African Americana

Partly printed form, 8 x 10 in., on letterhead of the Adjutant General's Office. Washington, D.C. 25 March 1863. Assistant Adjutant General writes to Mr. William Cartwright of East Liverpool, Ohio, confirming the past service of his son John Cartwright in the 5th Regiment of Infantry, with a discharge date of 11 December 1862 at Alburquerque, New Mexico.  Accompanied by a letter addressed to Major John Cartwright (1830-1864), from Captain G.W. Gibbs, Commanding Co. F, 18th Battallion Ohio Volunteer Militia. Salem [Ohio]. 18 August 1863. Gibbs informs Cartwright that uniforms are being ordered for officers in the battalion and he will take measurements and order on behalf of Cartwright.

Upon return from his 5 years enlistment which ended in 1862, John Cartwright appears to have served in the 18th Battallion, Ohio Volunteer Militia (State Guards) prior to his enlistment as a captain on 5/16/1864 with Co. A, 27th Infantry, USCT. The 27th USCT was the second Black regiment organized in Ohio and saw action during the Overland Campaign. Cartwright was killed on 7/30/1864 at the Battle of Crater, an engagement in which the United States Colored Troops suffered heavy losses.

[With:] A letter from Corporal Charles Robinson, Co. K, MA 42nd Infantry regiment. Addressed to his wife Mary Robinson. New Orleans, LA. [n.d.] ca 1862-1863. Robinson describes changes to non-commissioned officers in his regiment, noting that "orderly seargent J.T. (?) Hill & sergeant Wm. H. Shepperd have been promoted to 1st & 2nd Lieuts in a Regiment of colored soldiers that is being reconstituted in Baton Rouge...." -- A cover addressed to Captain Levi I. Hawes, 74th Regt. USCT, stationed at Ship Island, Mississippi. Levi Hawes of Bangor, Maine, served nearly the entirety of the war, including with the 91st USCT Infantry regiment and the 74th USCT Infantry.

[Also with:] A letter from Jacob Dormer, Co. E, US Army 1st Cavalry to his sister. Camp Near Culpupper, VA. 10 January 1864. Dormer writes to his sister about his work driving a team and the bounty should he reenlist.  Acompanied by a CDV standing portrait of Dormer with the backmark of African American photographer James Presley Ball (1825-1904). Cincinnati, OH: J.P. Ball, n.d. 

J.P. Ball was one of the most renowned African American photographers at one point owning the largest photographic gallery west of the Appalachians. When visiting White Sulphur Springs, Virginia in 1845 he met John B. Bailey, an African American Daguerreotypist from Boston where he acquired the passion and skill of photography. He opened a studio in Cincinnati later that year, and though it was unsuccessful, he continued his art with studios in Pittsburgh and Richmond and traveled as an itinerant Daguerreotypist. In 1849, he reopened a studio in Cincinnati. He hired his younger brother Thomas Ball to work as an operator, and in 1852 hired his future brother-in-law Alexander Thomas to work with him. By 1857, their gallery was one of the grandest in the United States attracting notables including Frederick Douglass. In 1887 Ball was chosen as the official photographer of a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation held in Minneapolis-St. Paul. In 1888, he moved to Helena, Montana with his son where he operated a studio for several years before moving again in 1892 to Seattle.

Together, 6 items, all in generally good condition with expected age and wear.