MEDAL OF HONOR WINNERS Full plate tintype of a black Civil W

Sale 2377 - Lot 424

Unsold

Estimate: $ 2,500 - $ 3,500

MEDAL OF HONOR WINNERS. Full plate tintype of a black Civil War veteran and his wife; the man wearing the Medal of Honor on his jacket. Full-plate tintype, 1-1/8 x 7-1/4 inches; color enhanced, highlighting the couple's faces, etc. There is some crackling and small loss of paint in the upper portion of the man's right trouser leg. Np, circa 1880's to 1900

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Additional Details

16 men of color were awarded the Medal of Honor for their service in the U.S. Army during the Civil War. 18 earned the Medal during the Indian Wars, and 5 were awarded during the Spanish American War. While the reverse of this tintype bears the name "Sgt. Wm. Carney" (of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers) faintly scratched on the surface; this does not seem to be Carney, who never appears beardless in any of his known portraits. There is a resemblance however to John Denny who would have been 54 or 55 when this was done. Carney's name was probably put there by someone who either did not have access to more than one photograph of Carney for comparison, or was being "creative." In any case, the both the tintype and the painted highlights appear to be original.