American Historical Ephemera & Photography

Shoulder-length portrait of Wesley Merritt, period identification to verso (small chip to lower left corner of print, few spots; some soiling, edge and corner wear to mount). -- Seated view of Merritt with a mustachioed officer standing at his side, inked identification to verso and faint penciled notation (light edge and corner wear to mount). -- Together, 2 CDVs, 2 1/8 x 3 5/8 in., on cardstock mounts. Each with Brady's Washington, DC, imprint on mount recto and verso. 

Wesley Merritt (1834-1910) graduated from the US Military Academy in 1860 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 2nd US Dragoons, assigned to service in Utah. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, he was recalled to Washington, DC. Early accomplishments include commanding the reserve cavalry during General George Stoneman’s raid on Chancellorsville, leading the Reserve Brigade at Gettysburg under John Buford, and famously dueling with Rooney Lee, Robert E. Lee's middle son. Merritt was promoted to brigadier general and assumed command of the 1st Division of the Cavalry Corps, participating in the Overland Campaign of 1864. That fall, he was transferred to the Shenandoah Valley to assist General Philip Sheridan in his efforts to repress Confederate forces led by Jubal Early. After the Civil War, Merritt remained in the military, serving in the Late Indian Wars and the Spanish-American War. He was appointed military governor of the Philippines for nearly two years before retiring from the army in 1900.