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1865. "City Point, Virginia. Scouts at Secret Service headquarters in the last months of the war." Wet plate glass negative. View full size.
Does the tall guy on the Right qualify this picture for the tag "Handsome Rake"?
I am not sure what Civil Scouts did for the Southern state, Virginia, but two of those scouts are black.
[This is a Union encampment. - Dave]
Is the shorter man standing Allan Pinkerton?
The tall fellow on the right looks like he could do all the scouting just by looking over the crowd!
Was he perhaps a body double for the vertically gifted President Lincoln?
Some photos are just so extraordinary, that comments don't suffice... this photo is fascinating on so many levels. First, it's an excellent quality photo- clear and sharp. Second, the people aren't posed stiffly, but are sitting or standing naturally (ok, the guy in the beard is a little stiff). Every detail... their boots, pants, jackets, hats, faces, just bear investigation to gather clues about what life must have been like for them in the waning months of the war. The black scouts particularly must have amazing stories to tell, if they only could!
Definitely low-tech secret service here. Note the shortwave aerial cleverly disguised as a washing line.
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