Image shows an officer seated by a table. He wears a dark commercially manufactured sack coat with a darker velvet collar. Attached to each of the collar points is a single Lieutenant-Colonel’s oak leaf. The subject also wears dark trousers with the thin officer’s leg stripe.

The image is clear with good contrast but does have a light stain along the bottom left edge. This stain does not touch the subject. There is some light surface dirt throughout the image area but nothing that really detracts.

The reverse has a small applied paper label that reads “PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY/A. H. MESSINGER/U. S. GEN. HOSPITAL, DIV. 1,/ANNAPOLIS, MD.” Label is slightly dog-eared at lower right corner. Below the label is a period pencil inscription that reads “DR. VANDERKLIEFT/SURGEON IN CHARGE/ OFFICER’S HOSPITAL/ANNAPOL. MD.” The dark stain mentioned above touches the edges of this inscription.

Bernard Albert Vanderkieft was born in Holland. When he came to the United States and where he was trained as a Physician is not known.

On November 6, 1861 the 36 year old Dr. was commissioned Assistant Surgeon of the 53^rd New York Infantry. The regiment was assigned Burnside’s North Carolina Expedition where it saw service on Roanoke Island. In March of 1862 the regiment was discontinued. Dr. Vanderkieft was mustered out on March 12, 1862.

After a few months at home the Dr. was commissioned Surgeon of the 102^nd New York Infantry. The regiment was assigned to the 2^nd Corps of the Army of the Potomac until September of 1862 when it was transferred to the 12^th Corps. The regiment saw action at Cedar Mountain and Antietam before Dr. Vanderkieft was commissioned as a surgeon of the US Volunteers Medical Staff and assigned to the Officer’s Hospital in Annapolis, Maryland where he spent the rest of the war. He was mustered out on November 15, 1865.

After the war he returned to New York State. He died in Rochester, on September 8, 1866.

Much more information on the good Dr. is available at this link.

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