Image shows a bearded officer seated in a thoughtful pose. His right arm rests on the back of his chair while his right hand holds his head in a contemplative fashion. The subject wears a light colored overcoat open to reveal a dark frock coat underneath. The frock coat is also open giving us a glimpse of the dark military vest the subject wears under the frock coat. The matching dark trousers have a very thin light leg stripe telling us that the subject is an officer. On a tall podium next to the subjects head is his forage cap resting on top of his sash. The sash is a hint that the subject is an officer. The front of the forage cap has an infantry hunting horn insignia with numbers that cannot be made out. The image is clear but the contrast is a little light and grainy.

The paper image is coming loose from its mount and one corner is slightly dog-eared. The back of the mount has two horizontal slits cut in it but these do not touch the image on the other side. With the image is another slip of paper with matching slits. This extra piece of paper obviously separated itself from the back of the image. This has collector’s information on it in pencil which ID’s the subject as Captain Henry R. Sibley of the 29^th Massachusetts Infantry. This ID is confirmed by an on-line database.

Henry Robinson Sibley was born in Massachusetts in 1834. At the time he was commissioned Captain in Company H, 29^th Massachusetts he was 27 years old and living in Charlestown. He joined his regiment on January 1, 1862. The regiment was originally assigned to the 2^nd Corps Army of the Potomac. While Sibley was with the 29^th it saw action at Fair Oaks, Gaines Mill, Savages Station, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill and Antietam. In December of 1862 the regiment was transferred to the 9^th Corps. About this time, on January 13, 1863, Captain Sibley was discharged for disability.

On May 30^th of that same year he received a commission as Captain in the US Volunteers Commissary Department. He served in New Orleans and took part in the movements to Sabine Pass and the Red River Expedition. Later he served on the staff of Major General Emory in the Shenandoah Valley and the staffs of Torbett and Hancock. On March 13, 1865 Sibley received three brevet promotions to Major, Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel. He was mustered out on December 13, 1865.

After the war he returned to Charlestown where he was a member of the Abraham Lincoln Post #11 of the GAR and served as Commander of the Department of Massachusetts.

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