[Union Private with Musket and Pistol]

Unknown

1861–65 · Tintype with applied color · Photographs

Almost all portraits of Civil War soldiers, Union and Confederate, show the sitters with one or more weapons: a musket with or without a fixed bayonet, a sword, a pistol or two, a bowie knife. Evidence suggests that given a choice, most soldiers preferred presenting themselves armed with more than one weapon—an opportunity many studios were more than willing to accommodate with a ready supply of props.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1861–65

Medium

Tintype with applied color

Department

Photographs

Credit line

The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Fund, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2012