Portrait of a Young Union Army Soldier

United States, N.d.. Overpainted albumen photograph measuring approximately 6 ¾ x 8 ½ inches, mounted on heavy cardstock. Slight marginal wear; excellent to Near Fine.. An overpainted albumen photograph portrait of an unknown Union Army soldier who appears to be quite young, dressed in Union fatigues. Though boys under 18 were not supposed to be able to enlist, many did so anyway, with some estimating that around 200,000 underage boys joined the Union Army all told.[1] Despite General Order 73, which ordered that “no discharges will be granted to volunteers [...] on the grounds of minority”, so many families tried to get their underaged sons back from the Army that the New York Times called it an “epidemic”[2]. Nonetheless, the brave child drummer boy or soldier became an iconic image of the Union cause.[1]

[1] Frances M. Clarke and Rebecca Jo Plante, “Why the Union Army Had So Many Boy Soldiers,” Smithsonian Magazine, January 17, 2023, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-the-union-army-had-so-many-boy-soldiers-180981458/.
[2] “The Plea of Infancy an Epidemic,” The New York Times, August 27, 1861, 3.