Full-length albumen CDV studio portrait of John Burns. New York: R.A. Lewis, n.d. Photographer's imprint to mount verso. SIGNED BY BURNS to mount verso: "John L. Burns / Gettysburg".

A fine, boldly signed portrait of Gettysburg hero John Burns, posing with his famous flintlock musket. 

A veteran of the War of 1812, John L. Burns (1793 - 1872) volunteered for combat duty in the Civil War but was rejected for his advanced age. He returned to his home in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and was named constable. During General Jubal Early’s brief occupation, Burns was jailed for resistance.

When the Battle of Gettysburg erupted on 1 July 1863, Burns entered the fray, initially bearing his flintlock musket before taking a more modern firearm from a wounded Union soldier. He first joined the ranks of the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry, the "Bucktail Brigade," with the consent of Major Thomas Chamberlin, before falling in with the 7th Wisconsin and then the 24th Michigan Infantries, serving as a sharpshooter in the famous Iron Brigade. 

A nice example.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Gettysburg] [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]