Portrait of Captain John H. Gresham 
1907
oil on canvas
signed and dated Lee Lufkin Kaula / 1907, lower left
23 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches.

John Heslop Gresham (1835-1905), depicted here in his Grand Army of the Republic uniform, attained the rank of captain in the 56th Regiment of the New York Infantry National Guard, Company A. The regiment was originally mustered in for 30 days of service on June 18, 1863, under the command Colonel John Q. Adams. During this time, Gresham served as a sergeant and left the state with his regiment for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, attached to the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, Department of the Susquehanna. After seeing action in a skirmish
near Oyster Point, Pennsylvania on June 29th, the regiment was mustered out of United States service in Brooklyn by late July.

The following year, Gresham's regiment was mustered into service once more for an additional 100 days on August 2, 1864, in Elmira, New York. This time, the regiment was tasked with duties in Elmira, likely at the Elmira Prison, originally a barracks for Camp Rathbun that was later converted to a prison camp in the summer of 1864. Elmira Prison housed the greatest number of Confederate POWs, exceeding its capacity by threefold.

After the war, Gresham wed Martha Boorum on May 22, 1869. The couple settled in Brooklyn, where Gresham worked at a stationary store, and they had three children together.