Sixth plate daguerreotype. N.p., ca 1861. Enclosed in a miniature pressed-leather case tray. 

A combative early Civil War portrait capturing a seated mounted volunteer armed with a lethal three-weapon arsenal. He wears a US Pattern 1858 Mounted Services Jacket with Cavalry branch of service and standing collar, secured with a leather saber belt and rectangular plate. In his right hand he brandishes a US Model 1840 Heavy Cavalry Saber. In his left hand he levels a Remington Revolver, and wears a Colt Model 1851 Navy tucked horizontally into his waistbelt.

While triple-armed Union cavalrymen surface on tintype and ambrotype plates, genuine military daguerreotypes showing such extensive weaponry are exceptionally rare due to the medium's near-total replacement by collodion by 1861.

True Civil War-era daguerreotypes such as this are virtually unheard of on the open market. 

[Daguerreotype, Sixth Plate, Civil War, Cavalry, Cavalryman, Triple Armed, Model 1840 Saber, Model 1860 Saber, Colt Revolver, Bowie Knife, Shell Jacket, Saber Belt, 1861, Early War, Martial Americana, Cased Image]

Good to very good condition. The plate is somewhat light in exposure overall, yet retains clear focal definition. The surface shows a soft natural perimeter tarnish ring.