A pair of original carte-de-visite photographs depicting the wartime colors of the legendary 5th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry. Both mounts feature printed captions on the lower front margin, one reading "Battle Flags of New Hampshire Regiments. / Fifth N.H. Vol. Infantry" and the other "Fifth N.H. Vol. Infantry," and a 1866 copyright credit to Kimball & Sons. The reverse of each card features the backmark of Kimball & Son (or Sons), State Block, Cor. Main and School Sts., Concord, N.H.

The 5th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry earned a fierce and somber reputation as the "Fighting Fifth," sustaining the highest number of battlefield killed and mortally wounded of any Union regiment during the entire Civil War. Led initially by the courageous Colonel Edward E. Cross, who was killed at Gettysburg, the regiment bled across every major battle of the Eastern Theater. These photographs were taken in 1866 just after the state's battle flags were returned to Concord to preserve the physical legacy of the regiment's sacrifice.

Lot Contents:

1. 5th New Hampshire Regimental Color CDV: Studio portrait of the regiment's blue silk regimental standard. The flag features the hand-painted eagle crest and a scroll carrying the national motto, "E Pluribus Unum," with the state name visible at the lower portion of the design.

2. 5th New Hampshire National Combat Color CDV: Studio portrait of the regiment's heavily battle-scarred national flag. This flag is riddled with bullet holes and features tattered stripes emblazoned with painted battle honors documenting the regiment's hardest fights, including the Peach Orchard (Gettysburg), Antietam, Fredericksburg, Fair Oaks, and Savage Station.

Civil War battle flag photography represents a highly sought-after specialized subgenre, and specimens from elite combat units like the "Fighting Fifth" New Hampshire command a premium tier of interest. Finding the national and regimental colors offered together as a matching pair, produced by the premier state capital studio of Kimball & Sons immediately following the close of the war, is an exceptional opportunity.

[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]

Both cards are in excellent condition. The albumen prints retain strong contrast and deep, clear tones, allowing the individual battle honors on the stripes of the national colors to be read easily. The mounts are clean with sharp edges and only minor age-toning along the borders. One mount back has an old adhesive residue ghost at the top.