ca. 1860-1866
Guide to the Photograph Collection
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below).
Abstract
This collection consists of an album containing 93 carte de visite portraits of Union officers who fought in the Civil War, taken ca. 1860-1866. The album was collected and assembled by Joshua Huntington Wolcott for his grandson Roger Wolcott, Jr., probably between 1877-1880.
Collection Description
This collection consists of an album containing 93 carte de visite portraits of Union officers who fought in the Civil War, taken ca. 1860-1866. The album was collected and assembled by Joshua Huntington Wolcott for his grandson Roger Wolcott, Jr., probably between 1877-1880. Subjects include Huntington F. Wolcott, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert Gould Shaw, among others, as well as a number of officers from the 2nd and 20th Massachusetts Infantry Regiments, among other regiments. There is also one photograph of an African American soldier, Nicholas Said, a private with the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Included is one envelope of clippings originally found between the pages of the album and a letter from Roger Wolcott to his wife. Photographers include John Adams Whipple and Brady's National Portrait Gallery, among many others.
All of the photographs are identified and captioned in the hand of Joshua Huntington Wolcott. The album is inscribed in Wolcott's hand, "For my dear little grandson/ Roger Wolcott Jun." Included with the album are photocopies of clippings originally found between the album pages, as well as a transcription in Roger Wolcott's hand and dedicated to his wife of a passage by James Freeman Clarke.
Arrangement
The photographs in this collection are listed in the order in which they appear in the album.
Acquisition Information
Gift of the Wolcott family, through Samuel Wolcott, 1990.
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below).
Detailed Description of the Collection
Inscribed with Ellsworth's signature.
Brigadier General, 2nd Mass. Cavalry Regiment.
Lieutenant, 2nd Mass. Cavalry Regiment, Co. I.
Lieutenant, 20th Mass. Infantry Regiment, Co. E.
Lieutenant, 20th Mass. Infantry Regiment, Co. E.
Brigadier General.
Major General.
Brigadier General.
General.
Philip D. Mason was Lieutenant, 1st U.S. Artillery Regiment. Herbert C. Mason was Captain, 20th Mass. Infantry Regiment, Co. H.
Major, 35th Mass. Infantry Regiment. Co. I.
Captain, 45th Mass. Infantry Regiment.
Lieutenant, 1st Mass. Cavalry, Co. L.
Lieutenant, 20th Mass. Infantry Regiment, Co. K.
Captain, 2nd Mass. Cavalry Regiment, Co. K and Co. L.
Lieutenant Colonel, 2nd Mass. Infantry Regiment.
Captain and Asst. Adj., U.S. Volunteers; Captain, 4th Missouri Cavalry Regiment, Co. E.
Commander, U.S. Navy.
Admiral, U.S. Navy.
Surgeon, 44th Mass. Infantry Regiment.
Captain, 2nd Mass. Infantry Regiment, Co. K and Co. C.
Captain, 2nd Mass. Infantry Regiment, Co. G.
Lieutenant.
Misidentified in caption as "Col. Paul Revere."
Lieutenant Colonel, 2nd Mass. Infantry Regiment.
Colonel, 54th Mass. Infantry Regiment.
Major, 2nd Mass. Infantry Regiment, Co. I.
2nd Mass. Cavalry Regiment, Co. I.
Major General.
Misidentified in caption as "Maj. Gen. Sherman."
Misidentified in caption as "Maj. Gen. Sheridan."
Brigadier General.
Caption on photograph: "The last Photograph of President Lincoln. Taken on the Balcony at the White House, March 6, 1865, by H. F. Warren, Waltham, Mass."
Secretary of War, 1862-1868.
Major General.
Major General.
Brigadier General.
Major General.
Major General.
Major General.
Major General.
Major General.
Major General.
Major General.
Major General.
Major General.
Major General.
Admiral, U.S. Navy.
Brigadier General.
Lieutenant, 2nd Mass. Cavalry Regiment, Co. I.
Misidentified in caption as "Maj. Gen. Slocum."
Major General.
Brigadier General.
Major General.
Major General.
Brigadier General.
Major General.
Brigadier General.
Brigadier General.
Admiral, U.S. Navy.
Major General.
Major General.
Misidentified in caption as "Gen. Sprague."
Rear-Admiral, U.S. Navy.
Major General.
Brigadier General.
Colonel, 25th Missouri Regiment.
Captain, 2nd Mass. Infantry Regiment, Co. A.
Major, 20th Mass. Infantry Regiment, Co. I.
Major General.
Brigadier General.
Surgeon, 20th Mass. Infantry Regiment.
Captain, 53rd Mass. Infantry Regiment, Co. I.
Lieutenant Colonel, 4th Mass. Cavalry Regiment.
Colonel, 56th Mass. Infantry Regiment.
Captain, 12th Mass. Infantry Regiment, Co. D.
Private, 55th Mass. Infantry Regiment, Co. I.
Name misspelled in caption as "Saib."
Preferred Citation
Wolcott family Civil War carte de visite album, Photo. Coll. 70, Massachusetts Historical Society Photo Archives.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.