Description
Sixth plate tintype of a Confederate casualty of war. Seated in a small wooden chair and wearing a very worn and rough looking pleated blouse. Various amounts are wear and tear can be seen over the exterior blouse itself. The buttons have all been replaced with a number of different sized wooden buttons. There is also no lining inside the blouse. It’s a very shoddy produced blouse to say the least and hangs on him like a wet towel. He is also dressed in a pair of very rough spun dark trousers. You can see balls of knap all over the surface of the trousers. Now there were a handful of regiments that wore pleated blouses. The 2nd Rhode Island Infantry, the 1st South Carolina Infantry as well as some units from Kentucky and Tennessee. We can certainly exclude the 2nd Rhode Island and it certainly does not fit with the blouses worn by the 1st South Carolina. His exact origins are unknown but I think it can be safely assumed that we are looking at a southern soldier based on this very crudely constructed uniform. He sits with legs crossed and one hand resting in his lap. The sleeve for the opposite arm lays limp at his side and if you look to the cuff, there is no hand sticking out of the sleeve. He no doubt sat for this view while recovering in the hospital and I would not be surprised if this was taken while being a POW. Views of this nature, where the soldier is shown missing a limb, are extremely rare. Even more so for Confederate troops. Housed in a half leatherette case.
