This pair of cabinet cards show post-war images of Colonel Hilary Herbert of the 8^th Alabama Infantry and Colonel Thomas H. Herndon of the 36^th Alabama Infantry.

The first card shows Colonel Hilary A. Herbert of the 8^th Alabama in profile. He is wearing a dark civilian suit and white shirt. The image was taken by C. M. Bell in Washington, D.C. while Herbert was serving in Congress. A period ink inscription above the photographers imprint reads “HILARY HERBERT.” The image is clear with good contrast but there is some heavy surface dirt and a stain from a rusted paperclip in the upper left corner. None of this really affects the image. Reverse is blank.

Hilary A. Herbert was born in Laurens County, South Carolina on March 13, 1834. He moved with his parents to Alabama in 1846. He attended both the University of Alabama and the University of Virginia, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1857. The beginning of the Civil War found Herbert practicing law in Greenville, Alabama. He enlisted as a Captain in the “Greenville Guards” Company F, 8^th Alabama on June 10, 1861. He served with his regiment through all the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia beginning with the battle of Williamsburg in May of 1862. He rose through the ranks and served as Major, Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel and was wounded in the battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864. He resumed his legal practice in 1872 and was elected to Congress in 1877. He served until 1893 when he became Secretary of the Navy under President Cleveland, an office he held until 1897. He died in Tampa Florida on March 5, 1919 and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Montgomery, Alabama.

The second card in the group depicts Thomas H. Herndon of the 36^th Alabama. The view is a bust image of Herndon in a dark civilian suit with white shirt and dark tie. The image has good contrast and is in good condition. The photographer is Rice of Washington, D.C. The reverse of the image is signed in ink “YOUR TRUE FRIEND, THS. H. HERNDON.”

Thomas H. Herndon was born in Erie, Alabama on July 1, 1828. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1847 and attended law school at Harvard in 1848. He was admitted to the bar 1849. He opened a law practice in Eutaw, Alabama and edited the Eutaw Democrat starting in 1850. He moved to Mobile in 1853 and continued practicing law and was elected a state representative in 1857. During the war Herndon was commissioned Major of the 36^th Alabama Infantry which was assigned to the Army of Tennessee. During his service Herndon was wounded twice and rose to the rank of Colonel. After the war he returned to Mobile where he again practiced law. He served in both the state government and in Congress. He died in Mobile on March 28, 1883 and is interred there in Magnolia Cemetery.

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