American Historical Ephemera & Photography

Standing portrait of a young boy identified as Robert A. Colt. Pittsfield, MA: R.H. Dewey, [1862]. Imprint to verso. Inscription dated 1862 identifies the subject. -- And 6 others. Together, 7 albumen CDVs on cardstock mounts, condition generally good to very good, 3 with clipped corners. . Photographer imprints include: Albion, NY: George P. Hopkins; New York: Hallett; New York: Vaughan's Gallery; Po'Keepsie, NY: C. Gullmann; N.p." J.H. Simkins.

An early war array of seven different young boys captivated by the prevailing martial spirit in the North by dressing in military uniforms. The youngsters are literally playing army for the camera. The advent of the Civil War ignited a palpable sense of patriotism among the population with boys seeking to emulate their older brothers and fathers now in uniform and marching to Bull Run. The lads owed their unique military costume to their well-to-do urban parents able to afford the expense of tailoring the necessary trifles recorded by these photographs. The phenomenon was short-lived and largely concentrated in the larger cities and towns along the east coast. It would soon dissipate as the clash of arms brought casualties that displaced the fervent patriotic sentiment with an uglier reality of a long war. Emphatically, these children are not regimental drummer boys or even cadets, a common but false description rooted in fantasy. The military costumes run the gamut from New York militia grey to army blue interspersed with some Zouave stylings.