A few years ago, I made a venture to Pennsylvania to interview my grandfather's cousin who was almost 100 years old. He procured a box of great genealogical importance. It was an old chest of his father's (Edwin R. Shapard, Jr.) that had been stowed for half a century. Inside was a treasure trove of items that spanned the 1860s-1910s, including letters, photos, scrapbooks, documents, and keepsakes. Most of the items were personal affects from Rev. Edwin R. Shapard and his children.
One item of remarkable interest, however, seemed to predate the rest. It was a small highly ornate gold-framed photograph from the 1860s of a well-dressed Confederate soldier holding a large bowie knife. The image was on a glass plate and was heavily faded from age. The young man in the image appears to be in his late teens or early twenties, with no facial hair. He is wearing a kepi hat and a light colored frock jacket. His jacket is single breasted, unbuttoned to the lower chest, adorned with round bright, possibly gilt, buttons spaced about an inch and a half apart. The buttons in the image are on his left side which most likely indicates that this image is reversed (as men's buttons customarily are placed on the right side of jackets). He is wearing a white shirt with dark bow tie. No insignia are visible on his hat or his jacket. In his right hand he is holding a large bowie knife with a dog-leg curve on the pommel and a cross guard to protect the hand. Although the left hand and torso is highly faded, a ghost image can be seen of his left hand draped over an item (possibly a revolver). On his waist there is a faded item with two small buttons or rivets, possibly attached to a belt. There were no marks on the frame or the photograph identifying the name of this young soldier. However, whoever he was he was highly regarded by Rev. Shapard, his wife and his children, enough to keep his image protected for all these years.
Within the Shapard family, Rev. Shapard had two brothers that joined the Confederacy: William Shapard (1830-1894) and Evander Shapard (1843-1921). Rev. Shapard's sister Avarilla married Abner S. Boone who was Captain of the Shelbyville Rebels and was killed in action in 1863. Of these men, William would have been too old to match the soldier in the photograph, Capt. Boone would have had insignia, which leaves us with Evander, who was 18 years old when he enlisted. A side by side comparison of the soldier and Evander shows many similarities in face shape and features even though the the comparative pictures are at least 30 years apart in age. (remember that the soldier picture is a reversed image).
Evander Shapard enlisted on his 18th birthday, despite the objection of his father, in the 41st Tennessee Infantry under his brother-in-law Capt. Abner S. Boone. Tragically, during his first engagement, Evander was captured, along with Capt. Boone, and was held as a prisoner of war at Camp Morton, Indianapolis. After seven months, Evander was released during a prisoner exchange, and went on to participate in ever major battle of the Army of Tennessee until the end of the war.
In an effort to see if the frame held any additional markings or clues, the glass plate of the soldier was carefully removed, revealing a hidden image that had not been seen since the 1860s! Concealed behind the front image was an additional glass plate photograph of a group of mounted soldiers in a wooded area. Could this be an early war photograph of Tennessee soldiers? The Shelbyville Rebels? Capt. Boone?
If anyone has any additional information or insights on these images, it would be much appreciated!
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