Portraits featuring the “Jeff. Davis and the South!” placard are few in number. Only 29 have been documented over the past 35 years. That total has now increased by two—to 30 and 31—with the recent discovery of these ninth-plate ruby ambrotypes of a soldier and a civilian. The soldier image surfaced in Corinth, Miss., where all known examples are believed to have been produced. The plated front of his uniform coat resembles those worn by Mississippi troops. A pencil inscription inside the case, which may or may not be original to the image, appears to read G.O. Parker; however, this name has not been matched to a Mississippi soldier in Corinth between May 1861 and May 1862, the period when the images are thought to have been made. The civilian remains unidentified.
This soldier wears a leather waist belt studded with buttons and fitted with a rectangular eagle plate. The story behind this unique display is lost to time. He holds a .36-caliber Remington New Model Pocket Revolver.
Presented to his mother, Mary, on November 22, 1861, this portrait commemorates William Patton Halsted (1836–1925) just months after the war began. Born and raised in New York City, Halsted entered service in the days following the bombardment of Fort Sumter, joining the 7th New York State Militia for a three-month enlistment. Upon his return, he raised 100 men for the 1st United States Chasseurs, which mustered into service as Company D of the 65th New York Infantry. Halsted commanded his company during the Peninsula Campaign, earned a brevet to major for his conduct at the Battle of Malvern Hill, and left the regiment with a discharge in March 1863—before the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.
Dressed in a distinctive jacket, John Hudson Pettus (1841–1913) of Charlotte County, Va., posed for his portrait in the Richmond gallery of Charles R. Rees soon after enlisting in his home county’s Keysville Guards, which became Company K of the 23rd Virginia Infantry. The letters on his cap, difficult to read, likely relate to his company and regiment. Pettus completed his yearlong enlistment with sergeant’s stripes and a battle wound received at First Kernstown, the opening engagement of Stonewall Jackson’s 1862 Valley Campaign.
He went on to serve in the Charlotte Cavalry, which entered the service as Company B of the 14th Virginia Cavalry. Pettus and his fellow troopers took part in numerous actions, including Gettysburg, the Monocacy, and Appomattox.
This jaunty lieutenant colonel represents the blend of military service and social standing that characterized many Confederate officers. Robert Bogardus Snowden (1836–1909), was born in New York and raised in Nashville, where his family relocated during his youth. A contemporary described him as a “de jure” Tennessean. He received military training at the Western Military Institute in Kentucky and in 1858 became a charter member of Nashville’s Rock City Guards, a prewar militia company that helped prepare him for the conflict ahead.
Snowden began his war service as adjutant of the 1st Tennessee Infantry. The following year, Brig. Gen. Bushrod Johnson—his former instructor—selected him as assistant adjutant general. Later transferring to the 25th Tennessee Infantry, Snowden rose to lieutenant colonel and served with Johnson’s Brigade. His most notable action came at the Battle of Chickamauga, where he helped turn the flank of a Federal battery and ensured its capture. He remained with the army through the campaigns that ended at Petersburg…