The Tragic Death of a Photographer and Veteran of Berdan's Sharpshooters
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Today’s episode is an unexpected journey down the research rabbit hole. It begins with an 1860s photograph of an unidentified man with a graying beard who appears to be a railroad conductor and ends with the tragic story of the photographer who made this portrait. Here's the story.
"Life on the Civil War Research Trail" is hosted by Ronald S. Coddington, Editor and Publisher of Military Images magazine. Learn more about our mission to showcase, interpret and preserve Civil War portrait photography at militaryimagesmagazine.com and shopmilitaryimages.com.
This episode is brought to you in part by Medhurst & Company, offering fine images and documents to collectors. Visit mikemedhurst.com for the most up-to-date selection.
Image: Ronald S. Coddington Collection, Library of Congress
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Thank you
Fascinating!
Wow. What a story.
Another great one Ron, always look forward to your videos
Very sad. Rip
Wow. What a train of evidence leads to a tragic end. Good job discovering his story.
The alignment of the "eye" of the man, a focal "eye", with art, photography, and sharp shooting. Makes sense. Get that extended cold weather into the lungs, and it takes it's toll. Also makes sense.
Thanks Ron. Some characters are more interesting than others, but tragedy is always tragedy.
Photographs of Oswego starch mills from 19th century can be found online
past trauma is always right there just waiting patiently
William Henry Seward was appointed Secretary of State by Abraham Lincoln on March 5, 1861, and served until March 4, 1869. Seward carefully managed international affairs during the Civil War and also negotiated the 1867 purchase of Alaska.I wonder if they were related.
Just found out that flour was shipped through Oswego from Canada to southern states after the civil war.
Poor tortured fellow. We tend to idealize the past as a time we'd ourselves would like to live in, but life was very hard and full of sickness and sorrow.
Back in those days there were no "anti-depressants," no lithium tablets and the much maligned, but effective "electro-convulsive therapy" (shock therapy) had yet to be developed. If a person fell into depression, there wasn't much that could be done besides being sent to an asylum. I know from my studies of the late 19th and early 20th Century history of my mother's Western Pennsylvania home town, there were many men in that town who took their own lives in rather gruesome ways. There were tremendous pressures on men in those days because the man's role in society was to work and work long and hard and always "provide for his family," but many times there was no work to be had, no money coming in, there were no "crisis intervention" programs to reach out to and men would rather die than publicly admit failure and ask for what stingy help there was. "It's when need is his master and poverty's no stranger and there's no work to be found."
You can also find examples of 19th century warrants online
Utica is close to the port of Oswego which was very active in the 19th century. Maybe a sailor went into Utica after the war to get a picture in his old uniform as a keepsake
A blue band bordered on both sides with gold is correct for the rank
It looks like a confederate navy uniform
The cap is correct and the band on the sleeve is right
I hoped you would have mentioned that prussic acid was the name of what is now known as hydrogen cyanide.
The cap looks CSA regulation. If there are three gold stars below the sleeve band which is obscured he would be a warrant officer. The chain would then be for his whistle. The paper in his hand would be his warrant.
On close examination it appears to maybe have the gold
Or maybe Utica based photographers go to the port to drum up business and a CSA sailor in a uniform is not vase for unique advertising