Charles Gauthier, Hospital Steward. Full-length seated albumen CDV studio view. New Orleans, Louisiana: S. Anderson, circa 1860s. Photographers imprint to mount verso. Period pencil identification to mount verso

Charles Gauthier, a hospital steward as identified by the caduceus insignia patch on his upper arm facing towards the photographer’s lens, mustered into service on 1 July 1862 into Company H of the regular 16th Infantry U.S. Army. He later transferred to Company M. After organizing in Chicago in 1861, the 16th Infantry would fight throughout the western theater, engaging in a variety of conflicts largely in pursuit of Confederate General Braxton Bragg, including the Battles of Chattanooga, which resulted in the subsequent defeat of the Confederate general by Ulysses S. Grant. 

As hospital steward, Gauthier would have spent his days organizing and inventorying supplies, administering medications, and dressing wounds. While Gauthier’s days were not cataloged, many hospital stewards kept journals detailing their responsibilities, so it can be speculated that Gauthier also performed minor surgeries and vaccinations, or even autopsies. The role of the hospital steward was of great importance for the bloody Civil War, and Charles Gauthier, though depicted in uniform with his leg crossed over the other in a casual demeanor, would have spent many of his days tending to the wounded. 

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