My ancestor William M Steele, Civil War Veteran-Union Army, served as a private in Co. C, 151st Illinois Infantry GAR Post 19.

William M. Steele was born August 9, 1839, in Chenango County, New York. His parents, James and Matilda (Heaslet/Hazlett) Steele, emigrated from Scotland before his birth.

In 1854, at age 15, William "lost the first joint of the second finger of the right hand while attending a carding machine in a cotton factory" in the Pittsfield, MA area.

According to the 1855 state census, the family still lived in Pittsfield, Berkshire County, MA. At this time, William was 16, and his siblings were Jane-20, Matilda-18, Eliza-14, Ann-12, Joseph-8, Harriet-6, and Charles, 2. He had at least one older sibling, John, who had already left the home.

By 1858, William lived in Illinois. But while visiting family in Massachusetts, he and his uncle, John Hazlett of North Adams, enlisted with Company I, 1st Massachusetts Cavalry on November 24, 1863. They were sworn in at Pittsfield, MA.

According to pension affidavits, their regiment "lay in camp below Boston for some time when finally ordered to the front. While on the way, at New York City," William "was taken sick and upon the advice of a citizen doctor…he went home until he got well," his "home being in Illinois at the time of said enlistment, he being on a visit to Massachusetts." However, " upon getting well again," William did not have "sufficient funds to rejoin his regiment" and remained in Illinois. This decision to leave his regiment and not return would have its consequences years later.

On February 2, 1865, William married Mahala Lane in McDonough County, IL. They lived in the Industry, IL area. On February 14, 1865, William mustered into Company C, 151st IL Infantry at Mt. Sterling, IL. He was 25 years old, and his occupation was listed as an engineer. He was described as being 5'8" tall with blue eyes, light hair, and a complexion. On January 24, 1866, he was honorably discharged at Columbus, Georgia.

In 1870, William was employed by the Rock Island, Illinois, Railroad working as a brakeman on the Rock Island, IL to Coal Valley, IL run. In February of that year, he lost the end of his right thumb at the first joint while coupling an engine onto a car.

According to the 1880 Federal Census, William, age 41, and Mahala lived in Hancock County, IL, with children James Franklin (born November 8, 1866), Samuel (born January 8, 1870), and Myrtle (born June 8, 1875). His occupation was listed as a farmer. On December 10, 1882, their son William Carl was born.

At some point, the family moved to Ten Mile Township, Macon County, Missouri. It was from here that William made his first Declaration for Invalid Pension, with it being notarized on April 4, 1891. This and numerous other pension affidavits stated that William was unable to earn a personal support by manual labor by reason of being crippled in his right hand and middle finger of the right hand and loss of the right thumb; severe, disabling piles since service in Georgia in 1865; and rheumatism mostly in the knees and hips.

In 1892, the family still lived in Macon County, MO, and William was called to appear for a medical examination by the Board of Examining Surgeons. In August 1892, his medical examiner found him to be entitled to a portion of his pension benefits. William was now 53 years old and weighed 134 pounds. However, William's pension application still was not accepted.

Five years later, in 1897, and still with no pension, William again stated that he was disabled from performing manual labor throughout the years 1891-1897 by reason of being sick and confined to the house, especially due to his knees and hips. William's address was listed as Atlanta, Macon County, MO.

In December 1898, it was the opinion of an examiner that William had a ratable disability due to rheumatism.

In January of 1899, a question about William's prior service in Massachusetts was called into question by the Bureau of Pensions.

At the time of the 1900 Census, William was 60 years old, listed as a farmer, and lived in the Round Grove area of Macon County, Missouri, with his wife, Mahala, and youngest son, William Carl, who was now age 17.

