[CIVIL WAR] Rhode Island's Pleated Blouse: Early 1861 Bull Run Veteran, CDV of Private William Chace

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Rick Carlile Collection of Civil War Photogra...

By Fleischer's Auctions

Jun 20, 2026

Set Reminder 2026-06-20 09:00:00 2026-06-20 09:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Rick Carlile Collection of Civil War Photography https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/fleischers-auctions/rick-carlile-collection-of-civil-war-photography-22699
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

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• Lot Description

  Full-length standing studio portrait albumen CDV. Uncredited Washington, D.C. area field artist, [ca. May 1861]. Period ink inscription to lower front mount reads: “Wm Chace.” Detailed collector research to mount verso.

   

  This exceptional CDV features a strikingly sharp portrait of Private William Chace, a member of the 1st Rhode Island Detached Militia. The image was captured by an uncredited artist in the Washington, D.C. area, possibly Brady or Whitehurst. Chace is shown in full field rig, wearing the Rhode Island signature early-war pleated flannel blouse, a wide leather waist belt with a visible buckle plate, light-colored trousers, and a canvas haversack slung across his shoulder. He stands with his left hand holding his regulation slouch hat with its visible regimental insignia down at his side, while his right hand firmly rests on the muzzle of his rifle-musket.

   

  Chace was among the initial wave of Ocean State volunteers who answered the call to arms following the fall of Fort Sumter, mustering into Company D on 2 May 1861. He moved south with the regiment under the command of Colonel Ambrose Burnside, helping establish Camp Sprague outside the nation's capital. On 21 July 1861, Chace and his comrades were thrown into the thick of the opening infantry clashes at the First Battle of Bull Run. Tasked with anchoring the federal flanking movement on Matthews Hill, the regiment engaged in a desperate firefight against incoming Confederate reinforcements.

   

  Chace survived his first major engagement and successfully withdrew with the remnants of his company back to the defenses of Washington. Having fulfilled their immediate ninety-day term of enlistment during the critical opening crisis of the Union war effort, Chace and the rest of the 1st Rhode Island returned home to New England. HDS indicates he was discharged for disability on 7/2/1861, though the notation on verso indicates that he was mustered out of the service on 2 August 1861. This portrait, with its crisp, contemporary front identification and textbook example of a unique local uniform represents a premier piece of early-war volunteer iconography.

   

  [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]

  Condition

  Request Condition Report

  Very good. The image retains excellent clarity, with no significant wear. The top edge was trimmed to fit a period album. 

• Provenance

  Rick Carlile collection.

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