[CIVIL WAR] 64th Ohio CDV Album

Charming carte de visite (CDV) photograph album containing images of 10 members of the 64th Ohio Infantry. Several of the soldiers are identified; other cartes feature period inscriptions. Originally organized in Mansfield, Ohio in the fall of 1861, the 64th Ohio Infantry spent nearly four years in service with both the Army of the Ohio and the Army of the Cumberland. During that time, the regiment compiled an impressive battle record. From Shiloh to Nashville, the men of the 64th were present at nearly every major action of the Civil War’s Western Theater: Stones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign, Franklin, and many others.

This small, leather-bound album was compiled as a keepsake of that service, which would cost the regiment nearly 300 lives by the end of hostilities. Identified members of the regiment pictured in this album are:

- Silas S. Mallary, an 18-year-old Musician from Company K
- Pvt. Elmer St. John, a member of Company G who was discharged for disability just before Christmas, 1862
- Pvt. James Sanburn, of Company G, who died in Louisville in early 1864
- Addison M. Bloom, a Principal Musician
- Capt Jacob G. Bittenger of Companies E and A, who climbed the ladder from Private to commissioned officer

Two other cartes appear to have period identifications, but these inscriptions are hard to read. Further research may reveal their identities. Interestingly, one unidentified soldier wrote poetry on the reverse of his carte. “Tell me your winged words,” he implored with a Homeric flourish, “do you not know some spot where women fret no more?” Unfortunately, his fate is unknown, but given the inscription’s distinctly romantic tone, its presence in the album may suggest these photographs were compiled by someone on the home front, perhaps a wife or sweetheart.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Historic Photography, Early Photography, Daguerreotype, Ambrotype, Tintype, Cased Images, Union Cases, Militaria]