Group of two photographs showing Edmund Delaney, a former slave turned member of Company E, 117th United States Colored Infantry. Views include: 

1. Full-length albumen CDV portrait of Delany wearing the "blue suit" of the Union Army. Unmarked.  Inscribed in pencil "Ed Delany" to mount verso. The duplicate of this CDV view can be found in his government service records. 

2. CDV-sized tintype of Delany in civilian clothes. 

Delaney was 25 years old when he enlisted on 22 August 1864. Records indicate he was born into bondage in Bourbon County, Kentucky, where he was enslaved by a wealthy planter named Harvey Graves. He lived most of his pre-war life in Scott County, near Lexington. As the War progressed, Delaney left his former plantation to join the Union army. 

The 117th USCT was raised in Kentucky from the throngs of formerly enslaved people like Delaney who believed the northern army offered a path to freedom. The eager men learned the basics of soldiering from white officers stationed at Camp Nelson, where many Northern ministers and teachers also flocked to help teach the recruits how to read and write. The 117th served with distinction during the Petersburg and Appomattox campaigns before being sent to Texas to guard the US-Mexico border after the close of hostilities. Similar to the experience of other USCT units, the men of the regiment faced significant challenges, including racial prejudice. Regardless, their service proved instrumental to the Union’s ultimate victory in the Civil War. 

Delaney appears confident in his military portrait, with one hand on his hip and the other resting on a faux studio pillar. He wears his issue frock coat unbuttoned over a vest, and his look is completed by a light-colored derby-style hat with the brim flipped up. He appears just a little older in the companion tintype, clad in a stylish dark suit. A pocket watch chain and pinky ring add to his self-assured presence. 

Ironically, the Civil War would not completely sever the ties between Delaney and his former owner; in fact, their relationship may have even been amicable. Graves included a copy of the very CDV offered here in a claim for compensation from the US government after the War. In this application, Graves stated that "I purchased [Delaney] at private sale when he was quite a small boy and owned him at the time of his enlistment." He also included two letters written by Delaney from Texas in 1866 that project a measure of goodwill towards his former master. What these records do not say, however, is whether Graves gave permission for Delaney to join the Army or not. It is also unclear if the two men had any relationship after 1866. 

Regardless, this group of images and the story that goes with them remain a powerful testament to both the gravity and complexity of slavery and the struggle of the South to adapt to its demise. Delaney helped strike the blow and gained his freedom, yet appears to have maintained at least something of a cordial relationship with his former owner. For his part, Graves held a grudge against the US government for years after the war, as evidenced by his repeated efforts to be compensated for the loss of his so-called  "property." This photograph is the lynchpin to that incredible American story. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [African Americana, African American History, Black History, Slavery, Enslavement, Abolition, Emancipation] [USCT, United States Colored Troops, Glory, 54th Massachusetts, Buffalo Soldiers, Black Soldiers] [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]