Description
Ninth plate tintype identified as Private John Rhea of the 6th Texas Cavalry. The former Tennessee resident would move to Texas prior to the war and enlist with Company D in September, 1861 at McKinney, Texas alongside his brother. The two men would muster for a 12 month term and would be present for duty through May of 1862 when John would be promoted to 1st sergeant. The previous month, John and the rest of the regiment had fought at Shiloh as dismounted cavalry. John would perform admirably at Shiloh, but his time at the front would be cut short on October 4, 1862. During the fighting around Corinth, John would suffer a fatal gunshot wound to the chest and would succumb to the wound later that day. His burial location is unknown and he is believed to have been buried in a mass grave at an undisclosed location somewhere on the battlefield. His brother would go on to survive the war. A second known image of John was featured on the cover of the 2016 Fall Issue of Military Images. This particular image is a war date reproduction, a practice that was often times done when the soldier did not return home. Where the original image that this tintype was copied from is unknown but both views where likely taken during the same sitting. In both views, John wears a very roughly hewn butternut jacket with two thin leather straps crisscrossing his chest while sporting a massive and crudely made D-Guard bowie that was likely a file in it’s former life. This one does comes housed in a full thermoplastic case. A copy of the 2016 issue of Military Images is also included.
