Mosby Standing Picture

[jmorgan]

We have all seen the picture of John S. Mosby standing up in full uniform. Now my question is about when that picture was taken, was it during the CW or post? Any information would be very appreciated.

 

[civilwarincolor]

I assume you mean this image of Mosby?

According to the LOC notes here "Richmond 1865" is scratched on the negative. I had always assumed it to be post war, like the ones of Lee behind his house in Richmond.

http://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/cwpbh/03200/03240v.jpg

 

[jmorgan]

Thanks so much for that! I was looking but obviously wasn't quite apt. So next question, being that the picture is 1865, what provenance is there that Moseby ever wore this uniform? Could this picture have been staged after he surrendered? I am reading the biography on him right now, and haven't made it far into the book yet, but being a partisan, I don't reckon he'd be in uniform much.

 

[civilwarincolor]

Thanks so much for that! I was looking but obviously wasn't quite apt. So next question, being that the picture is 1865, what provenance is there that Moseby ever wore this uniform? Could this picture have been staged after he surrendered? I am reading the biography on him right now, and haven't made it far into the book yet, but being a partisan, I don't reckon he'd be in uniform much.

There are a number of images of Confederate leaders (i.e. R.E. Lee, etc.) taken after the war in uniform to satisfy interest from the North since photographs had not been available during the war for many of these men. While I don't know for sure I suspect that many of them received payment in return for posing. You have to remember that they are now without a job/country and still have expenses. I can't say this for sure, but I suspect that the photographers/studios threw a little there way to help encourage them.

So, his uniform? I have no doubt it was his personal uniform and had been worn in battle. They were not stripped of their uniforms and many/most kept them for years following the war. I believe the hat (shown here) and on display at the Smithsonian may be the one in the image.

There are a number of other images of him in uniform, so this is not as unusual as you think.

BTW, its Mosby not Moseby.

 

[jmorgan]

Again, a fountain of knowledge. You sir, are a gentleman. My apologies for the typo on Mosby, its just now after 0600 and the coffee hasn't quite kicked in.

 

[civilwarincolor]

Again, a fountain of knowledge. You sir, are a gentleman. My apologies for the typo on Mosby, its just now after 0600 and the coffee hasn't quite kicked in.

Glad to help anytime.

 

[Legion Para]

Moseby was promoted to full Colonel on 7 December 1864. The three stars on his collar is the insignia of a full Colonel.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2013/12/meet-john-s-mosby-the-gray-ghost-of-the-confederacy.html

This wool jacket and slouch hat both belonged to Mosby, who was wearing the hat when he was wounded by federal cavalry in December 1864

 

[Eagle eye]

I notice what appears to be a dark overcoat or uniform on the floor, draped over some logs or something. Could this be a "trophy" from his captured Union general (whose name I can't remember not lookup at the moment - Stauton??) ? It appears to have a lot of bright buttons on it.
Just a thought - Happy New Year everyone

 

[civilwarincolor]

I notice what appears to be a dark overcoat or uniform on the floor, draped over some logs or something. Could this be a "trophy" from his captured Union general (whose name I can't remember not lookup at the moment - Stauton??) ? It appears to have a lot of bright buttons on it.
Just a thought - Happy New Year everyone

I wondered about that as well. When I did my colorized version of it I made the uniform on the floor in Union colors for that reason.

The general you are thinking of is Brig. Gen. Edwin H. Stoughton. Mosby and Stoughton's exploits here.

 

[Eagle eye]

Thanks for the info… it strikes me as Mosbys sense of humor at work.
Outstanding art on your part CWIC… no surprise there. You know I'm a big fan of your work.

 

[zburkett]

For what its worth, in the Frank Myers book "The Comanches" which is the 1871 unit history of the 35th Virginia Cavalry who often rod with Mosby, Myers describes the uniform as "usually something gray."

 

[civilwarincolor]

Thanks for the info… it strikes me as Mosbys sense of humor at work.
Outstanding art on your part CWIC… no surprise there. You know I'm a big fan of your work.

Thanks, much appreciated!

 

[jmorgan]

Seeing the colorized picture and the actual coat, were his sleeves and collar buff, brown, or yellow?

 

[civilwarincolor]

Seeing the colorized picture and the actual coat, were his sleeves and collar buff, brown, or yellow?

If you look at the B&W for that image you will see that the collar and sleeves are not the same jacket that the Smithsonian has on display. I forget where I got the brown from, but it was from another CW confederate uniform.

 

[Klaudly]

In picture, often Yellow 'became' black, I think the jacket is the same.

 

[civilwarincolor]

In picture, often Yellow 'became' black, I think the jacket is the same.

I have heard that argument before and it may be correct, but there are plenty of other CW images of Confederates that the cream color comes out light (as you would expect).

 

[Legion Para]

I have heard that argument before and it may be correct, but there are plenty of other CW images of Confederates that the cream color comes out light (as you would expect).

Taking into consideration when this photograph was taken and details of the jacket, it is most likely the same jacket.

Interpreting colors from black and white photographs can be difficult, particularly since we have no period color photographs to use as a reference and comparison.

If you want to learn more about interpreting colors from black and white photographs, I suggest you study WW II aircraft nose art photographs. We are fortunate to have b/w and color photographs of the same nose art. Plus veterans have been able to provide nose art details for many specific planes.

 

[TerryB]

Great job on the colorization. This iconic image is probably in my top five favorite images of CS officers and one of my favorite of the whole era.

 

[jmorgan]

So, I looked at some WW2 images of aircraft and matched against color pictures I have (its nice living near Duxford IWM) and matching with Photoshop knowledge and experiments my rusults have come back with the cuffs/collar being more yellow than anything else. Buff does come close, but not as dark as yellow. So, would the general consensus be that in this picture, the cuffs/collar were yellow?

 

[TerryB]

I have heard that argument before and it may be correct, but there are plenty of other CW images of Confederates that the cream color comes out light (as you would expect).

Could it be a Tait jacket? Weren't they all the same--red facings?