Two unidentified Union soldiers fill this ninth-plate tintype, presented in an ornate gilt-brass mat with elaborate foliate and scroll embossing. Both men wear standard-issue Federal forage caps and dark sack coats with visible button closures, consistent with Union enlisted dress of the early-to-mid 1860s. The soldier at left rests his arm across the back of a studio chair and holds a pipe to his lips, while the man at right grips a second pipe at his side, lending the image an unusually candid, informal quality for a period studio portrait.

Applied color accents the cheeks of both men, a common hand-tinting convention of the era. The soldier at left turns slightly toward the camera with a relaxed expression, while his companion holds a more direct and composed gaze. Both figures lean into a shared wooden posing chair positioned between them.

The 114th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized in the summer of 1864 and served in the final campaigns of the war, seeing action in the Shenandoah Valley under General Philip Sheridan. An inscription on the reverse identifies the subjects as members of the 114th O.V.I., notes left to right order, and identifies the figure at right as Frank Shulze, with the left subject listed as unidentified.

Reverse inscribed: "114th O.U.I. / Civil War / L to R / 1. ? / 2. Frank Shulze."