Unusual Portrait: 4 Officers from the 2nd Mass.

John Hartwell

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An unusual, informal pose for four officers of the 2nd Massachusetts, 1862:
2MVI.png
They are identified (clockwise from uper left) as: Adjutant John A. Fox, Captain Daniel Oakey (in mufti), Captain William E. Perkins, and Captain Francis W. Crowninshield.
Adjt. (Bvt. Major) Fox:
BvtMajFox.png
Capt. Oakey:
Oakey.png

Capt. Perkins (as Sgt., 44th Mass):
Perkins44MVI.png
Capt. Crowninshield:
Crowninshield.png
 
Last edited:
An unusual, informal pose for four officers of the 2nd Massachusetts, 1862:
They are identified (clockwise from uper left) as: Adjutant John A. Fox, Captain Daniel Oakey (in mufti), Captain William E. Perkins, and Captain Francis W. Crowninshield.
Adjt. (Bvt. Major) Fox:View attachment 372428 Capt. Oakey:View attachment 372429
Capt. Perkins (as Sgt., 44th Mass):View attachment 372430 Capt. Crowninshield:View attachment 372431
Extremely unusual- do you own this?
 
Crowninshild attended Harvard College from 1860-1861. John A. Fox and his brother Thomas B. Fox, Jr. both served in the 2nd Massachusetts; Thomas graduated from Harvard in 1860, then stayed on to attend law school there.
 
Great photo! Do you own this?

Oakey survived; 19-year-old Crowninshield was wounded four times--at Winchester, Antietam, Gettysburg and during the Atlanta Campaign, and died in 1866 as a result of his wounds. Fox survived; his brother Thomas of the 2nd was mortally wounded at Gettysburg. Perkins, 24, was also a Harvard grad. He joined the 2nd in February 1863 and was wounded at Chancellorsville.
 
It's photos like this that remind us that these were young men who could be goofy and humorous when together, as many young people are. We often think of these men as super mature and aged beyond their years because of what they were experiencing but they were still 18, 19, and 20 year old boys, and their attitudes are often universal regardless of time and place.

Ryan
 
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