6 3/4 x 8 3/4 in. albumen photograph on 9 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. cardstock mount. Gardner's imprint beneath image on mount recto. Verso bears two 5-cent revenue stamps with cancel marks for Gardner dated 1865.

Hastings, of Quincy, Michigan, enlisted in the 1st Michigan Infantry in April, 1861, and was commissioned as a First Lt. of Company M, 5th Michigan Cavalry in August of 1862. He rose steadily through the ranks and was commissioned Colonel of the 5th in December, 1864. Though undated, this image was probably taken shortly after his commission, and shows him seated in a private purchase frock coat sporting his "birds" on wide, velvet lapels.

Hastings received the Medal of Honor in 1897 for his actions at Newby's Crossroads, Virginia in July 1863, where he is credited with saving artillery pieces from capture by attacking Confederate forces.