1st Tenn. Photos: Williamson Grays pt. 1

As promised, we're starting the photo series. Look at these men, their appearance should tell you about who they were and what image they wanted to put out into the world. Hence, we need to get as close as we can to their "look." I have scrounged these from various sources on the interweb, so the shots aren't of the best quality. Still, I'll break this up into multiple posts to ease the strain on the site's data limit. We can start with one of my favorite -- and best photographed -- companies in the regiment, Co. D, "Williamson Grays." The men of Co. D had much in common with their counterparts from Maury who we will interpret. They were the same young professional class of Franklin as Co. H was of Columbia. They look a lot alike, too. I've made some brief notes on what sticks out to me, but feel free to reply all on these and fire off your own thoughts.


First up: the Captain of the Williamson Grays, J.P. Hanner- One of the few beards seen in the regiment, though they're far more common among officers. Early war battle shirt with shoulder insignia. We'll see that shoulder rank again in the next round.


James R. Neely- You will come to recognize this general look throughout the regiment. Young, clean shaven, and slicked up for the camera. Note the small ring, too. The pinky ring thread recently on the A-C might be of interest. Also, note how similar that frock is in cut to Nichols' below. That loosely fitting collar suggests that these were from the same batch. Now the question is where they came from. The state? Commutation?


J.Mc. Thompson- This image is so heavily touched that I don't know what to make of it. Still, he shows one of the dark collared frocks that are common in the regiment in 1861. Likely Tennessee state issue. Interesting rifle, too, though that's an Enfield by Chickamauga.


G.S. Nichols 61- Clean shaven, no sideburns. Good "flipped" hair. Nichols is quite a character. He gets pretty severely wounded a couple of times but survives and becomes a reunion and Vets' organization big bug. His name is all over a lot of the 1st's postwar stuff. Watch what one year of war does to this kid in the next shot...


G.S. Nichols 62- This is honestly my favorite photo of a soldier in the 1st TN. I don't know that he has gotten a haircut since his last photo, but look at those locks. They ain't just left hanging there. Those have been oiled and curled. Is that practical in the field? Well, probably not, but he still knows how to look good. Also note the kepi with brass on, proving yet again that that practice survived beyond the first year of the war. Civilian trousers (note the check pattern), and a shawl-collared vest underneath that frock. Another ring, too. And those cherubic rosy cheeks! Seriously. Look at the blending of (very high quality) civilian clothing with the military issue (commutation? State issue? hard to tell). There's an independent source of wealth out there for Mr. Nichols to be able to dress like that.


H.H. Cook- One of those dark-collared frocks again, and a side knife like we've seen. A thin belt, too just like J.Mc. Thompson. Baby-faced, just like the rest, and with slightly shorter hair than we've been seeing.

That's all for now. More to come, part 2 of the Williamson Grays will be up next, mostly civilian images in that one. Your thoughts below.