Posted 9 years ago
whitman75
(349 items)
Nice Original Civil War Infantry Soldier in Uniform this is a Gem size tintype. I'm wondering does the CAC stand for Confederate Army Civil or is this a Union Soldier? The uniform looks like it's likely Confederate in Color but I was hoping for confirmation.
I suspect this is a student in a military school.
From the north or south? He does look young thats for sure.
I didnt realize that there were also so many child soldiers during the war i suppose this could also be the case.
I got an expert Opinion this photo is very likely post war late 1860's
Looks like the negative was flipped due to the retrograde letters CC which are probably the school initials. The letter A is probably the Company letter. The school students probably being divided in to companies. Looks like a research project for you.
Thanks Mil I have found out there was several Military Academies during the start of the civil war all the way into the beginning of the war many of which were in the southern states. From what I could many of the students from the south joined ranks initially into state like militia units until joining the confederate troops. From my research I think the lettering could stand for the Citadel Academy of South Carolina. More to figure out!!
FWIW ... tintypes are direct-to-positive images and don't have negatives. The image is always reversed because of the lens. This means that each image is unique unless copied. Nice image.
The use of crossed rifles would almost certainly date it to post 1875. Prior to that, the US military used a circular bugle or hunting horn for infantry. I don't think military schools or militia would have come up with the same symbol by chance.
Chris
It is not CS nor is it Civil War.
As Chris stated the crossed rifles would put it at the mid 1870s at the EARLIEST.
Also, assuming what is visible as black/ gray/ white IS the actual color will lead to many mistakes when analyzing 19th century images. It is best to use uniform features to determine affiliation rather than color.
scott