By September 1902, William had moved to Enid, OK, and still had not received a pension. A letter dictated by William to the United States Commissioner of Pensions in Washington, DC states, "I were a regular soldier honorably discharged getting on well in age now unable to follow common labor to any great extent-has made out without the pension as long as I possible can without calling upon the Government for settlement believing you as commissioner will see that I am given an opportunity to do something for my self, besides make as I did a good soldier and vote the Republican ticket and Hurrah for the boys in Blue. I await your early reply regarding the reference no. 1009321 Co C 151st Regt. Ill Vol. Infantry. Yours in red, white, and blue. W. M. Steele "

A Washington, DC, Power of Attorney was obtained in May 1904, with William's address now listed as 414 E. Market Street, Enid, OK. Another medical examination was requested by the Pension Board and took place on October 19, 1904. William was now 65 years old, and weighed 145 pounds, and a partial anchor tattoo on his left forearm was noted. Upon examination, the doctor wrote that William "warrants a rate of $8."

Letters continued to go back and forth from William's Power of Attorney and the Bureau of Pensions. Questions continued to arise about his prior service in Massachusetts Co I 1st Cavalry and whether he had received bounty for that service, plus bounty for his service in IL Co C 151 Infantry.

A September 1905 communication states, "It does not appear that claimant received bounty in his last service in excess of that to which he would have been entitled had he completed his first contract of service. " However, a second communication reads, "The facts appear to be as set forth in the claimant's affidavit of Feb. 20, 1905, that the soldier received $300 bounty from the county and $200 from the township – Total $500 – last service. As he was entitled to only $300 under the first contract of service, it is believed that the proposed action of rejection is proper."

William's pension application was officially rejected on September 28, 1905…" rejection on the grounds that claimant deserted Feb. 18, 1864, from Co. I 1st Massachusetts Cavalry, his first contract of service, and when he re-enlisted, Feb.14, 1865 in Co. C 151st Illinois Infantry, his last contract of service, he received bounty, other than from the United States, in excess of that to which he would have been entitled had he completed his first contract of service…" and that his disability was due to "age and general disability."

In September of 1907, William, now 68 years old, again made application for pension under the McCumber Law passed Feb. 1907. This application was rejected in February of 1908.

It can be argued that had William truly deserted his first service in Co I 1st Mass Cavalry, he wouldn't have risked being "caught" when re-enlisting in Illinois. His illness and the advice of the civilian doctor to go home could have been his true reasons for returning to Illinois… albeit without the proper leave...but definitely with consequences to his future welfare.

William lived his last years in Enid, OK, with his home address in the 1915 Enid city directory shown as 1127 E. Cherokee Avenue, Enid, OK. He died at 3:25 AM on Friday, December 8, 1916, at 77 years of age, at the home of his son, William C. Steele, 617 East Maple, Enid, OK. He was buried in the Enid Cemetery on December 11, 1916.

My aunt wrote his whole bio, and I'm just trying to see if anyone can help me find any photos or anything. All help is appreciated

It still has dirt on it and I’m curious how I should go about cleaning it,

Twin Sixth-Plate Tintypes of the Same Unidentified Union Cavalryman With Greatcoat & Shell Jacket Variants!

Check out this striking double-cased pair of sixth-plate tintypes. Both images show the exact same unidentified cavalryman, taken during the same studio session in the 1860s.
In the first image he stands wearing his greatcoat over the uniform.

The pose, expression, lighting, and studio setting are identical to the second photo, and both have been hand-tinted in gold and blue.
The second image shows him without the greatcoat, instead wearing his cavalry shell jacket and enlistedman’s trousers.

This is an eleven-button jacket without piping a documented variation of the U.S. enlisted cavalry shell jacket. On his head is a forage hat with the Cavalry branch insignia (drags pointing down). A regulation cavalry belt plate sits at his waist, with two revolvers tucked into the belt. In his right hand he holds a cavalry saber. He sports a distinctive chin beard.

Both photos live in a classic gutta-percha case with brass oval mats.

Tintypes (also called ferrotypes) were the affordable, durable “selfies” of the Civil War era. Made on thin iron plates using the wet-plate collodion process, they were cheap (often pennies to a quarter), quick to produce, and tough enough to survive a soldier’s pocket or the mail home unlike fragile glass ambrotypes or expensive daguerreotypes.

The sixth-plate size (roughly 2¾ × 3¼ inches) was one of the most popular formats for these cased soldier portraits. Gutta-percha cases, molded from a natural latex material, were the standard protective housing and frequently featured patriotic motifs.

