A bearded young Union soldier stands in full-length pose for this albumen carte de visite, almost certainly produced during the Civil War years of the early 1860s. He wears a double-breasted frock coat with a long row of brass buttons down the front and officer's shoulder straps visible at both shoulders, paired with light-colored trousers and dark ankle boots. No photographer's imprint appears on the reverse.

His kepI-style hat rests on a wooden pedestal to his left, displaying a clearly visible trefoil badge, the identifying corps badge of the II Corps, Army of the Potomac. A tasseled studio drapery hangs at the upper right, and a patterned carpet covers the studio floor beneath his feet. His expression is direct and composed, with dark side-parted hair and a full chin beard.

The II Corps trefoil badge was instituted in March 1863 by General Joseph Hooker, making it one of the most recognizable insignia of the Eastern Theater. The badge visible on this hat places the subject firmly within one of the war's most storied corps, which fought at Antietam, Gettysburg, and the Overland Campaign.

The reverse is blank with no photographer's imprint or inscription.

From the collection of James Lee Soffer