Vignette half-length studio portrait. Albumen CDV. Chicago: Crater's Photographic Gallery, [ca 1864–1865]. Photographer's stamped imprint to mount verso alongside an orange two-cent U.S. Internal Revenue stamp.

A significant and rare wartime portrait of a young African American Union soldier. The portrait shows the youthful enlistee in a standard, high-collared Union frock coat, his hands resting in his lap as he looks directly into the lens with a resolute expression. While thousands of Black soldiers answered the call to preserve the Union and destroy slavery, authentic period photographs documenting members of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) remain among the scarcest and highly sought-after artifacts of the entire Civil War era.

The reverse of the mount provides geographic context. It bears the prominent backmark of Crater’s Photographic Gallery, 55 Clark St., Opposite the Sherman House in Chicago, Illinois. Operated by photographer Lewis H. Crater, this studio sat directly in the bustling commercial heart of Chicago. This specific backmark links the soldier's story to the massive mobilization of African American troops in the Midwest. Most notably, Chicago served as the primary organizational hub for the 29th USCT - the celebrated "First Regiment of Illinois Colored Volunteers." Heavily recruited from Chicago in early 1864, the 29th went on to compile a bloody combat record in the Eastern Theater. They served under the Ninth Corps during Grant's Overland Campaign, braving the horrific explosion and subsequent slaughter at the Battle of the Crater during the Siege of Petersburg, before ultimately witnessing the final collapse of the Confederacy at Appomattox. It is possible that this subject belonged to the 29th. 

Original images of USCT soldiers are extraordinarily rare because these men faced disproportionate economic hardships, less access to photography studios, and a far lower survival rate for their personal archives following the conflict. Finding a crisp, clear Chicago-backed portrait of a Black soldier represents a historical document of the highest caliber.

 [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] [USCT, United States  Colored Troops, Glory, 54th Massachusetts, Buffalo Soldiers, Black Soldiers] 

Good. The print retains excellent clarity and tone. Some surface wear is visible above the subject's waist. The mount exhibits typical toning; the bottom edge was slightly trimmed for inclusion in an album.