CDV of Sergeant Joseph H. Gates, Company D, 160th New York Infantry – Ink Inscri

CDV of Sergeant Joseph H. Gates, Company D, 160th New York Infantry – Ink Inscription & B.F. Hale, Rochester, NY Backmark
 
Joseph H. Gates, age 25 at enlistment, joined the Union army on August 30, 1862, at Sodus, New York, and mustered into Company D, 160th New York Volunteer Infantry, as a Corporal on November 21, 1862. He was later promoted to Sergeant. Gates served until he was discharged for disability on May 31, 1865, at Rochester, New York.
 
On October 19, 1864, Sergeant Gates was wounded in action at the Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia, during General Philip Sheridan’s decisive Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
 
This carte-de-visite (CDV) features a clear period ink inscription identifying Joseph H. Gates and carries the backmark of B.F. Hale of Rochester, New York. The image provides a well-documented portrait of a New York soldier who served in one of the state’s hard-fighting regiments in the Army of the Shenandoah.
 
The 160th New York Infantry saw extensive combat in Louisiana and later in the Shenandoah Valley, participating in the Red River Campaign and the battles of Winchester, Fisher’s Hill, and Cedar Creek.
 
The combination of a signed/ink-identified CDV, combat wound at Cedar Creek, and Rochester photographer’s backmark makes this a desirable identified New York infantry portrait with strong regional appeal.