Period Pencil Inscribed CDV of Henry J. Dean, 5th New York Heavy Artillery

Henry J. Dean, a 19-year-old enlistee from West Turin, New York, joined the Union army on August 12, 1862, and mustered into Company B, 6th New York Battalion Heavy Artillery, as a Private on September 11, 1862. On December 31, 1862, he transferred into Company K, 5th New York Heavy Artillery, with which he served for the remainder of the war. He was mustered out on June 26, 1865, at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
 
This carte-de-visite (CDV) features a clear period pencil inscription on the reverse identifying the soldier as “Henry J. Dean.” The image carries the desirable backmark of a Sandy Hook, Maryland photographer — a scarce and historically relevant imprint given the 5th New York Heavy Artillery’s long service guarding the vital defenses around Harpers Ferry and the upper Potomac River.
 
The 5th New York Heavy Artillery spent most of the war manning fortifications and artillery batteries in the Harpers Ferry and Maryland Heights area, with occasional active field service during Jubal Early’s 1864 raid on Washington.
This well-identified CDV with a Sandy Hook, MD backmark provides a solid, documented portrait of a New York heavy artilleryman who served nearly the entire war in one of the most strategically important defensive commands in the Eastern Theater.