🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Solider Photo ID Help
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G. S. Davis ArtistClarksburg W. Va.Oct. 18th 1863
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I wish you the best of luck in finding his name. If you do please report how you did it ?'
Good Luck
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I suspect that the soldier in the photograph is not G.S. Davis, but that this is the name of the photographer, grandiosely termed an ‘artist’ in the inscription. Studio photographers of this era frequently referred to themselves as artists for marketing reasons to elevate their craft to the level of fine art.
I believe the photographer was George S. Davis, who is historically recognised for portrait photography during and after the Civil War. He operated a photography studio out of Clarksburg, catering heavily to soldiers passing through West Virginia by producing cartes-de-visite or CDVs (small, affordable, mass-produced photographs that could be sent home to soldiers’ families) but he also produced archival work such as a formal portrait of the historian Virgil Anson Lewis.
The uniform the guy in the picture is wearing appears to be a double-breasted coat with rectangular shoulder straps, typical for a higher ranking officer in the Union Army (as opposed to collar insignia worn by Confederate officers). It looks as if there is a single star on the shoulder strap (?) which would be for a Brigadier General.
Although there is some resemblance, I can’t convince myself that it’s Joseph Andrew Jackson Lightburn (not ‘Stonewall’ Jackson) who was commissioned as a Brigadier General of Volunteers by Abraham Lincoln in March 1863.
Approximately 300 to 350 individuals served in the Union Army with that rank.
I believe the photographer was George S. Davis, who is historically recognised for portrait photography during and after the Civil War. He operated a photography studio out of Clarksburg, catering heavily to soldiers passing through West Virginia by producing cartes-de-visite or CDVs (small, affordable, mass-produced photographs that could be sent home to soldiers’ families) but he also produced archival work such as a formal portrait of the historian Virgil Anson Lewis.
The uniform the guy in the picture is wearing appears to be a double-breasted coat with rectangular shoulder straps, typical for a higher ranking officer in the Union Army (as opposed to collar insignia worn by Confederate officers). It looks as if there is a single star on the shoulder strap (?) which would be for a Brigadier General.
Although there is some resemblance, I can’t convince myself that it’s Joseph Andrew Jackson Lightburn (not ‘Stonewall’ Jackson) who was commissioned as a Brigadier General of Volunteers by Abraham Lincoln in March 1863.
Approximately 300 to 350 individuals served in the Union Army with that rank.
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Cariboo5
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Nathan W .... took your lead but for what ever reason I was blocked by that site, will try others... Thanks
pepperj ... following up on that ........ Thanks
Gare ... Will do .....
Red-Coat ... You nailed it again, I have to do a lot more research on George S Davis (trying to find some of his other photo's etc) Appreciate your observation
on the uniform as this is a big help. Many Thanks.....
The one thing that I am not 100% certain of is: the writing in between the name and date.
pepperj ... following up on that ........ Thanks
Gare ... Will do .....
Red-Coat ... You nailed it again, I have to do a lot more research on George S Davis (trying to find some of his other photo's etc) Appreciate your observation
on the uniform as this is a big help. Many Thanks.....
The one thing that I am not 100% certain of is: the writing in between the name and date.
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I am most likely wrong but the second line appears to say "Burn the Bridges". I may need to schedule an eye appointment though.
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AU Seeker
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I think AI also needs glasses, AI says the middle line says "Born in Miss" LOL
Your guess is much closer IMO.
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Bramblefind
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My first thought was that it read "Corinth, Miss" for the city of Corinth, Mississippi. I have not been able to track George S. Davis as a photographer in Clarksburg. Though I know there are photographs attributed to G.S. Davis there.
I did find a Greenberry (Green) S. Davis b. 1838 in Doddridge, West Virginia. He died in 1891 in Knoxville, TN. In the 1870 census, he is listed in Oak Hill, Jackson Co., Ohio, as an "Artist." In the 1880 census, he is listed as a "Pho" (photographer) in Knoxville, also as a "Photographer" in the 1884 city directory and in the Knoxville death records.
I had a thought that maybe he traveled to Corinth, Mississippi, and took some photos of the soldiers there.
Here's an unattributed photo taken in Corinth in October 1863 of a Missouri regiment.
I did find a Greenberry (Green) S. Davis b. 1838 in Doddridge, West Virginia. He died in 1891 in Knoxville, TN. In the 1870 census, he is listed in Oak Hill, Jackson Co., Ohio, as an "Artist." In the 1880 census, he is listed as a "Pho" (photographer) in Knoxville, also as a "Photographer" in the 1884 city directory and in the Knoxville death records.
I had a thought that maybe he traveled to Corinth, Mississippi, and took some photos of the soldiers there.
Here's an unattributed photo taken in Corinth in October 1863 of a Missouri regiment.
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