This image perfectly encapsulates what Rick looked for: a soldier in full, non-standard early militia gear, tied directly via period inscription to one of the most famous and pivotal events of the war.

[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]

The carte de visite is in good condition, with the mount corners neatly clipped, a common period practice for album insertion. The albumen surface exhibits a slightly soft, warm tonality typical of early-war photography, with some minor surface spotting and age-related wear.