Early images of the Stars and Stripes from the Jack and Beverly Wilgus Collection.
By Beverly Wilgus
The earliest flag image in our collection is this ambrotype of a young Civil War soldier standing before a painted military backdrop of tents and an American flag. By necessity, it dates from the years of the conflict, between 1861 and 1864. He wears an enlisted man’s trousers, a blue-tinted cape coat, and a regulation enlisted man’s dress Hardee hat bearing the insignia “H” and “81” inside a brass infantry bugle. Five states had an 81st Infantry: Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. This fierce and determined Union soldier joined up from one of them. This albumen stereoview card is from the 1871 “Kitty At Play” series by John P. Soule of Boston.
"Your Dying Charlotte" 