Half-length standing studio portrait albumen CDV. New York: Published by E. & H. T. Anthony from a Photographic Negative in Brady's National Portrait Gallery, [ca. 1862-3]. Publisher's imprint to mount verso. Modern pencil inscriptions to mount verso read: "Colonel A. Van Horne Ellis. / 124th N.Y. V.I. Killed in / action at Gettysburg: / 7-2-1863."

This commanding portrait captures Col. Augustus Van Horne Ellis of the 124th New York Volunteer Infantry. Ellis stands with his arms firmly crossed, projecting a fierce and resolute presence. He wears a dark forage cap and a double-breasted officer's frock coat displaying colonel's shoulder straps, with his sword rigged at his side. The image itself was produced by the Anthony studios, from an original plate struck by Mathew Brady. 

Ellis and his 124th New York, affectionately known as the Orange Blossoms, are forever immortalized for their desperate defense of Houck's Ridge, situated directly above Devil's Den, on 2 July 1863. Facing overwhelming Confederate assaults that threatened to break the Union line, the regiment began to waver. In a supreme act of battlefield bravery, Ellis and his second-in-command, Maj. James Cromwell (see the previous lot), intentionally mounted their horses in the center of the line to rally their men, despite frantic warnings that they would become prime targets. Inspired by their commanders' sheer audacity, the regiment surged forward in a brutal counterattack. Tragically, both Cromwell and Ellis were struck down in the melee, with Ellis suffering a fatal wound to the head. Portraits of iconic regimental commanders killed in action at Gettysburg represent a pinnacle of Civil War collecting; images of Ellis are scarce and rarely come to market. 

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The image is in good to very good condition. The albumen surface exhibits a soft, pleasing tonality that captures his intense facial features and uniform details clearly. There is some minor surface wear, light age-related mottling and a small surface blemish in the left background field.