Jesse Davis, a Union soldier identified on the reverse as belonging to Company A, is the subject of this CDV produced by C. L. Hamilton, photographer at Fort Randall in Dakota Territory, placing the image firmly in the post-Civil War frontier garrison period. Hamilton operated at Fort Randall during the late 1860s and 1870s, a period when the fort served as a key military post along the Missouri River. The Iowa connection aligns with several infantry regiments that saw service at frontier posts following the war.

Davis wears a dark Union-style sack coat over a buttoned infantry frock with visible brass buttons running down the placket, and a forage cap sits squarely on his head. He carries a neatly trimmed goatee and mustache, and his direct, composed gaze conveys a confident bearing. The oval portrait is set within an elaborate printed scrollwork and tassel border on the card mount.

The reverse bears the blind-stamped imprint of C. L. Hamilton, Photographer, Fort Randall, D.T., with a pencil inscription reading "Jesse Davis, Co. A" followed by what appears to be a partial address notation.

From the collection of James Lee Soffer