Carte-de-visite (CDV) of 2nd Lt. William Gaston of North Carolina, an 1856 graduate of the West Point Military Academy (where he was roommates with Fitzhugh Lee) who served in Company E, 1st U.S. Dragoons.  Described as a young officer with unlimited promise, Gaston was assigned to junior command with the Dragoons company immediately after his graduation.  Lt. Gaston was killed in the Battle of Tohotonimme on May 17th, 1858, where his ill-equipped regiment was ambushed by Native American warriors. His men reeled from the attack and were unable to retrieve Gaston’s remains. However, he and his fellow officer Capt. O.H.P. Taylor’s bodies were later recovered and interred at Fort Walla Walla cemetery. In 1861, their remains were transferred to the Cadets’ Cemetery at West Point, NY, where they still repose side by side. "Fort Gaston" was named in his honor.
[Yakima War, Native American, Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Civil War, Union, Confederate] [19th Century Photography, Daguerreotype, Ambrotype, Tintype, CDV, carte-de-visite, albumen, cabinet card]