Civil War photo?

[wptaimuty]

Hello,

I am kind of new to this.

Long story short, I recently found a portrait that I believe to be Civil War. However, I can't tell what side the soldier was from, his rank, etc. I was wondering if someone could help me.

 

[AndyHall]

I think this is a bandsman, post-war. The cap badge may be a lyre within a wreath.

 

[major bill]

I do not believe this to be a Civil War image.

 

[John Winn]

Yeah, I was just going to say maybe 1880s-1890s and not a soldier. A musician seems like a good possibility but I could see maybe a cop or some fraternal organization member. Experts will likely be here soon to enlighten us.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Hello wptaimuty.

Welcome to CivilWarTalk.

That's an interesting image, but I believe it's postwar and not military.

 

[chubachus]

Are those GAR medals?

 

[major bill]

This is not a standard Army uniform and it is possible that it might be a militia uniform or a band uniform. One of the keys to knowing would be the medals he is wearing. The problem is that there are thousands of state militia medals and it can be hard to find out if they are militia medals or not. There is a book that shows thousands of state militia medals, but I would have to have better images of his medals and a couple of hours to go to the library and go through the book. The good news is that I might be able to find which state militia he was in and the years when the medals were worn. The medals are worn in the matter state militiamen wore their medals and in general look like militia medals. The down side is bands also wore medals and I do not know of a book that showed the tens of thousands of band medals which exist.

 

[wptaimuty]

Dang. Well, it appears I have made a bad investment. Well, hopefully will be able to recognize the photo and give me more information. Even if it is not Civil War, I would still like to know what this is a picture of.

 

[Seduzal]

Welcome to CWT from the Smoky Mountain side of North Carolina.

 

[Frederick14Va]

Bandsman, circa 1890'ish era...
The uniform trimmings and designs were an endless array each slightly different from the next group... but some similarities exist as such fashion habits evolved over time..

Here is a band grouping imaging wearing a similar uniform also 1890's...

 

[wptaimuty]

Ah. Thanks Frederick14Va. I suppose this settles that question.

 

[Mike Serpa]

Are those GAR medals?

Is there more than one GAR medal? The one I know of looks similar to a Medal of Honor?

 

[chubachus]

Is there more than one GAR medal? The one I know of looks similar to a Medal of Honor?

That seems like a common style, but there must be hundreds of other designs and amalgamations of them. Just do a quick ebay check for examples.

 

[major bill]

I am still not convinced that this is not a militia uniform. The medals could be GAR encampment medals, however the general outline of the medals look like some militia encampment medals. Each state had their own design of these plus other such militia medals. There are 4 thousand plus state militia medals and researching them is challenging. One of the issue is that bands and fraternal societies also wore uniforms and issued medals. In the late 1800s there were many more fraternal societies than there are today and the uniforms they wore and the medals they used is complicated. The uniform in this image does not look like any fraternal society I know of, but so many of these have came and gone that I am not certain of this. Step one would be for you to post a clear image of the medals. Many states used some form of their state coat of arms on these medals and we might get lucky and know what state issued these.

 

[ct.yankee]

Not a Civil War photo for sure. It's an albumen photo of 1885 - 19oo vintage. Sure looks like a bandsman uniform and not
military to me. The two medals may not have awarded, rather they could have been purchased by the wearer and signify the man's presence at a significant event such as an encampment, conference, regional fair, or some other major gathering.

 

[major bill]

You mean the medals look like National Guard encampment medals or years of service medals. Because the design changed every couple of years and when added to other State National Guard medals we are talking about a couple thousand different medals There is a book that shows all of these, but without the book trying to remember a couple thousand designs is too hard for me.