Albumen print carte de visite on card mount with gilt double-rule border and printed lower caption: "DANIEL FREDERICK BAKEMAN, The last Revolutionary Soldier, one hundred and nine years old. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1868, by A. D. CROSS, in the Clerk’s Office in the District Court of Mass." Boston/Freedom, New York, 1868. Card mount measures 2 1/2 x 4 in.

A profound photographic artifact of early American independence capturing Daniel Frederick Bakeman (9 October 1759  - 5 April 1869), historically recognized by the United States government as the last surviving pensioned veteran of the Revolutionary War.

Bakeman is depicted three-quarters seated at the extraordinary age of 109, looking forward with steady eyes and center-parted white hair, dressed in a dark frock coat, waistcoat, white standing shirt collar, and bow tie, his right hand firmly clasping the curved handle of a walking cane.

Born in Schoharie County, New York, Bakeman served as an enlisted private in the Tryon County Militia under Captain John Van Arnum during the Mohawk Valley campaigns and frontier skirmishes of the War for Independence. He later relocated to Freedom, Cattaraugus County, New York. Because his formal discharge papers were lost in an antebellum house fire, it required a special act of the United States Congress, passed on 22 February 1867, to grant him his full federal Revolutionary War pension of $500 per annum. This iconic likeness by A.D. Cross stands as the definitive visual monument bridging the founding generation of the American Revolution with the photographic era.

[Carte de Visite, CDV, Daniel Frederick Bakeman, Revolutionary War, American Revolution, Last Revolutionary Soldier, Centenarian, Tryon County Militia, Mohawk Valley, Freedom New York, Cattaraugus County, A.D. Cross, 1868, Military Americana, 19th Century Photography]

Very good condition. The print displays rich tones, clear contrast, and sharp focus. The mount remains rigid and clean, showing only light, uniform toning. A top-tier example of a scarce card.