American Historical Ephemera & Photography, Featuring Property from the James Milgram, M.D., Collection of Broadsides, Ephemeral Americana & Historical Documents

2 1/4 x 3 1/2 in. CDV-sized ruby ambrotype (surface scratches, area of loss upper left); housed with only brass mat and frame (some tarnish). With card reading "Captain Lyman Sawyer Orland Maine." The subject stands in uniform wearing a shell jacket and forage cap, full sword rig, and carbine sling. His unsheathed Model 1840 saber rests upon his shoulder while he holds a civilian pocket pistol with his other. The carbine sling and M1840 cavalry saber indicate that the subject was a cavalryman, which calls the accompanying identification into question, as Sawyer had service in the infantry and heavy artillery. 

Lyman A. Sawyer or Orland, ME, enlisted on 10 August 1863 as a private and drafted into Company A of the 3rd Maine Infantry. He later transferred into Company G of the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery and to the 17th Maine Infantry (conflicting dates are reported in HDS).

The 3rd Maine Infantry saw heavy action in the Eastern Theater during its three years of service including First and Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Cold Harbor. At the time of re-enlistment, those veterans were transferred into the 17th Maine Infantry, including the subject here. The 17th, which was also bloodied at the major battles of the early war, also saw action in the Siege of Petersburg and the Appomattox Campaign. The 1st Maine Heavy Artillery suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, and also was a major participant of the Siege of Petersburg, suffering more casualties than any other Union regiment in a single day of combat in an ill-fated charge. All told, the regiment suffered one of the highest casualty rates with 423 killed and 260 died of disease.