Beschreibung:

Lot of 4, including two sixth plate ambrotypes believed to show Thomas Evans Balding a “Little cuss of a Captain" who served with the Wisconsin 5th and 24th Infantries during the Civil War, framed together with a sixth plate tintype believed to be his wife Harriet Palmer Balding, 4 x 10 in. overall. The book entitled The 24th Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War: A Biography of a Regiment, written by William J.K. Beaudot, also accompanies the lot. Captain Balding is mentioned 9 times in the book and pictured. The uniformed subject shown in the first ambrotype is identified through comparisons with photos found through research as First Sergeant Thomas Evans Balding of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Balding was born on May 4th, 1837, in London, England, and moved with his family to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1849. He enlisted on May 10th, 1861, for three years service; mustered into service as a fourth sergeant of Company B of the 5th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment on July 13th, 1861, at Madison, Wisconsin; promoted to first sergeant, no date; promoted to first lieutenant of Company A of the 24th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment on September 1st, 1862; wounded in action on November 25th, 1863, at Missionary Ridge, Tennessee; promoted to captain of Company K on April 18th, 1865; brevetted to the rank of Major of Volunteers on March 13th, 1865; and mustered out of service with the company on June 10th, 1865, at Nashville, Tennessee. A 1915 circular notes that when he..."Mustered out with Company 'K' at Nashville, June 10th, 1865, Major Balding promptly sheathed his sword, returned to ... the Knights Templar, who talk to this day of what they were able to achieve under Tom Balding as Captain General." During his lifetime, Balding befriended Arthur McArthur (General Douglas MacArthur’s father), as detailed in the accompanying book. Balding died on March 21st, 1920, at Milwaukee and is buried at the Forest Home Cemetery. Balding is shown in the ambrotype wearing the Zouave uniform adopted by the 5th Wisconson Infantry when it was re-organized in April of 1861. The uniform consisted of a gray Zouave jacket trimmed in yellow with several ball buttons along the edge; a gray vest with yellow trim, gray trousers with yellow trim, and red kepis trimmed in yellow with a brass “Z” attached to the front of the cap; they also adopted a red fez with yellow tassel. In addition to this uniform they were supplied by the ladies of Milwaukee with a fatigue uniform, which consisted of brown trousers, a hickory shirt, and red caps. The company’s Zouave uniform remained in use from April to August of 1861, however due to wear and tear of active service they were replaced in August when the company was issued the regulation United States Army uniform. Information regarding the 5th Wisconsin Infantry and the Zouave uniform is available here: http://sites.rootsweb.com/~scprnyz/ZouaveArchive/UnionZouaves/Wisconsin/Wisconsin_5thInfantryRegiment.html#Rost The second ambrotype showing Balding was taken ca 1857 as per documentation posted on ancestry.com regarding the Kevinakling (member name) Kling family tree. A copy of the ambrotype is included in the tree and identifies the image as being taken in 1857. Although unidentified, the woman represented in the tintype is likely Balding's wife, Harriet Palmer Balding (m. 1865), who was a member of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America and was also listed with the DAR. She was eighth in decent from Captain Myles Standish. Photographs of the couple in old age are available at Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86935116/harriet-e.-balding; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86935150/thomas-evans-balding. Condition: Ambrotype of Balding in uniform a bit dark, contrast a big weak. Details still visible. Ambrotype of Balding in civilian dress is crisp, clear, in very fine condition. Tintype of woman a bit dark, contrast a bit weak.