Civil War Era Photographic Portraiture No. 11
Almost 10 years ago, this tintype was the subject of a couple of involved NPR articles/podcasts on the image and identifying who the soldier in the Union Zuave uniform was.
In the first, Unknown No More: Identifying A Civil War Soldier1, he is identified as Thomas A. Ardies from the 14th Brooklyn Regiment2, also known as the “Red Legged Devils.” The identification was based on letters carved into the stock of his gun—A.T., thought to be his initials—, his distinctive uniform, and his height in comparison to the weapon.
A week later, in Photo Mystery Solved, Then Doubted, Then Deciphered, Thanks To Readers3, author Ramona Martinez revealed that their attempt to identify the subject in the photo had resulted in “a misidentification, a historical wild goose chase, and a lively, collaborative conversation online.”
It turns out that the letters carved into the stock weren’t A.T. but, rather, T.A..
The photo of the mystery soldier is a tintype, a direct positive of the scene, which produces laterally reversed images. The process produces mirror images of what they actually are — like belts, hats and, of course, initials. (The Library of Congress has a good explanation of this.)
Based on pension files from the 14th Brooklyn, there were eight soldiers with the initials A.T.. Six were eliminated as being too old or too tall. A seventh, Albert C. Tibbals, was eliminated because one of the commenters actually owned a picture of Tibbals—and he wasn’t the man in the tintype.
The remaining soldier with the initials A.T. was a fellow named Alonzo S. Thompson. He is very probably the soldier in the tintype, but the proof is not totally definitive as there are no other known photos of him to compare the tintype to.
Thompson was discharged for illness and died of chronic diarrhea on Long Island in 1863.
Title: [Unidentified soldier in Union zouave uniform with bayoneted musket with initials A.T. on stock]
Date Created/Published: [between 1861 and 1865]
Medium: 1 photograph : quarter-plate tintype, hand-colored ; 11.1 x 9.5 cm (case)
Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-32681 (digital file from original, tonality adjusted) LC-DIG-ppmsca-32126 (digital file from original item)
Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Access Advisory: Use digital images. Original served only by appointment because material requires special handling.
Call Number: AMB/TIN no. 2805 [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Notes:
…..Possibly identified as Alonzo F. Thompson of Company C, 84th New York Infantry Regiment (earlier known as 14th Regiment New York State Militia). (Source: Martinez, Ramona. Photo Mystery Solved, Then Doubted, Then Deciphered, Thanks to Readers; http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2012/04/17/150801239/ and American Civil War Database)
…..Title devised by Library staff.
…..Case: Rinhart, no. 108.
…..Gift; Tom Liljenquist; 2011; (DLC/PP-2012:127).
…..More information about this collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.lilj
…..Forms part of: Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs (Library of Congress).
…..Published in: Civil War news. Tunbridge, Vt. : Historical Publications, June 2012 (XXVIII, 6), p. 5.
…..Published in: Civil War news / by Stephen W. Sylvia & Michael J. O’Donnell. Orange, Va. : Moss Publications, c1978.
…..Exhibited: “The Civil War in America” at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 2013.
Library of Congress permarecord
Mike’s notes:
Image restoration note – This image has been digitally adjusted for one or more of the following:
– fade correction,
– color, contrast, and/or saturation enhancement
– selected spot and/or scratch removal
– cropped for composition and/or to accentuate subject matter
– straighten image
Image restoration is the process of using digital restoration tools to create new digital versions of the images while also improving their quality and repairing damage.
- Martinez, Ramona. “Unknown No More: Identifying a Civil War Soldier.” NPR. NPR, April 11, 2012. https://www.npr.org/2012/04/11/150288978/unknown-no-more-identifying-a-civil-war-soldier.
- On 7 December 1861, the State of New York officially changed the regiment’s designation to the 84th New York Volunteer Infantry (and its unit histories are sometimes found under this designation). But at the unit’s request and because of the fame attained by the unit at First Bull Run, the United States Army continued to refer to it as the 14th. (Wikipedia)
- Martinez, Ramona. “Photo Mystery Solved, Then Doubted, Then Deciphered, Thanks to Readers.” NPR. NPR, April 17, 2012. https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2012/04/17/150801239/photo-mystery-solved-then-doubted-then-resolved-thanks-to-readers.