Description
This is an albumen print that was taken in 1863 around Morris Island by Haas & Peale. There are faint numbers on the card below the officers and on the back is written the names of the men. The card mount is approximately 9.75" x 6" and the albumen print is approximately 7" x 4.25". Wikipedia had the following information about the photographers: Philip Haas (1808–1871) and Washington Peale (1825–1868) While but little is known of Haas' early personal history, almost nothing is known about Peale. In 1839–40, Haas, a lithographer based in Washington D.C. endeavored to learn the new art of the "daguerreotype." By 1852, forty-four year old Haas was an accomplished wet-plate photographer, with a studio in New York City "near the corner of White Street." On September 23, 1861, fifty-three year old Haas enlisted with the 1st N.Y. Engineers, claiming he was forty-three. Haas was mustered on January 17, 1862 as a 2nd Lt. in Company A. In 1863, the engineers were in South Carolina, and 2nd Lt. Haas was detailed to take photographs of General Quincy Gilmore's siege operations on Morris Island. At that time he had partnered with army photographer, Washington Peale, son of Philadelphia artist, James Peale Jr. The pair are credited with dozens of views of the activities of the Union Army in South Carolina during the Civil War, including Folly Island, Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, Lighthouse Inlet and Morris Island.
Gillmore was assigned to replace Maj. Gen. Ormsby M. Mitchel in charge of the X Corps after that officer's death from yellow fever. In addition, Gillmore commanded the Department of the South, consisting of North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, with headquarters at Hilton Head, from June 12, 1863, to May 1, 1864. Under his direction, the army constructed two earthen forts in coastal South Carolina—Fort Mitchel and Fort Holbrook, located in the Spanish Wells area near Hilton Head Island.
He then turned his attention against Charleston, South Carolina. Initially successful in an attack on the southern end of Morris Island on July 10, Gillmore had enough confidence to assault Fort Wagner on the north end of the island. The following day he launched the first attack on Fort Wagner which was defeated. He assembled a larger assault force and with the assistance of John A. Dahlgren's naval fleet planned a second attack. On July 18, 1863 Gillmore's troops were repulsed with heavy losses in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner. Gillmore's divisional commander, General Truman Seymour was wounded and two brigade commanders, George Crockett Strong and Haldimand S. Putnam were killed in the attack.
Among the troops who assaulted Ft. Wagner was the 54th Massachusetts, a regiment of African-Americans led (as required by regulation) by white commissioned officers. Gillmore had ordered that his forces be integrated and that African-Americans were not to be assigned menial tasks only, such as KP or latrine duty, but instead they were to carry arms into battle. They and their assault on Ft. Wagner were the subject of the 1989 Civil War movie Glory.
