[Unidentified Civil War veteran and unidentified World War I soldier]

Archive record

1 photograph : print ; sheet 15 x 10 cm, mount 22 x 17 cm. | Photograph shows portrait of Union veteran with World War I soldier in G.A.R. uniform with medals with World War I soldier, probably grandfather and grandson.

About this photograph

The photograph shows two men in military dress, identified by the archive as an unidentified Union veteran of the Civil War and an unidentified soldier of the First World War, probably grandfather and grandson. The older man wears the uniform and medals of the Grand Army of the Republic.

The Grand Army of the Republic was the fraternal organisation of Union veterans, founded in 1866. Members wore a distinctive uniform and badge to encampments and parades, which explains why the veteran appears in regalia rather than his original wartime dress.

The date of 1914 places the photograph before the United States entered the war in April 1917. If the younger man is indeed in a World War I uniform at this date, the record's cataloguing may need review, or he may have enlisted in another nation's forces before American entry.

The pairing of generations in military dress was not uncommon when war called on sons or grandsons to follow earlier service. The archive's caption suggests the family relationship but does not confirm it. Both men remain unidentified, and no photographer or studio is recorded.

Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.

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