News
December 29, 2020The New York State Military Museum Acquires Collection of Rare Civil War Photographs
The Friends of the New York State Military Museum have donated nearly 70 rare photos of Civil War soldiers to the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center at 61 Lake Avenue in Saratoga Springs.
The Friends purchased the photo collection from the estate of the late Michael McAfee, a former curator of history at the West Point Military Academy Museum and senior advisory editor of Military Images magazine. McAfee had a personal collection of more than one thousand photos of soldiers from the New York State militia and volunteer units from the Civil War era.
Courtney Burns, Director of the Military Museum, said that each of the photos is individually identified with the soldier’s name and unit. “The photos will add to (the military museum’s) large collection of over 3,000 Civil War soldier photos,” Burns said. Burns said the photos are mostly inexpensive, card-sized portraits that Civil War soldiers had taken at photo studios so they could send them home to family and friends. The name given to such photos is “carte-de-visites,” (visiting cards), or CDVs, according to Burns.
Some of the more interesting images feature a colorized photo of a soldier from the Albany Zouave Cadets, a color guard from the 12th New York State Militia, and an 1861 group photo of Col. Michael Corcoran and staff officers of the “Fighting 69th” Regiment. Burns said in the coming months all the donated photos will be cataloged, digitized, and placed on the military museum’s web site (dmna.ny.gov/historic).
The Friends purchased the selection of photos through a private dealer in the fall of 2020 with additional support from the 69th Regiment Historic Trust and the 71st Regiment Veterans Association.
The Friends of the New York State Military Museum is a private, non-profit organization that helps support programs, collections, and exhibitions of the New York State Military Museum. For more information about the Friends see the website: friendsofthemilitarymuseum.com.
The New York State Military Museum is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Museum officials hope to open the museum to the public in spring or summer 2021
