The General is posed in front of a balustrade and a painted pastoral scene with his arms folded across his chest. He wears a dark double-breasted frock coat with a black felt collar and brush epaulettes. At his waist is a sash and waist belt with a circular interlocking plate. Attached to the belt is a sword with sword knot and on the General’s hands he wears gauntlets.

Image is clean and clear and has had shadowing and some details enhanced by the photographer. Bottom of the mount is marked “MAJ. GEN. CURTIS.”

Reverse has EA in a wreath for the E. ANTHONY COMPANY.

Samuel Ryan Curtis was born February 3, 1805 near Champlain, New York. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1831 and was sent to Fort Gibson in Indian Territory where he served for one year before resigning from the army on June 30, 1832.  He went to Ohio, and became a civil engineer until the outbreak of the Mexican War.  Curtis accepted the colonelcy of the 2nd Ohio Volunteers, and led the unit during the war within the army of General Zachary Taylor.  After the war, he moved to Keokuk, Iowa, and was elected to Congress in 1856 and served three terms.

Once the Civil War began, Curtis became the colonel of the 2nd Iowa, but was quickly promoted to brigadier general of volunteers on May 17, 1861, forcing him to resign from Congress.  He received command of the Army of the Southwest, which he led to victory over Confederate forces in March of 1862 at the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas.  For his achievement, he was promoted to major general.  After receiving his promotion, Curtis moved his army further into Arkansas and captured the city of Helena in July.  In September of 1862, he was given command of the Department of Missouri; however, President Abraham Lincoln removed Curtis after Curtis stated abolitionist remarks, offending the governor of Missouri, William Gamble.  Curtis briefly commanded the Department of Kansas until 1864, when he returned to Missouri.  While in Missouri, Curtis helped stop a Confederate invasion of the state by General Sterling Price at the Battle of Westport.  After the battle, he was given command of the Department of the Northwest, and held the position until the end of the war.

In late 1865, he returned to Iowa where he was involved with the Union Pacific Railroad until his death the following year in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery, in Keokuk.  [ad]

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