War time Images of James A. Lostetter, Co. B

Michael Kraus Collection

Images taken from January 2016 Web Catalogue, Dave Taylor Antiques Webpage 

From Dave Taylor Antiques Webpage:

"A very strong and appealing pair of images showing the same soldier in both photos. Our man appears to be in his early 30s and wears a short gray jacket with brass buttons and dark piping on collar edge and cuffs, as well as dark stripes on his trouser legs- a typical uniform of early-war volunteers north and south. In the left image he is seated alone next to a small table, resting one arm on top of a closed book. The accompanying image is astoundingly sharp and detailed, showing him seated next to an older man with strong family resemblance. The civilian is wearing a fancy suit of clothes that is clearly a decade out of style. My guess is that this is father and son circa 1861 or 1862, with Pa wearing his absolute best duds ... the ones he bought way back in 1850. We were not very hopeful about being able to identify the soldier based on the inscription inside the case. But our top man (Steve Rogers) figured it out in top notch fashion. The identity of the soldier is established by the period pencil inscription inside the case written by, or for, his young daughter: "Miss" is written in one direction, and in the other is, "Maud Lostetter/ Pulaski/ Lawrence/ Penna." Pulaski is a small town in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. Our ace researcher Steve, was just enough recovered from his holiday hangover to find her in the 1860 census of the town as the daughter of James A. Lostetter, a tailor, who enlisted at age 34 (the right age for our guy in the photo) on 8/31/61 and mustered in as a private in Co. B of the 100th PA the same day. He was wounded in the thigh at Spotsylvania on 5/12/64, and survived to be mustered out on 8/31/64."

"Websmith Notes:  The man seated left of Pvt. Lostetter is not his father John who died in 1833.  It is likely an older brother based on the family resemblance.  John, according to www.findagrave.com records, was born in 1825 so he would be around 36 years old at the time of this photograph--likely 1861.  Also see the biographical profile on James A. Lostetter HERE.


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