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AED[CIVIL WAR] John Bigelow Hero of Gettysburg, Earliest Known Portrait
![[CIVIL WAR] John Bigelow Hero of Gettysburg, Earliest Known Portrait](https://s1.img.bidsquare.com/item/xl/3016/30161838.jpeg?t=1TXsuP)
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About Auction
LiveApr 26, 2025
Fleischer's Auctions is pleased to present Day 2 of our 2025 Spring Premier Auction featuring early American artifacts and militaria from the Revolutionary War to World War 2, especially fine items from the American Civil War. Fleischer's Auctions info@fleischersauctions.com
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- Lot Description
Outdoor camp albumen photograph enhanced with watercolor. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: W.H. Whitehead, [15-18 December 1861]. Photographer's imprint to mount recto. Period ink inscription to verso reads: "Nims 2nd Mass Battery / Presented to William / By Lieut. R.B. Ha[ll]"
A fantastic and intimate portrait of four identified soldiers, most notably Gettysburg hero John Bigelow.
From left to right: Sr. 1st Lt. John Wesley Wolcott; Jr. 2nd Lt. Richard B. Hall, who has inscribed the verso of the image; Sr. 2nd Lt. George G. Trull; and Jr. 1st Lt. John Bigelow. The portrait of the officers has been expertly painted with delicate shades of blue. The artist captures the nuances of the men's uniforms, with shading and details of the folded fabrics.
The 2nd Massachusetts Battery was stationed in Baltimore from 18 August 1861 until 25 February 1862. Sibley tents, visible in the background of the portrait, were issued in the first half of November. The regiment was on an expedition on the Eastern Shore and returned on 15 December 1861. Three days later, Lieutenants Wolcott and Bigelow resigned to accept positions in the 1st Maryland Battery, placing the date of this portrait between 15 and 18 December 1861.
This is the earliest known image of 1st Lieutenant John Bigelow, and the only known full-length image of him.
Bigelow was a senior at Harvard University when he first enlisted with the 2nd Massachusetts Battery at the very onset of war on 24 April 1861. He was elected Second Lieutenant on May 15th, and they served in Baltimore and Eastern Virginia, where this early portrait was taken.
Shortly after this portrait was captured, he resigned to accept a commission as Adjutant and 1st Lieutenant with the 1st Maryland Battery Light Artillery, along with John Wesley Wolcott, also in this image. They joined the Peninsular Campaign, where his left arm was shattered at Malvern Hill. After recovery, he rejoined in the autumn and fought at Fredericksburg under General Burnside. Shortly thereafter, he contracted malaria. He was discharged at the end of December and convalesced back in Massachusetts.
Once recovered, he was appointed Captain of the 9th Massachusetts Light Battery by Massachusetts Governor John Andrew, arriving at Camp Berry to join the regiment on 28 February 1863.
Their first major engagement was the Battles of Gettysburg. Arriving on the second day of the battle, they were deployed to support the III Corps amidst Confederate artillery fire. They were surrounded by heavy infantry fighting - the III Corps in the Peach Orchard on their right and the V Corps standing against the assaults of Kershaw's South Carolina Brigade on their left. Eventually, both retreated, leaving the 9th Massachusetts Battery severely exposed.
Taking a position at Trostle Farm, Lt. Col. McGilvery famously ordered Bigelow to "remain where you are and hold your position at all hazards."
Bigelow and the green men of the 9th Massachusetts Battery earned fame in their solitary defense, expending over 3 tons of shot and shell, including 92 rounds of canister. They were eventually overrun, losing 4 artillery pieces, 27 men killed or wounded, and 80 horses. Captain Bigelow himself was shot twice and was carried to safety by the battery's bugler, who earned a Medal of Honor for his bravery. Three battlefield monuments dedicated to the 9th Massachusetts Battery were dedicated in 1885.
An exceedingly rare early wartime portrait of the Gettysburg hero.
[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [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]
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