Sergeant A.F. Durie of Company A, 6th Iowa Cavalry is portrayed in this albumen CDV, produced by C.L. Hamilton, Photographer, at Fort Randall in Dakota Territory, placing the sitting during the postwar frontier garrison period when elements of Iowa volunteer cavalry were stationed along the upper Missouri. The vignette format and plain buff mount are consistent with Hamilton's known Fort Randall production from the mid-to-late 1860s.

The portrait is a tight head-and-shoulders vignette, with the subject's face emerging from a softly faded oval surround. He wears a full, dense beard and heavy mustache over a lighter-toned shirt or jacket collar barely visible at the lower edge, and his dark wavy hair is worn long at the sides. His gaze is directed slightly upward and to the right, giving the image a composed, deliberate character.

The 6th Iowa Cavalry served extensively on the frontier following its Civil War service, participating in campaigns against the Sioux and operating posts throughout Dakota Territory and Nebraska. Fort Randall, established in 1856 on the Missouri River, was among the regiment's stations during this period.

The reverse bears the printed imprint of C.L. Hamilton, Photographer, Fort Randall, D.T., and an ink inscription reading "Sargt. A.F. Durie, A. Co. 6th Iowa Cavalry."

From the collection of James Lee Soffer