Great image of two soldiers standing side by side with one man's arm warped around his friends shoulder. Both men are named on the reverse. One man is identified as A. M. Parker and the other is Coleman H. Watts. It is not positive which is which.

The soldier on the left wears a dark forage cap with crossed sabers on the crown, a dark shell jacket with light trousers and knee-high boots. He wears gauntlets on his hands with are folded in front of him and his waist belt with rectangular eagle plate. The soldier on the right wears a forage cap covered with an oil cloth rain cover, a dark long commercial sack coat with matching dark trousers and knee-high boots. His is posed with one arm over his friends shoulder.

Image has excellent clarity and contrast with light surface dirt on the edges of the mount.

Reverse has no photographer's imprint. Top has period ink inscription that reads "A. M. PARKER" and "COLEMAN H. WATTS."

Alexander MacDonald Parker was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on September 25, 1843. He enlisted as a Private in the Anderson Company of Pennsylvania Independent Cavalry on November 30, 1861 and upon the expansion of the Company into a full regiment he was transferred into the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry on October 10, 1862 and the same day he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. He resigned on February 27, 1863. He enlisted again on January 4, 1864 as 1st Sergeant of Company M, 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry and was commissioned a 1st Lieutenant on December 1, 1864 before being mustered out on August 23, 1865. He committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at Carlisle on December 4, 1865 at the age of 22. He is buried in Carlisle's Old Graveyard.

Coleman H. Watts first enlisted as a Private in the Anderson Company of Pennsylvania Independent Cavalry on November 30, 1861. He was mustered out at Murfreesboro, Tennessee on March 26, 1863. He next served as a Sergeant in Company M, 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry beginning on January 4, 1864. He was promoted to Sergeant Major on April 7, 1864. Watts remained with the 7th until April of 1865 when he was transferred to the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry. He was finally mustered out on May 28, 1865. He died in Chicago in early February of 1896.

Since both men are privates in this image it must have been taken when they were both members of the Anderson Cavalry.

Great image.  [ad]

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