Major General James B. McPherson is depicted in this albumen carte de visite, presented in a three-quarter pose against a plain studio backdrop. The mount carries a printed title identification along the lower border, and the format and presentation are consistent with wartime CDV production of the early to mid-1860s. No photographer's imprint appears on the mount.

McPherson wears a double-breasted Union officer's frock coat with two rows of brass buttons running the full length of the front, a dark velvet collar, and a shoulder strap bearing the two stars of a major general. His full beard is neatly trimmed, his dark hair swept back, and his gaze directed slightly away from the camera with a composed, direct expression.

James Birdseye McPherson (1828–1864) was one of the most senior Union officers killed in combat during the Civil War. A West Point graduate and close associate of Generals Grant and Sherman, he commanded the Army of the Tennessee during the Atlanta Campaign and was shot from his horse on July 22, 1864, during the Battle of Atlanta.

The reverse bears a period ink inscription reading: "Killed at the Battle of Peach Tree Creek on the 22nd July 1864."