Fitz-Greene Halleck, Company F (Vermont) 1st U.S. Sharpshooters in a pair of cdv’s from my collection.
Halleck was a 21 year old farm laborer in Keeseville, NY before he enlisted with the sharpshooters at nearby Burlington, VT in Sept. 1861. There is not much known about his wartime service prior to the fall of 1863 but I believe that he was on detached duty as a nurse or steward in the regimental hospital. The photo at left shows Halleck and his friend 2nd Lt. Esbon Hindes, a Burlington man who joined the same company, sometime in August 1862 after Hindes was commissioned and at home in Vermont. Company records show that Halleck was in possession of a rifle and set of accoutrements on Dec. 1st 1862 but he was not present with his company in the field.
Regardless, he would return to the company sometime after the battle of Gettysburg and was present for the battle of Kelly’s Ford on November 7th, 1863. During the forced crossing of the Rappahannock River Company F led the way. Under panicked but heavy fire from entrenched confederates Halleck was shot through the left calf shortly after reaching the opposite bank. Fellow sharpshooter Charles B. Mead later wrote home that “Fitzy” was shot in the calf and laid in the cold, muddy bank of the river while his comrades rushed over him and into the entrenchments. Company F would be responsible for capturing dozens of surrendering confederates before the bulk of the 1st U.S. Sharpshooters overran the entire enemy front. After being treated in the field, Halleck was sent first to a Washington hospital and then to the U.S. General Hospital in Burlington, Vermont where he remained until being mustered out in Sept. 1864.
While I had owned the cdv at left for over a decade it was not until last year until I identified Halleck thanks to a blog post by one of his descendants. The post included a cdv of Halleck on crutches, wearing the same uniform seen in his vignette portrait; the two photos were likely taken during the same studio visit. In both cases the location was not Burlington but Keeseville, New York, a town founded and named after Halleck’s maternal ancestors. He was also named after his uncle who was a revered poet.
After the war Halleck recovered from his wound and became a well-known outdoorsman and hunter in the Adirondacks. He found full time employment as the gamekeeper at William Seward Webb’s estate named “NE-HA-SA-NE” and was a longtime hunting guide and friend to Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau, a doctor who founded a tuberculosis clinic in the Adirondacks. Trudeau described his friend Fitz thusly: “A good guide first of all was a truthful man whose word could be relied upon; he was a skilled oarsman, and often carried his boat on his back for miles from one lake to another; a thorough woodsman, with all that implies of fishing, hunting, and wood-lore; a good cook, resourceful in emergencies, and an excellent companion. Fitz Greene Halleck, besides possessing all of these qualities to the full, has been for a lifetime the best and truest of personal friend to me.”
Brian White Collection.
They Expect Wonders of Us 
From Fred Gaede, whom Ron Coddington knows, and a L/T leather collector and contributor to periodicals on acct-related topics. Recently I obtained a P1841 Dragoon Waist Belt still in white buff and with its S+K imported sword. It came from descendants with some documentation as having been used by LTC Gorton T Thomas before the War when in the NYS militia, but not worn by him when with the 22nd NY Regt and mortally wounded at 2nd Manassas. His subsequent death was on Sept 4 1862 in Washington. He was from Keeseville, NY. With the belt & sword came some copies of affidavits for a widow’s pension, with accounts of his wounding and care by an attending physician. Two affidavits of the wounding were provided by members of Co. F, 1st USSS, Pvt Fitz-Green Halleck and Sgt Ezbon W (var Whitney or Wiltsey) Hindes. Both are in the same CDV you generously posted that resulted in this contact. Further, Hindes is buried in the same Evergreen Cemetery, Keeseville, NY in which Thomas was buried in 1862. I haven’t been at this long enough to determine the connections between these soldiers and Thomas, or just the 22nd NY and the 1st USSS, but what little I have provided indicates more than coincidences. I have a custom made silver ID badge for Thomas, which he should have had with him in the field. But since apparently nothing else relating to the initial wounding came with what I obtained he may have left it at home. I’m just making contact to let you know about these (somewhat light) copies, but are signed. I can email scans I’ve made. Accoutrements are my focus so I am not interested in selling any of the Thomas artifacts. But I am interested in finding a CDV or image of Thomas, or with his wife Minerva. You’ve already posted a great image of the two authors, but a hi-rez jpg would be nice to use in a display. With credit of course. Thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.
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