This 5-piece collection of CDVs offers another superb regimental cross-section of the 2nd Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry, continuing the deep exploration of the "California Hundred" and "California Battalion" contingents.

The lot includes:

1. Jacob Walther: Seated armed albumen CDV. [ca. 1863-4]. Poses with a light cavalry sabre across his lap, resting his hand near his forage cap which sits on a draped table and displays prominent California Battalion crown lettering. The reverse carries a pencil identification reading "Jacob Walther / Co E 2nd MA CAV / Dod [Died of Disease] 10-17-64."

Walther was a native of Germany who traveled west to volunteer, officially enlisting in San Francisco on 11 March 1863, and mustering into Company E of the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry as part of the historic California Battalion. During the heavy cavalry fighting of Philip Sheridan's 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign, Walther was mortally wounded in action at the Battle of Tom's Brook. He was evacuated north to a military field hospital in Winchester, Virginia, where he succumbed to his wounds nine days later.

2. Captain Benjamin F. Partridge: Seated three-quarter length study albumen CDV. Lowell, MA: A. B. Eaton & Co., [ca. 1864]. Shows the officer in a dark frock coat with shoulder straps, his slouch hat resting on a table beside a heavy curtain drape. The reverse bears an Eaton backmark affixed with a blue two-cent Washington proprietary revenue stamp, augmented by a clean pencil inscription reading "Capt Benjamin F. / Partridge / Co E / 2nd Mass Cav."

3. Unidentified 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry Officer: Seated three-quarter length portrait albumen CDV. Washington, D.C.: Mathew Brady, [ca. 1863-4]. Captures a veteran officer in a high-collared coat seated in an upholstered parlor chair holding his hat. The lower margin carries a crisp Brady credit line, while the reverse displays a central Brady's National Photographic Portrait Galleries stamp and modern pencil notation "2nd Mass Cav Group." This was one of Rick Carlile's first California Battalion images, purchased in the 1970s. 

4. Bottom Row: 4. J. H. Ebey: Seated full-length study albumen CDV. Alexandria, VA: Bowdoin, Taylor & Co., [ca. 1863-5]. Captures the trooper cross-legged in a relaxed shell jacket posture against a scenic camp backdrop. The reverse features a distinct Bowdoin, Taylor & Co. imprint under a fine, early pencil presentation inscription reading "J. H. Ebey / Co. M 2nd mass / Cal Cav Bat." Ebey was a telegraph operator from Carlisle, Pennsylvania before heading west to join the cavalry.

5. Unidentified California Battalion Trooper: Full-length standing study albumen CDV. [ca. 1863-4]. Documents a striking, fully equipped trooper standing at attention with his hand resting on his cavalry sabre hilt beside a simple wooden chair and a heavily patterned floral studio curtain. The reverse is blank. 

This lot represents another textbook example of the deeply personal, narrative-driven cavalry archives assembled in the Carlile collection. The operational record of these men hits the most tragic and intense milestones of the regiment's late-war campaign. Company E trooper Jacob Walther is recorded as having died on 17 October 1864, a casualty tracking directly to the high-attrition autumn operations in the Shenandoah Valley as Sheridan wore down Early's forces. Captain Benjamin F. Partridge led Company E riders through these same relentless valley skirmishes and the brutal guerrilla clashes against Mosby's Rangers, while Ebey's Alexandria mobilization portrait stands as a pristine visual document of a Company M "California Battalion" volunteer.

[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. The albumen prints exhibit strong contrast and excellent tone, cleanly preserving the brass uniform details, weapons, and distinctive California unit headgear.