Horizontal studio portrait albumen CDV. Photographer uncredited, [circa 1863-1865].

This compelling horizontal studio portrait captures four Union officers seated shoulder-to-shoulder in a classic display of camaraderie. The men wear a mix of officer's frock coats and sack coats, all displaying their shoulder straps indicating line or field rank. The most critical visual evidence lies in the hats held by the second and fourth officers: both clearly display the prominent trefoil insignia of the Army of the Potomac's vaunted 2nd Army Corps. The horizontal format of this carte de visite is unusual and highly desirable, specifically chosen to accommodate a group portrait of pards who likely fought through some of the war's most brutal campaigns together.

The presence of the trefoil badges firmly anchors these men in the 2nd Army Corps, a command that saw some of the heaviest fighting and sustained the highest number of casualties in the Union army. From the Sunken Road at Antietam to the defense of Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg and the bloody assaults at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, the 2nd Corps was the shock troop formation of the Eastern Theater. The presence of a walking stick held by the third officer may even suggest a period of recovery from wounds, a common reality for leaders in this hard-fighting corps. Regardless, this is a fine study of four pards with a story to tell. 

[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 image is in good condition, exhibiting a pleasing, slightly warm tonality with strong contrast.