Description
At the time this rare outdoor CDV was taken, H. H. (Harry) Humphreys and F. W. Vaughan were serving on the staff of General A. A. Humphreys, Harry’s father. The two men, along with a group of engineers and cartographers, were performing reconnaissance and mapping duties in the area of Harrison’s Landing. Humphreys is standing on the left in the image, wearing a four button sack coat and straw hat. Vaughan is seated on a folding camp stool and wearing a civilian coat and smoking hat. He is holding a pipe in his hand. There is no backmark on the image, but written in pencil is “July 1862, Harrison’s Bay VA, Henry H. & J. W. V.” The two men are identified on the front of the CDV album page in an old typed ID, “F. W. Vaughan & Harry Humphreys.” There is one small tear in the upper left side of the CDV which does not detract from the image, and is not visible when the image is in the CDV album page. Two additional CDV’s of Vaughan are included, both ID’d in pencil on the backs. Outdoor CDV views are rare, and this one is no exception. Humphreys later enlisted as a lieutenant in the 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, served for the remainder of the war and continued his military career post-war. Vaughan was a civil engineer post-war.
