24th Michigan "Mystery Photographs"

Recently, I was contacted by Dale Niessen huzzah@provide.net, with an interesting request. An associate of his a recently purchased 2 anonymous Michigan CDV's. For the reasons described below, Dale believes that these two officers are members of the 24th Michigan. For those of you who do not know him, Dale is an authority on Michigan Civil War photographs and a true "Friend of the 24th".

" I was wondering if you would like to post a couple of unidentified images of officers of the 24th. My research with the aid of computer enhancement has tentatively identified two recently purchased images as members of the 24th. One officer has a 24 on his hat, both officers are wearing 5th Corps badges. The images are Carte-de-Visite photographs taken by Detroit's premier photographer Jex J. Bardwell. The cartes have revenue stamps on their reverse side which dates them from 1864-66 when the stamps were in use."

"I believe that these images were most likely taken at the end of the war when the regiment had returned to Detroit to muster out. One officer is clearly a 1st Lt. and the other appears to be a 1st Lt. or Capt. With these clues and by a process of elimination my friend and I who own these images have narrowed the field of possibilities to a hand full of men. With the strongest possibilities being brothers/cousins Everard B. Welton and Ferdinand Welton. Both of whom were 1st Lieutenants at the end of the war. They were members of Co. H and served with the regiment from it's inception
in August of 1862."

"I feel that E. B. Welton is likely the officer in my collection wearing the frock and 5th Corps badge (On the right)." Compare the enlargement of the wartime CDV with the post-war image of Everard (taken c. 1889). "If you compare the two images and study them closely looking details such as the shape of the ears and eyes, I think you will agree. It should be fun to learn what the readers of your site think."

 


If you would like to voice your opinion, or if you have other information or photographs of Everard and Ferdinand Welton, please contact Dale at huzzah@provide.net


CDV's courtesy the Dale Niessen huzzah@provide.net. Used with permission.
Post-war Photograph (c. 1890) taken from O. B. Curtis

Last Updated: 12/25/98
Webmaster: Rob Richardson
robr@advnet.net
All original material Copyright 1998 Rob Richardson
Image copyright belongs to the respective owners.