Morgan's Raiders, Collection of 18 Autographed CDVs, Plus 

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Jun 10, 2016 - Jun 11, 2016

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• Lot Description
  Morgan's Raiders, Collection of 18 Autographed CDVs, Plus 
  
  Historically important group of 18 cartes de visite belonging to Captain Buford Allen Tracy and his mother Martha Ann Tracy, whose late father/husband G. Obediah Tracy died at Camp Douglas in 1864 at age 64, a Great Raid prisoner from the 11th Kentucky Cavalry.  His son, Captain Buford Tracy first enlisted in 1861 in the famous 4th Alabama Infantry and served until he was discharged to raise his own company as Captain, Co C, 7th Kentucky Cavalry. In September 1862 he joined the 11th Kentucky Cavalry as RQM and was assigned to General John Hunt Morgan's brigade, eventually becoming AQM on Morgan's divisional staff.  He rode in the Great Raid of July 1863 and was captured near Buffington Island.  Along with other officers he was sent to the Ohio Penitentiary, from where Morgan escaped in November 1863. In 1864 Tracy was transferred to Fort Delaware, where later that year his exchange took place. He immediately returned to active duty and was assigned to Basil Duke's command, with which he accompanied President Davis' 'last ditch' escort into Georgia, guarding the remnants of the Confederate treasury of gold and silver. At the time of his death in 1895, he was a respected businessman in his native Clark County, KY, where he died in an elevator accident.
  
  This collection was assembled during Buford's incarceration at Fort Delaware, DE and was taken by Philadelphia photographer John L. Gihon, whose imprint appears on 14 of the mounts. Of the four unmarked cartes, three are also Gihon's work as judged by the mount's rounded corners and identical plain-walled backgrounds photographed inside Fort Delaware. A single carte is imprinted by Rorah & Co, Pittsburgh, PA and reflects the giver's earlier incarceration at the Western Penitentiary, where some of Morgan's officers were sent in 1863. Included are portraits of three members of Morgan's immediate family and three members of his divisional staff, in addition to three other prominent field grade officers.
  
  The cartes consist of the following portraits:
  
  1  Seated portrait of Colonel Basil Duke, autographed on recto B.W. Duke, and in his hand on reverse: To Mrs. M.A. Tracy, Clark County, Ky. (no photographer's imprint) Basil Wilson Duke, Morgan's brother-in-law and close friend, was the General's second-in-command and after Morgan's death, led the division's survivors until surrender in Georgia as escort to President Jefferson Davis. He is regarded by many as Morgan's 'tactical brains' and was his chief military administrator. 
  
  2  Seated portrait of Captain Charlton H. Morgan, the General's brother, autographed on recto C H Morgan ADC CSA and inscribed on reverse: Presented to Mrs Tracy by her friend C H Morgan, ADC, CSA Lexington, Kentucky. Capt. Morgan wears a federal officer's belt and rectangular 'eagle' plate. (no photographer's imprint)
  
  3  Seated portrait of Major James B McCreary, 11th Kentucky Cavalry, signed on recto J.B. McCreary Major C.S.A. and inscribed on reverse: Presented to Mrs. M A Tracy as a testimonial of respect for her, + admiration + kind remembrance for her decd [deceased] Husband - Ft Delaware May 7th 1864. Major McCreary temporarily commanded G. Obediah Tracy's regiment during the Great Raid. (Gihon photographer's imprint)
  
  4  Seated portrait of Major Horace A Higley, Major, Commissary of Subsistence and Acting ADC, Morgan's staff. Autographed on recto: Major H.A. Higley and on reverse: To Mrs. M. A. Tracy with the compliments of H.A. Higley, Major C.S.A. Fort Delaware May 29th, 1864.  Major Higley wears a Breckinridge blouse with pleated front and holds a black felt hat with officer cords. Before his staff promotion, he served as Ordnance Sergt in the 40th Alabama Infantry. (Gihon imprint)
  
  5  Seated portrait of Lieut. Colonel Cicero Coleman, 8th Kentucky Cavalry, signed on recto Cicero Coleman Col. C.S.A. Morgan's Cav. On reverse is his inscription: Fort Delaware May 10 1864  To Mrs. Tracy, from a friendship of her family.  Cicero.  Coleman's determined demonstration at Chesire, following the Buffington Island defeat, allowed General Morgan's main column to allude immediate capture. (Gihon imprint)
  
  6  Bust portrait of Captain Thomas H Shanks, Co B, 6th Kentucky Cavalry, signed on recto Thomas H. Shanks, Capt. C.S.A. and on reverse: Presented to Mrs. M.A. Tracy. Before joining the 6th, Shanks served in Basil Duke's Co C, 2nd Kentucky Cavalry. (Gihon imprint)
  
  7  Seated portrait of Colonel Richard C. Morgan, 14th Kentucky Cavalry, the General's brother, signed on recto: Truly yr frd  R.C. Morgan  Col. C.S.A. On reverse Morgan inscribed the mount: Will my old friend "Blount" please accept the photograph of a fellow prisoner.  R.C. Morgan Col. C.S.A. Ft Delaware June 5. 64. [Blount was Buford's nickname] (Gihon imprint)  The 14th was popularly known as 'Morgan's Scouts' and covered the division's front and flanks during the Great Raid.
  
