Description
Ninth plate tintype identified as Peter Kirkwood of the 65th New York Infantry. The members of the 65th were recruited primarily from New York, but included recruits from Connecticut, Rhode Island and Ohio, where Peter would muster from in August of 1861. Serving in the Army of the Potomac, the 65th would see no shortage fighting over the next four years. Beginning with the Siege of Yorktown, Peter and the rest of the men of the 65th New York, would fight in every major engagement in which the Army of the Potomac would fight. Peter would be present for all of it. He would re-enlist in December, 1863, take a brief 35 day furlough, and return to the regiment in time to take part in the spring campaign of 1864. Peter would survive the fight at the Wilderness but would be captured on the field during the regiments next engagement at Spotsylvania. Captured with nearly 30 other men on May 10th, he would be sent to the infamous Andersonville Prison. He would not last long within the confines of the prison. The camp, rife with disease, would claim his life on December 31st, 1864. This ninth plate view shows Peter dressed in civilian clothes. A small clipped piece of paper tucked in front of the image simply reads “Peter Kirkwood”. Inside the case, a brief pencil inscription notes “Peter Kirkwood Killed in war 1865″. The foggy area in the lower left of the image is due to my scanner and not the image itself. Housed in a full thermoplastic case.
