Half-length seated albumen CDV portrait of James L. Kemper. Richmond, Virginia: M.J. Powers. Signed by Kemper to lower recto margin. Photographer's illustrated imprint to verso. Presented in a double-sided mat and gilt frame, overall 10 3/16" x 11 3/4". 

SIGNED BY CONFEDERATE GENERAL JAMES L. KEMPER. 

James Lawson Kemper (1823-1895) was born at Mount Prospect plantation in Virginia. He attended Washington College (now Washington & Lee University) and took classes at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). After graduation in 1842, he studied law and was admitted to the Virginia Bar on 2 October 1846. 

During the Mexican-American War, Kemper served as a volunteer with the First Regiment of Virginia Volunteers. His regiment arrived after the Battle of Buena Vista and mostly participated in the defense of Coahuila province. He returned from the battlefield to his law practice and became involved in politics. 

Upon joining the Confederacy, Kemper was made head of the 7th Virginia Infantry and fought at First Bull Run. In 1862 he was promoted to brigade commander in the Army of Northern Virginia and led troops at the Seven Days Battles, Second Bull Run, and Antietam. At the Battle of Gettysburg, Kemper arrived late on the second day with Pickett's Division, and his brigade was one of the central assault units in Pickett's Charge. While urging his men on after a routing by two Vermont regiments, Kemper was wounded by a bullet to the abdomen and thigh and then captured by Federal forces. His wound, while not fatal, did prevent further participation in the War. 

After his parole in May 1865, Kemper resumed his legal career and renewed his interest in politics. He helped to found the Virginia Conservative Party in opposition to the Radical Republicans. In 1873, when former Confederate soldiers regained voting rights at the end of Reconstruction, Kemper was easily elected Governor of Virginia, serving from 1874 to 1878. 

A fine signed portrait of the Confederate General and 37th Governor of Virginia.

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