Civil War Cavalry

The Cavalry Charge 

Simply stated, this is the most dramatic and collected of all Civil War Cavalry illustrations.  It is an original 1863 illustration by Thomas Nast.  The leaf presents a stunning view of a Civil War Cavalry charge. the image includes an incredible amount of action.  The Rebel and Union Cavalries are shown in close range combat.  

The foreground includes a number of soldiers with swords drawn engaging in hand-to-hand combat.  The left of the print features a Cavalry officer with his sword drawn over his head, leading a group of soldiers into battle.  The battle continues into the background of the print, with thousands and thousands of mounted soldiers.  A number of dead and dieing men are shown on the ground.  Others are being run through with swords.  The foreground shows a man falling off his panicked horse. You can click on the image to get a closer look, but there was no way for me to capture the impact of this print with a digital image.

The leaf has an incredible amount of historical detail.  You can spend hours studying the uniforms, gear, arms and mounts of the Cavalry pictured. You are simply not going to find a leaf that better captures the action, death and confusion of a Civil War Cavalry Charge than this eye-witness illustration.  This is a centerfold leaf, making it a large 16x22. The print scores top marks for Visual Impact, Historical Significance, and Condition.  If you are a collector of Cavalry illustrations, this piece will become the centerpiece of your collection. The leaf is in excellent condition.  It is a crisp, sharp, high contrast illustration.  It shows the gentle sepia toning you expect in original material from this period.  The bottom left margin has a small tear, which has been mended with archive grade mending tape.  The tear will be behind the mat when framed, and does not reach into the illustration.  This is a very special print, and in my mind is Thomas Nast's finest Civil War illustration.

h1863p344                                             Price: $250

The Cavalry Raid

This is a spectacular 1863 illustration featuring a Cavalry Charge.  The print is captioned, "Colonel Kilpatrick's Late Cavalry Raid Through Virginia".  The illustration shows a mounted soldier charging into an infantry unit.  

The Cavalry soldier is wearing gloves that come up to his elbows.  He has the horse's reigns in his right hand, and his Colt revolver in his left hand.  The infantry soldiers are coming at him with bayonets and rifles.  Another man on horseback is shown firing his revolver into the head of a startled infantryman. Another soldier is shown laying dead on his back in the foreground.  This is a highly displayable and collectible print.  It is in excellent condition.

h1863p348    Price: $150