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The Picture Show
1:39 pm
Fri November 16, 2012

African-American Faces Of The Civil War

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Credit Collection of Andrew Chandler Battaile
This rare portrait shows an identified Confederate noncommissioned officer, Sgt. Andrew Martin Chandler (left), and his named slave, Silas Chandler (right). It is the only Confederate photograph in the book by Rod Coddington, African American Faces of the Civil War. Born into slavery, Silas "was one of thousands of slaves who served as [body servants] during the war," writes Coddington.
Credit Courtesy of Ron Coddington
After an initially frustrating search for identifiable Civil War portraits, Coddington finally came across this image of William Wright of the 114th U.S. Colored Infantry. That find inspired his continued hunt for similar images.
Credit Collection of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
Corp. Wilson Weir was a slave when he joined the Union army at age 21. "My initial attraction to old photos was purely aesthetic, and this still continues to be the dominant motivating factor," writes Coddington. "This carte de visite meets and exceeds my criteria. ... He wears his hat at a jaunty angle, perhaps reflective of his character."
Credit Collection of Paul Rusinoff
Jeremiah Saunders was born into slavery, but when his master died, he joined the Union army and was eventually promoted to corporal.
Credit Collection of Tim Kernan
John and Isaiah Owens. "An absolutely wonderful cased tintype of two brothers who served in the same company in the 60th U.S. Colored Infantry," writes Coddington. "The story of the Owens brothers is poignant. Both died during the war. Isaiah succumbed of disease, and John fell from a transport and drowned in the Mississippi River."
Credit Collection of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
Sgt. Alexander Herritage Newton (left) and Sgt. Daniel S. Lathrop. "After obtaining permission to publish [this]," writes Coddington, "I discovered Newton's autobiography, Out of the Briars. This honest and able account of his life experiences is one of the best personal Civil War narratives that I have read."
Credit Collection of the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum
Sgt. George Mitchell's company (Company K of the 62nd U.S. Colored Infantry) was, according to Coddington's research, the last to fire arms in the Civil War.
Credit Collection of the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum
1st Sgt. Octavius McFarland was a slave from Missouri. "My favorite photograph in the book, and it graces the jacket," writes Coddington. "McFarland stares away from the camera with quiet confidence and dignity, proudly wearing his Union uniform with the chevrons of a first sergeant."
Credit Collection of the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum
Corp. Henry Gaither. "One of the few free men of color in this book when the war began, Gaither and his regiment, the 39th U.S. Colored Infantry, fought as hard as any white organization in the Union army," writes Coddington. "This is one of my favorite images in the book."
Credit Collection of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
Sgt. Kendrick Allen was born a slave in Anderson County, Ky., and joined the Army at age 19, enlisting in the 108th U.S. Colored Infantry.
Credit Collection of National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
George William Commodore was born free and raised in Baltimore. At about age 39, he joined the Navy. "He must have taken some ribbing," Coddington writes in his book, "his surname being the same as a high naval rank."
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Originally published on Fri November 16, 2012 4:02 pm

The impulses to collect and to doodle have always been in Ron Coddington's blood. As a kid, it was baseball cards. As a teen, he took an interest in old flea market photos — and simultaneously became "obsessed," he says, "with learning to draw the human face."

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