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AED[CIVIL WAR] The Fighting Frontiersman: Spectacular Signed CDV of Capt. Black Hawk Putnam, 1st Maine Cavalry, WIA
![[CIVIL WAR] The Fighting Frontiersman: Spectacular Signed CDV of Capt. Black Hawk Putnam, 1st Maine Cavalry, WIA](https://s1.img.bidsquare.com/item/xl/3703/37031973.jpeg?t=1WpKEN)
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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
An original albumen carte-de-visite full-length studio portrait of an officer standing with his cavalry saber, wearing a double-breasted frock coat, gauntlets, and an officer's sash. His forage cap, adorned with crossed-sabers cavalry insignia, rests on a cloth-covered table beside him. The lower front margin features a striking, stylized period ink inscription identifying the subject: "Black Hawk Putnam / Co E 1st Maine Cavalry."
The reverse features a blank mount backdrop bearing extensive research and historical notations in both blue ink and pencil. The entries read, in part: "Wd'd [Wounded] Middletown, VA 5-24-62 / Middletown Disaster / BLACK HAWK PUTNAM / CO. E 1ST. / MAINE CAV."
This card carries one of the most visually unforgettable names in the entire Union volunteer service, capturing Captain Black Hawk Putnam (1838–1913) of Houlton, Maine. Named after the historic Native American war chief, Putnam raised a detachment of frontier horsemen at the outbreak of the rebellion, which was officially mustered into the service as Company E of the celebrated 1st Maine Volunteer Cavalry. The 1st Maine Cavalry went on to become one of the most legendary and heavily engaged mounted units in the entire Union army, sustaining the highest number of battlefield killed and mortally wounded of any federal cavalry regiment during the Civil War.
The poignant notations on the reverse document Putnam's trial by fire during Major General Nathaniel P. Banks's 1862 retreat down the Shenandoah Valley. On 24 May 1862, near Middletown, Virginia, Banks's retreating column was suddenly struck and violently cut in two by Stonewall Jackson's hard-charging Confederate vanguard. In what became universally known to the shocked survivors as the Middletown Disaster, the 1st Maine Cavalry was ordered to charge directly into the chaotic bottleneck to buy time for the infantry trains.
During the desperate, close-quarters melee, Company E was completely cut off, surrounded, and subjected to a blistering crossfire. Captain Putnam fought tenaciously at the head of his frontier troopers until he was severely wounded in action. Despite his wounds, Putnam managed to evade capture, though a massive percentage of his company was killed, wounded, or captured on the field. After recovering from his severe wounds, Putnam returned to command his company, surviving the regiment's later grueling campaigns before being honorably discharged in 1864. Following the war, he returned to Aroostook County, where he became a prominent merchant and civic leader.
[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
Very good. The albumen print exhibits sharp definition and a pleasing, rich sepia tone. The mount remains structurally sound with untrimmed corners, showing only minimal, uniform age-toning and light edge wear.
- Provenance
Rick Carlile collection.
- Shipping Info
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