A Union Army sergeant stands at three-quarter length in this albumen CDV, dating to the Civil War era of the early 1860s. He wears a dark frock coat with a row of brass buttons down the center front and sergeant's chevrons with a diamond above them on his left sleeve, indicating the rank of first sergeant. No photographer's imprint appears on the mount, leaving the studio unidentified.

The subject is a fair-haired man with a trimmed beard and a direct, composed expression. His right hand rests on a draped side table covered in a floral patterned cloth, and a forage cap with a visible brass plate rests on the table beside him. A patterned studio drapery fills the left background, and the coat's piped cuffs are visible at both wrists.

The CDV format was widely used by soldiers during the Civil War as a portable and affordable way to send portraits home to family members, and the personal dedication on the reverse reflects that common practice.

The reverse bears a pencil inscription in cursive reading "For Father & Mother." No photographer's imprint is present on either side of the mount.