 This
fine original silhouette depicts Cadet Isaac Ingalls
Stevens in his West Point uniform in the year of his
graduation, 1839. Stevens graduated first in his
class and began a career of service that spanned from
his service in the Mexican-American War to his death in
the American Civil War. During the Mexican War, Stevens
participated in battles including the Seige at Vera
Cruz, the Battle of Chapultepec, and the Battle for
Mexico City where he as wounded in action.
Following the war, in 1853, he was appointed by
President Franklin Pierce to serve as the first
Territorial Governor of the Washington Territory, and
also served as a delegate to the U.S. House of
Representatives from the Washington Territory in the
late 1850s.
In 1861, in the opening months of the Civil War, Stevens
was again commissioned as an active Army officer,
serving first as the Colonel of the 79th New York
Volunteers, known as the "Cameron Highlanders", and
later being promoted to Brigadier General on September
28, 1861. Stevens participated in several campaigns in
1862, including the Pope's Northern Virginia Campaign
and the Second Battle of Bull Run in August, 1862.
On September 1, 1862, at the Battle of Chantilly,
Stevens was killed while leading his old regiment, the
79th New York Volunteers, in to battle. According
to witnesses, Stevens picked up the fallen colors of his
regiment, and, while waving the colors and shouting
"Highlanders, my Highlanders, follow your general!" he
was struck in the temple by a bullet and was killed
instantly.
Fine silhouettes such
as this were very popular from the 1820s to the 1840s,
in the decades prior to the advent of photography.
This particular silhouette, made and signed by T. Corby,
is of fine quality, with gilt accents to highlight
Stevens' epaulettes, buttons, sash and riding crop.
Only the finest silhouettes of the period display the
use of gilt highlighting as found on this example.
Period depictions of cadets from this era are also
extremely rare. This would have been analogous to
a modern graduation photo of Isaac Stevens. It
survives as an incredible piece of ephemera from a very
early epoch in the history of the United States Military
Academy, and identified to a known graduate who served
with great distinction and who died on the battlefield
leading his soldiers gallantly during the American Civil
War. |
