Albumen photograph of a statue entitled The Picket Guard by artist John Rogers. The statue photographed, which was made of plaster, depicts a Union officer leading two soldiers clad in Zouave uniforms. Rogers is best known for his sculptures depicting scenes from the Civil War. The Picket Guard was his first such work, and its success launched his career.


The artist modeled the subject in June 1861, just two months after the war broke out. It sold well, and today original copies can be found in institutions such as the Smithsonian. We have not previously encountered a Civil War era photograph of this statue.








[Antique Photography, Daguerreotype, Ambrotype, Albumen, carte-de-visite, CDV, Tintype] [Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Civil War, Union, Confederate, Ulysses S. Grant, US Grant, Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln]