American Historical Ephemera & Photography

Visible 5 x 6 7/8 in. pencil and watercolor portrait; 10 1/2 x 12 1/2 in. contemporary wood and gilt frame (some tarnish and spotting to gilding). 

Extensive inscription attached to the frame verso penned by Charles Standish Ensell (1868-1951), noting that the portrait was that of his mother’s eldest brother Austin Martin Standish, with notes (some incorrect) about his uncle’s service in the Confederate Army. Ensell served as Chaplain to British Forces in South Africa 1901-1902 and as a military chaplain from 1902-1919  (mentioned in dispatches during WWI). Ensell wrote the notes about his uncle’s service in the CS Army when he was serving as Rector of St. Anne’s Church in Lewes, Sussex, from 1923-1941. 

Austin M. Standish (1823-1865) was born in County Limerick, Ireland, and came to the United States in 1851. He was trained as a civil engineer and was chief engineer on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. In 1857, he married Mildred Parsons, sister of Mosby Monroe Parsons (1822-1865), a veteran of the Mexican War. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Parsons was appointed brigadier general and commander of the 6th Division, Missouri State Guards in the Confederate Army. Standish was commissioned as colonel and Division Adjutant.

After the battle of Wilson's Creek, Parsons reported that “My adjutant, Colonel Standish, was struck by a minie-ball but escaped death by the missile embedding itself in his watch…” (The smashed pocket watch which saved Standish’s life is now in the Missouri Historical Society. This portrait shows Standish wearing a watch chain in his vest). Standish was later badly wounded at the battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, and was ordered off the field by Parsons. General Parsons and his command were in San Antonio, Texas, as the war ended. Parsons, Standish, Aaron Conroy (a member of the Confederate Congress from Missouri), and several others headed south to Mexico where they joined the Imperialistas. On 17 August 1865, they were captured by a band of Juaristas in Nuevo Leon and executed.