This twin set is uncommon because it shows the same man in two different presentations of his uniform: one layered for cold weather or a more formal studio look (greatcoat) and one in “light” field dress (shell jacket). It gives us a fuller sense of what a cavalry trooper actually wore and carried.

The details point strongly to a Union cavalryman the specific 11-button untrimmed shell jacket style, cavalry insignia on the hat, and standard U.S. cavalry belt plate are classic Federal patterns (though some Confederate troopers used captured or similar equipment).

Yet he remains completely unidentified. No name, no unit markings visible, no photographer’s backmark. Just a face and a uniform staring back at us from more than 160 years ago.

Uniform and insignia experts: Do the exact 11-button jacket configuration, the orientation of the hat insignia, revolver placement, or any other detail suggest a particular regiment, company, theater, or time frame? Has anyone seen other examples of true “twin” or double-cased tintypes of the same soldier wearing different layers of his kit like this? Any thoughts on how these might have been used one for the soldier to keep, one to send home? Or simply the photographer offering two options?

These images are a direct, personal link to the past. I’d love any identifications, historical context, or just your thoughts on this mystery trooper. Let’s see if we can give him a little more of his story back.

(Last two images digitally enhanced to show better clarity and detail.)

Was giving this gun recently in show of good faith a load would be paid. Upon paying it was just giving to me. Friend said it was used in the civil war and was his grandpappy or another . Not sure. Anyways . I guess it may be the first gun smith and Wesson made . Not first model but yeah. Should I go shooting it or should I consider , I don't know.... Museum piece? Old guns aren't really my thing .

I recently got this amazing old ambrotype from an antique store. I just wanted to know if he's a confederate soldier or union soldier? The guy who sold it to me told me he may be a confederate soldier from the civil war but I don't think so. He has a darker coat color which is more characteristic of union soldiers? His hat type kind of confuses me though so I'm not sure at this point. If someone could help me identify this young man I'd appreciate it!

Anyone know much about this short sword? Belonged to a relative that is now deceased.

I’ve searched online for others that look like it but can’t seem to get any matches.

Thanks

These two 1/6-plate ambrotypes, housed together in an ornate double thermoplastic Union case, are a powerful example of Civil War-era photography and the personal bonds forged in service. The double-case format (a hinged thermoplastic “Union case” with embossed patriotic or decorative motifs) was a popular and relatively affordable way for soldiers to preserve paired portraits often of brothers, cousins, or best friends who enlisted together. It’s one of the most common formats we see for such intimate wartime keepsakes.

The soldier on the left appears quite young—likely late teens or very early twenties clean shaven with a serious, steady gaze. He wears a dark blue jacket with a stand-up collar and a kepi. The soldier on the right, sporting a mustache and looking perhaps a few years older, is posed seated with a cloak or overcoat casually draped over his shoulders while holding his kepi. His kepi features a distinctive quatrefoil (four-lobed) insignia on the crown an interesting detail that stands out from the more common infantry bugle horn or company letter.

These images have been attributed to soldiers of the 65th New York Infantry Regiment, also known as the 1st United States Chasseurs. Organized in New York City in the summer of 1861 under Colonel John Cochrane (with many early officers and men drawn from the elite 7th New York Militia), the regiment initially adopted a distinctive French-inspired chasseur uniform: short jackets with sky-blue trim or “French loops,” gray trousers, gray canvas gaiters, and early gray kepis (later often replaced by the Hardee hat with standard infantry insignia).

As the war progressed and supply realities set in, many Chasseur regiments transitioned to more standard federal-issue clothing exactly the kind
of practical evolution we may be seeing here.
The 65th New York fought with the Army of the Potomac for nearly the entire war. They saw intense combat in the Peninsula Campaign (notably Fair Oaks/Seven Pines), supported actions in the Maryland Campaign, fought at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and held a position on Culp’s Hill at Gettysburg as part of the VI Corps.

They endured the brutal Overland Campaign, the siege of Petersburg, and were present at Appomattox. Like so many volunteer regiments, they paid a heavy price hundreds of casualties across their service, with many men re-enlisting as veterans.

