Recent Find Interesting Confederate Officer Ambrotype

[CyleKostello]

Recently picked up this interesting ambro. Came with verbal provenance to Va. It depicts a crystal clear Confederate Officer. The subject is either a Lt. Col. or a very early war Tennessee 1st LT. If he were a Lt. Colonel I would expect a double breasted jacket. However early war TN troops tended to use dark blue uniforms. Not the gray shown here. Impossible to nail down his rank/state for certain.

What's really interesting is that the photo seems to initially have had two subjects. Can only imagine what the other guy did to merit that treatment.

All in all a great image of a Confederate officer. Or at the very least, half of a great image!

 

[JackADriscoll]

Could it have been a she and then things went all second day Shiloh on him?

 

[CyleKostello]

Could it have been a she and then things went all second day Shiloh on him?

Hahah anything's possible. But if you look closely you'll see part of a gray sleeve. Makes me think it was a comrade who behaved less than honorably

 

[JackADriscoll]

Hahah anything's possible. But if you look closely you'll see part of a gray sleeve. Makes me think it was a comrade who behaved less than honorably

View attachment 501681

Oh snap good eye

 

[Elliot Crumblemuffin]

Maybe the other fellow was sent to Johnson's Island and took the Oath Of Allegiance

 

[UCVRelics]

Nice clear image even with half missing. Does make you wonder why the other guy is missing.

 

[R. Porter]

Maybe the wife went all second day Shiloh on him with the missing guy.

 

[Harms88]

Could it have been a she and then things went all second day Shiloh on him?

We are borrowing this saying for the greater Soviet good, Comrade!

 

[RollAlabamaRoll]

I'm sure there's already a thread on this, but does anybody know why certain colors showed up in the photo? Like the gold colored buttons or the rosiness on the cheeks. I know that some images were colorized using watercolor back then but this doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[CyleKostello]

I'm sure there's already a thread on this, but does anybody know why certain colors showed up in the photo? Like the gold colored buttons or the rosiness on the cheeks. I know that some images were colorized using watercolor back then but this doesn't seem to be the case.

The tinting was hand done by the photographer with paint. Some were better at it than others. Which is why the rosiness in the cheeks looks a little more natural here

 

[JackADriscoll]

We are borrowing this saying for the greater Soviet good, Comrade!

Anything for the collective. I have a more wholesome theory. Pay was late and they were about to move out and they pooled their money and cut it in half to send pictures home.

 

[R. Porter]

Anything for the collective. I have a more wholesome theory. Pay was late and they were about to move out and they pooled their money and cut it in half to send pictures home.

It looks scratched out to me. Look carefully along the border and you will see single black lines. One appears to go from black space above to black space below with a line of image to the left.

 

[observator]

two stars =Lt Col
Yellow color=-cavalry
never seen a hat in this style before...homemade prehaps?

 

[CyleKostello]

two stars =Lt Col
Yellow color=-cavalry
never seen a hat in this style before...homemade prehaps?

Unfortunately it's not quite so cut and dry. Lt. Col's usually wore double breasted coats. Though I've seen a couple single breasted Lt Cols

Early war TN troops used two starts to signify and first lieutenant. But at the same time early war TN tended to favor dark blue uniforms, rather than the gray shown here.

As for the hat I think it's just a forage cap

 

[R. Porter]

two stars =Lt Col
Yellow color=-cavalry
never seen a hat in this style before...homemade prehaps?

Are we sure this is an American uniform and not, say, Austrian or Italian?

 

[CyleKostello]

Are we sure this is an American uniform and not, say, Austrian or Italian?

I'm almost 100% certain he's American. His uniform is way too plain for a mid 19th European officer.


His large forage cap is also distinctly Americans. European armies of the period favored the shako or a shorter kepi

 

[Package4]

Hahah anything's possible. But if you look closely you'll see part of a gray sleeve. Makes me think it was a comrade who behaved less than honorably

View attachment 501681

Sleeve of the scratched out individual appears much smaller, I'm guessing female that did not support her man away at war.

 

[Package4]

Recently picked up this interesting ambro. Came with verbal provenance to Va. It depicts a crystal clear Confederate Officer. The subject is either a Lt. Col. or a very early war Tennessee 1st LT. If he were a Lt. Colonel I would expect a double breasted jacket. However early war TN troops tended to use dark blue uniforms. Not the gray shown here. Impossible to nail down his rank/state for certain.

What's really interesting is that the photo seems to initially have had two subjects. Can only imagine what the other guy did to merit that treatment.

All in all a great image of a Confederate officer. Or at the very least, half of a great image!

View attachment 501677

View attachment 501678

I'm thinking early war, due to the forage cap and he's wearing a militia uniform. He most likely received a quick promotion and was yet to be fitted for his wartime uniform. Quite possibly had Lt shoulder straps from militia service and cobbled together what he could due to staff promotion.

The forage cap has Lt braid, yet to be adorned with additional rows fitting his new rank. Just a SWAG

 

[CyleKostello]

I'm thinking early war, due to the forage cap and he's wearing a militia uniform. He most likely received a quick promotion and was yet to be fitted for his wartime uniform. Quite possibly had Lt shoulder straps from militia service and cobbled together what he could due to staff promotion.

The forage cap has Lt braid, yet to be adorned with additional rows fitting his new rank. Just a SWAG

I'd agree that whatever state he's from and whatever his rank he's early war. For what its worth, his frock doesn't match any TN pattern i'm familiar with. I think their state regs called for the classic army dark blue, as you can see in the image i posted a little further up in the thread.

 

[DixieRifles]

Osprey booklet has example of uniforms three early Tennessee regiments.
The private on the left wears the 1859 Forage cap with light cord trim. The officer in the right wears a blue-grey satinette 9-button frock coat with 5-pointed stars and a narrow gold cord around the base of the collar.
The private's hat and the officer's coat appear to match the image.