Quarter plate hand-gilt tintype studio portrait of Colonel Philip N. Luckett of the 3rd Texas Infantry. Full leatherette case.

A significant portrait of noted Texas Colonel Philip N. Luckett of the 3rd Texas Infantry. Here, he gazes confidently at the camera, seated in full uniform holding up his officer's sword. His waist belt, buttons, colonel's three star collar insignia, and distinctive hat insignia have all been hand-gilt to further distinguish his presence. Seated closely with their arms interlocking is a young man wearing civilian clothes and holding a pipe or small hammer. Although the young man's identity is unknown, it is evident that he is close with Colonel Luckett. A 2nd lieutenant named B.H. Luckett also served in the 3rd Texas, which some have speculated may have been a relative. Perhaps the next caretaker will uncover his identity.

Philip Noland Luckett (ca 1823-1869) was a native of Virginia and trained as a physician before moving west to Chillicothe, Ohio. In March 1841, he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy and although he enrolled, he never graduated. Sometime after, he studied medicine at the University of Louisville, before moving further west still to Texas in 1847, establishing a medical practice in Corpus Christi. During the 1840s, he served as a surgeon in Captain John "Rip" Ford's company of Texas Rangers.

A firebrand secessionist, Luckett represented Nueces and Webb counties at the 1861 Texas Secession Convention, and was there appointed to parley with Major General David E. Twiggs. Luckett successfully negotiated the peaceful surrender of Federal property in San Antonio, providing much needed munitions and supplies to the nascent Confederacy. He served briefly as the Texas State Quartermaster before he appointed colonel of the 3rd Texas Infantry. The regiment consisted of men recruited from Austin and San Antonio, including many Mexicans and recent German immigrants. After organization, the regiment was assigned to Colonel Ford's Western Subdistrict of Texas. In July of 1863, Luckett was brevetted brigadier general.

Upon the collapse of the Confederacy, he fled with several other generals to Mexico before returning to Texas in November 1865, where he was arrested and transported to Fort Jackson near New Orleans. After his release, he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where he lived with relatives until his death in 1869.

[Union, Confederate, Historic Photography, Early Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Texas, Texas Republic, Texas Revolution, Texas Rangers, Mexican-American War, Republic of Texas]