The soldier seated in this cased ninth-plate tintype is unidentified, but the particular configuration of his jacket shows him to be a member of the 15^th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Known as the Anderson Cavalry, the regiment wore a cavalry jacket trimmed with two narrow rows of orange lace (the color of the old dragoon regiments) on the front and cuffs. Our subject shows that particular jacket and holds a cavalry saber across his lap, from which a saber knot hangs down to his side, and prominently displays a Remington army revolver across his chest. The sword hilt and his buttons have been delicately gilded. The image is clear and detailed.

The origins of the regiment lay in the Anderson Troop, a selectively recruited independent troop of Pennsylvania cavalry who were to serve as headquarters and escort troops for General Robert Anderson, of Sumter fame, in Kentucky. They ended up performing scouting duty as well as headquarters duty for Generals Buell and Rosecrans. Some of their officers raised the 15^th Pennsylvania Cavalry with the same notions of elite service in late 1862, but they did their share of fighting. Even before they were fully organized and transferred west, some 250 of them found themselves thrown into scouts and skirmishes during the Antietam Campaign. In the west a portion of the regiment, serving in Stanley’s cavalry division, took part in the Stones River Campaign, losing 11 killed, including two of their majors, 50 wounded and 11 missing in a fierce little fight at Wilkinson’s Crossroads.

The regiment spent the rest of the war in the Department of the Cumberland, three companies assigned to headquarters and escort duty for Rosecrans and Thomas. The remainder of the regiment performed scouting duties, and took part in cavalry raids and skirmishes in the Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville campaigns. Toward the end of the war the regiment was part of Stoneman’s raid into North Carolina and Virginia, being credited with, among other things, the capture of Braxton Bragg and his staff. During their service they lost 3 officers and 22 men killed or mortally wounded, and many more wounded who recovered.

This is a nice armed image of a trooper in an active cavalry regiment in a distinctive uniform. The case is a full leatherette case with intact hinge and spring latch button.  [SR]

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