Item No. 7634221

A ninth plate tintype portrait featuring a Union soldier. He wears the five-button sack coat often seen on Wisconsin soldiers. Atop his head is a forage cap with an oil cloth cover. He has a pair of weapons tucked into his belt—a Sheffield-style knife and a pepperbox pistol. The photography studio added gilt to the belt buckle, knife handle, collar, and buttons. His trousers are tinted blue, although they are not visible under the mat. The image is housed in a Union case not original to the tintype, featuring the patriotic “Constitution and the Laws” motif. It has some edge damage to the back panel. The identity of the soldier is unknown, but the image was part of an archive of other Wisconsin images relating to Sergeant Henry Lye of the Wisconsin company (G) of the 1st U.S. Sharpshooters.