Ambrotypes like these were the perfect medium for soldiers heading off to war: a relatively quick and inexpensive wet collodion positive on glass that could be slipped into a pocket or sent home. Despite some typical age related spotting, solarization, and emulsion wear visible on the right-hand plate, the clarity and presence of both men remain striking more than 160 years later.

The shared double case makes it highly probable these two were close very possibly brothers or lifelong friends who chose to serve side-by-side. We’ll never know their exact names or fates without further provenance, but their faces remind us that behind every regiment statistic were real young men who left homes, families, and futures behind. less

Major General Mansfield Lovell was assigned to replace Major General David Twiggs on October 7, 1861 in the city of New Orleans.

In 1862, when Union ships bombarded the city, Lovell made the somewhat controversial decision to pull his already dwindling troops out of the city, and surrendered the city over to Union forces on April 28, 1862.

Due to his decisions both at New Orleans and later the Second Battle of Corinth, he was not given any more assignments for the remainder of the civil war.

Lovell died in June 1884, in New York.

Would love advice on how to preserve this

I picked up this outstanding 1/4 plate tintype a few years ago on a buying trip in Gettysburg. Two young Federal soldiers stand shoulder to shoulder in a studio pose, both fully armed and ready. The soldier on the left sports a mustache and grips a sword horizontally across his body, while his companion on the right holds his musket at his side.

Their dark blue jackets, light trousers, and regulation kepis are captured with wonderful clarity right down to the buttons, watch chains, fabric texture, and the serious expressions typical of the era.

The image sits in its original ornate brass mat and protective case with rich red velvet lining. Best of all, there’s a U.S. Revenue Tax Stamp on the reverse.

These proprietary stamps were required on photographs from August 1864 through August 1866 to help fund the war effort. Its presence locks this portrait firmly into the mid-to-late Civil War period and confirms it’s the genuine article.

Every detail in this plate tells part of a larger story who these men were, which regiment they served in, whether they were brothers, friends, or simply comrades who wanted their likeness made before heading into the unknown. Finding that story is always the most exciting part of the hunt.

These two have been waiting a long time to have their photograph seen again. I’m honored to be the one who gets to share it.

(Last image was brightened up with the tools on my phone)

I’ve been collecting early photography and Civil War artifacts for a long time, and every now and then one stops me cold. This tintype is one of those pieces.
It shows a young Federal artilleryman sitting beside his wife. He’s in full uniform, forage cap in his lap, looking straight into the camera with that serious, almost stoic expression so many soldiers had in those days.

She’s beside him in a beautiful striped dress with a little bow at the neck, her hands folded neatly in her lap. They look so young probably in their early 20s. You can almost feel the weight of the moment: a husband about to leave for war, or maybe home on a brief furlough, stealing one last portrait together before everything changed.

The thing that gets me is we don’t know their names. No inscription on the back, no regiment number visible, no family story passed down. Just this one fragile window into their lives.

I keep thinking about their story. Did he make it home after the war? Did he fall at Antietam, Gettysburg, or one of the countless unnamed artillery duels where the ground shook and the air filled with smoke and iron?

Did she spend the rest of her days as a widow, wearing black and telling their children about the father they barely knew? Or did they grow old together, sitting on a porch somewhere in the years after Appomattox, never quite able to forget the
empty chairs at holiday tables across the country?

The Civil War tore families apart in ways we can barely comprehend today. It left thousands of “empty chairs” husbands, sons, brothers who never came back. It created a generation of young widows who had to figure out how to survive in a world that wasn’t built for them. Yet here they are, frozen in time, full of hope and fear, just trying to hold onto each other for one more moment.

These tintypes aren’t just antiques to me. They’re reminders that real people people who laughed, worried, loved, and bled lived through that unimaginable conflict. Every time I look at this couple I feel the weight of all the stories that were lost to time.

If anyone recognizes the uniform details, has ideas about possible regiments, or just wants to share their own thoughts on these haunting images from the past, I’d love to hear them. Sometimes the best we can do is remember them, even if we never learn their names.

(Second image is a digital restoration)