Five gallant patriots who put aside their personal ambitions in order to defend the Union left behind an enduring record of their service—and an indelible image of the material culture that surrounded them as they accomplished that noble goal.
On the back of the mount of this albumen photograph is inscribed “Our Mess/Co. F. 44th Mass. Infantry/New Berne N.C/1862-63” and their names.
Front Row
Herbert Sleeper (1841-1874) sits on the left. The son of a former mayor of Roxbury, the 21-year-old law student survived the war only to die of a hemorrhage in his early thirties…