A matching pair of original albumen carte-de-visite photographs documenting Colonel Francis Washburn of the 4th Massachusetts Cavalry, captured during separate sittings by the renowned Boston photographer John Adams Whipple at 96 Washington Street. Both portraits show the officer seated in profile and semi-profile, arms crossed, wearing a double-breasted officer's frock coat with field officer shoulder straps.

The reverse of the mounts feature a crisp Whipple studio backmark and extensive modern collector pencil research tracking Washburn's rapid promotions and death from wounds. 

This exceptional pair of portraits documents Francis Washburn (1838–1865) of Lancaster, Massachusetts, a gallant cavalry commander whose final actions marked one of the most dramatic and tragic chapters of the Appomattox Campaign. Washburn possessed an elite New England cavalry pedigree, serving successively as an officer in the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry and the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry before being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and finally Colonel, of the 4th Massachusetts Cavalry in February 1865.

On 6 April 1865, just three days prior to Robert E. Lee's surrender, Colonel Washburn led a small detachment of only 13 troopers and approximately 67 companies of infantry on a desperate reconnaissance mission to destroy High Bridge near Farmville, Virginia, aiming to cut off the Confederate retreat. Washburn's small force was suddenly cut off and surrounded by an overwhelming vanguard of Major General Fitzhugh Lee's Confederate cavalry. Rather than surrendering, Washburn ordered a series of fearless, sabers-drawn cavalry charges against the mounting blockade. During the savage, hand-to-hand melee that followed, Washburn was shot in the head and struck with a saber, fracturing his skull. Though his command was entirely overwhelmed, their stubborn resistance delayed the Confederate advance long enough for Union forces to secure vital positions. Washburn was brought home to Massachusetts, where he succumbed to his horrific wounds on 22 April. He was posthumously brevetted Brigadier General for his conspicuous gallantry at High Bridge.

Rick loved this pair because it represents the ultimate collector's find: a rare, multi-sitting visual study of a legendary cavalry commander captured by a master photographer shortly before becoming one of the final Appomattox Campaign martyrs. It perfectly balanced elite photographic rarity with a profound, heartbreaking narrative of frontline gallantry.

[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]

Very good to fine. Both albumen prints exhibit excellent clarity, strong tonal contrast, and fine definition. The mount remains crisp, structurally sound, and unclipped, showing only a uniform, light age-toning.