CHARLES A. KIDDER: 53rd Massachusetts Infantry

One of the advantages of the carte de visite for the soldier in the field it its ease to send the photo home. Unlike the hard cased image, an ambrotype, a tintype or even a daguerreotype, the carte de visite can be sent in an envelope. The soldier could even write a short note on the back side. A soldier took pride being in uniform. He would often have his photo taken in a far away city.

This is just what Private Charles Kidder did. Charles A. Kidder was 28 when he enlisted on October 17, 1862, in Co. K, 53rd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. The 53rd was a 9-month regiment composed of 902 men from Worcester and Middlesex Counties,

Kidder remained in Camp Stevens, for 6 weeks before the regiment embarked to New York. They arrived at Camp Banks, Jamaica, Long Island, NY (now a part of Queens, New York City). They were bivouacked at Camp Banks, a bleak spot known as the "Union Race Course," with only 5 man tents for protection against the near zero weather. This extreme weather and lack of proper shelter caused the regiment to be transferred, 13 miles away, to the Franklin Street Barracks in Manhattan, New York. Much sickness occured while the regiment was at these quarters. There was an epidemic of Scarlatina, causing the death and severe sickness of some of the men. Typhoid fever and the "mumps" also effected the men. The regiment remained at the Franklin Street barracks, and while the men tried to recover from their illnesses, the unit maintaining the normal drill from Reveille at 6:30 AM to Taps at 9PM.

While in camp, a few of the men were given passes to the city. At Christmas time, some of the men were allowed to go in squads, to the theater or other places of amusement as long as there was an officer in charge.

It was probably in one of these sojurns when Private Kidder had a likeness, in the popular carte de viste format, made of himself in uniform. Probably ordering 8 or 12 of the small paper images from the photographer, Private Kidder decided to send one home, with an interested message written on the reverse side.

Sadly, Private Kidder died four months after his enlistment in Manhattan on Jan. 16, 1863.

Copyright Military Images Jul/Aug 2004
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