George W. Utt, an officer of the 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, stands in full-length pose in this albumen CDV produced by Mathew Brady's Washington gallery, dating the image to the Civil War era. Utt wears a double-breasted Union officer's frock coat with shoulder straps and a row of gilt buttons running down the front, his kepi set squarely on his head. His right arm rests on the back of an ornate carved parlor chair while his left hand is tucked into his coat front, a studied pose common to Brady's officer portraits of the period.

Utt served with the 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery from December 24, 1861, through April 30, 1864, and subsequently with the 189th Pennsylvania Infantry from April 30 through December 26, 1864. His unit's service record, noted on the reverse, lists engagements at the Washington fortifications, Spotsylvania, the Wilderness, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg, placing him at the heart of Grant's Overland Campaign.

The reverse bears a period ink inscription reading "George W. Utt" and two modern research labels recording his regiment, service dates, and battle history. The imprint on the mount face reads "Brady, Washington."

From the collection of James Lee Soffer