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AED[CIVIL WAR] Capt. George Wilson and his Mount, 5th Massachusetts Cavalry
![[CIVIL WAR] Capt. George Wilson and his Mount, 5th Massachusetts Cavalry](https://s1.img.bidsquare.com/item/xl/3716/37166673.jpeg?t=1Wskc9)
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About Auction
LiveJun 20, 2026
This sale features an extensive catalog of Civil War photographs that were acquired, curated, and researched by seminal collector, Rick Carlile. Fleischer's Auctions info@fleischersauctions.com
View Full Catalog (239)
- Lot Description
Two individual studio and outdoor portrait albumen CDVs. Both photographs by L. V. Newell’s Photograph Gallery, [circa 1864-1865]. Photographers' imprints to mount versos. Later pencil inscriptions to mount versos. One mount features a canceled 2-cent blue George Washington US Internal Revenue stamp on the reverse.
A premier pair of albumen CDVs documenting a single officer. The first is a vignetted bust portrait of the subject in uniform; the second is a rare horizontal outdoor study showing the same officer standing beside his horse. The outdoor view bears the backmark of L. V. Newell’s Photograph Gallery, while the portrait features a 2-cent blue George Washington revenue stamp on the reverse. Both are identified via later pencil notations as George Wilson.
George Wilson served as an officer in the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry, a notable regiment of the United States Colored Troops (USCT). Wilson rose to the rank of Lieutenant during his service. The 5th Massachusetts Cavalry was a hard-working unit that spent significant time in the Department of the Gulf and later participated in the Siege of Petersburg and the Richmond campaign. Notably, they were among the first troops to enter the Confederate capital of Richmond in April 1865.
This pairing provides a rare dual perspective of a cavalry officer's life. It includes two CDVs: A formal studio portrait where Wilson wears an officer's forage cap and a cavalry shell jacket with prominent uniform buttons. His expression is framed by a neatly trimmed mustache. An exceptional outdoor view, taken in camp. Wilson stands tall beside his horse, outfitted in full field gear including a voluminous military cape and tall riding boots. The horse is well-captured in profile, showing the specific tack and saddlery used by Union cavalry officers. Mounted and outdoor horse views from the period are significantly rarer than studio portraits due to the technical difficulty of keeping an animal still for the required exposure time.
Officers of the USCT cavalry regiments occupied a unique and often dangerous niche in the Union army. This collection preserves the likeness of a man who led Black troopers during the climactic push into the heart of the Confederacy.
[Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards, Stereographs] [Civil War, Union, Confederate]
Condition
The images are in good to very good condition. The albumen surfaces exhibit a soft, pleasing tonality with good contrast. There is minor surface wear, light silvering to the margins, and faint age-related foxing typical of period photography.
- Provenance
Rick Carlile collection.
- Shipping Info
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