Confederate Civil War photograph West Virginia Drummer Boy CSA CDV
A baby faced young solider wearing a light colored sack coat and matching britches. He is studio posed standing next to a period Victorian era fringed chair. I'm positive that it is confederate. (it's lefty of rebels came out of West Virginia during the war). The lighter tone of the uniform coat and matching britches indicate it was homespun CSA butternut! (union uniform coats were generally blue). He is wearing typical civil war issue brogan shoes.. There is a major CREASE running midway / horizontal across the photograph that has flexed weakened the cardboard backing. The image has somewhat faded over the years. And there is some odd looking faint reddish streaks / smudge marks across the image. Very popular during the war.
A soldier could visit a portrait studio; have their photo taken in uniform. The photographer is J P Shafer. Unfortunately the name of the young solider could not be found. The back mark is from a well known civil war WV photograph studio. Morgantown was the site of a big confederate cavalry raid in 1863!
A contingent of Confederate cavalry arrived in Morgantown West Virginia. The raid was part of a larger campaign led by Brigadier Generals John D. "Grumble" Jones, now known as the Jones-Imboden Raid. The goal of their raids was to disrupt supplies, gather resources.
And RECRUIT more soldiers for the Confederacy! (perhaps this is the image of one of those recent recruits). The CS cavalry sabotage largely consisted of destroying bridges used by the local Railroad.
Imboden and Jones had a combined strength of more than 5,000 troops; Imboden and his 3,365 men headed toward Beverly, whereas Jones and his 2,100 troops moved toward Rowelsburg. A detachment of Jones' cavalry led by Colonel Asher Harmon continued north and arrived in Morgantown under a flag of truce. Morgantown had approximately 740 inhabitants, less than half of General Jones's full military strength. According to an exhibit in the Morgantown History Museum, Harmon and his men convinced the people of Morgantown to turn over their arms, and they occupied the town until General Jones arrived with the rest of his forces the next day.As the Confederate forces prepared to leave, they began to set fire to the bridge that crossed over the Monongahela River. The people of Morgantown begged the last company of Confederates to spare the bridge, and 19-year-old Lieutenant William Lyne Wilson was credited with extinguishing the fire. Don't pass it up.
All Civil war collectors will love it. Likely a youthful confederate solider posing in the local studio, for the only photograph taken in his short tragic life! But will be offered for sale very soon.