  8  Seated portrait of Colonel William W. Ward, 9th Tennessee Cavalry, autographed on recto: W.W. Ward Col. Tenn. Cavalry C.S.A. and on reverse: Presented to Capt. B.A. Tracy, by his friend W.W. Ward Col. C.S.A.  Carthage Tennessee. (Gihon imprint)  Lower left corner of print and mount missing that impacts recto signature with old tape stain on reverse. Ward surrendered after the skirmish at Bashan, as Col. Dick Morgan's men tried to break through Shackelford's federal cavalry.
  
  9  Seated portrait of Captain Henry Clay Meriwether, Co H, 10th Kentucky Cavalry, signed on recto: H.C. Meriwether Capt. CSA and on reverse: Presented to Capt. Tracy by his friend HC Meriwether, Captain C.S.A. Lousiville Ky. (Gihon imprint)  Meriwether commanded a scouting party that captured critically important steamboats during the Brandenburg, KY Ohio River crossing.
  
  10  Seated portrait of Captain Ralph Sheldon, Co C, 2nd Kentucky Cavalry, signed on recto: Yours etc. R. Sheldon C.S.A. and on reverse: Fort Delaware, June 9th, 1864. To My Friend Capt. B A Tracy C.S.A.  Ralph Sheldon, Capt Co "C" 2nd Ky Cav. Morgan's Div. C.S.A. Bardstown, Kentucky. (Gihon imprint)  Sheldon led the last Confederate charge of the Great Raid at West Point, OH on July 26, 1863.
  
  11  Seated portrait of Captain B.E. Roberts, Co H, 6th Kentucky Cavalry, signed on recto: Truly your friend B.E. Roberts and on reverse: Monticello, Kentucky, Presented to my friend Capt. B.A. Tracy. (Gihon imprint)  Roberts enlisted at Steubenville, KY in January 1862 as a private and advanced to a commissioned rank.
  
  12  Seated portrait of Captain W.S. Edwards, Co C, 7th Kentucky Cavalry, signed on recto: W S Edwards, Capt. C.S.A. and on reverse: W.S. Edwards, Greensburg, Kentucky.  To My friend and fellow soldier, Capt. B.A. Tracy. (Gihon imprint) Some foxing to photo print which isn't distracting.
  
  13  Full length portrait of Captain Edwin T. Rochester, 6th Kentucky Cavalry and AQM, signed on recto: Yours Truly E T Rochester and on reverse: Edwin T Rochester Capt CSA Danville Kentucky  To my friend Capt A Tracy. (Gihon imprint)  Foxing on print appears only in background. Subject is attired in jacket, knee-length boots, gauntlets and holds a black felt hat with officer cords.
  
  14  Bust portrait of Captain James S. Ambrose, Co F, 8th Kentucky Cavalry, signed on recto: J S Ambrose Capt C.S.A. and on reverse: To My Friend Capt B A Tracy  J S Ambrose Lawrenceburg Kentucky. (Gihon imprint)
  
  15  Bust portrait of Captain Washington C. Shane, Morgans' ADC, signed on recto: Washington C. Shane A.D.C. C.S.A. and on reverse: To My Sincere Friend Capt. B.A. Tracy Apr 21st 1863 [1864] W.C. Shane, Breckinridge, Dallas Co, Texas. (Gihon imprint)  Shane was with Morgan until the surrender at West Point, OH on July 26, 1863.
  
  16  Bust portrait of Captain Ephraim W McLean, Co B, 2nd Kentucky Cavalry, signed on recto: Yours truly E.W. McLean Capt 2d Ky Cav. (Gihon imprint)
  
  17  Bust portrait ink-captioned on recto: Harry Elliott C.S. and on reverse: Samuel Harris Elliott, Son of W.P. Elliott, Knoxville Tenn. Born July 21, 1857.  The only rebel who visited Prisoners of War in the Ohio Penitentiary. He did not take the oath.  For Capt Tracy from his friend W.P. Elliott. (Rorah imprint)  Major William P. Elliott served on Morgan's staff and surrendered at West Point at the Great Raid's conclusion.
  
  18  Bust portrait of Lieutenant Benjamin J Lancaster, Co K, 8th Kentucky Cavalry, signed on reverse: B J Lancaster, Lebanon Kentucky. (no imprint) Lower left corner of card mount is missing which only slightly affects the print.
  
  The CDVs are accompanied by 3 additional items acquired by the consignor from the Tracy Family, including a ca early 20th century oil painting of John Hunt Morgan, 15.25 x 19.5 in. (sight), framed, 21.5 x 25.5 in.; a framed studio portrait of Sterling B. Tracy, a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, by Fox Studio, Winchester, KY, 22.5 x 26.5 in.; and a framed, composite photograph of members of the 1934 Kentucky House of Representatives, including Tracy, 21 x 24.75 in. 

  Condition

  See description for condition notes. Some slight surface wear to Morgan oil painting.
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    $3,000,001	15.00