LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 June Civil War Grand Format Auction #663  / 

74278

Confederate Surgeon Dr. Taliaferro CDV

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:800.00 - 1,000.00 USD
Confederate Surgeon Dr. Taliaferro CDV
<B>Dr. E. T. "Thomas" Taliaferro, Confederate Surgeon of the 46th Tennessee Infantry <I>Carte de Visite</B></I>.</B></I> Dr. Taliaferro was a surgeon at Paris, Tennessee in Henry County at the outbreak of the Civil War. A friend and colleague of Dr. Samuel Houston Caldwell who would join the 46th Tennessee Infantry before serving with General Nathan Bedford Forrest, Dr. Taliaferro (pronounced "Tollifer") joined the 46th as well, serving as assistant surgeon under Surgeon, now Major, Samuel Houston Caldwell. <BR><BR>This 2 ¼” x 4” image of Taliaffero was made at Waco, Texas just after the war. There is a backmark of "Jackson & Knight, Photographers, Waco, Texas". <BR><BR>One source for the history of the units from Henry County, Tennessee where Doctor Taliaferro and Caldwell enlisted is the hardbound book <I>A History of the Henry County Commands Which Served in the Confederate States Army... With Portraits</B></I> written by Lieutenant Edwin H. Rennolds, himself a soldier with the 5th Tennessee Infantry during the war. <BR><BR>In the original edition dated 1904, Samuel H. Caldwell's experiences at Island Number 10 in 1862 are recounted by Lieutenant Rennolds. Alongside a copy of a photograph of Confederate Surgeon Caldwell on page 181 of the book, Rennolds tells the story of how Dr. Caldwell and his assistant Dr. T. J. Taliaferro fought an outbreak of measles while the 46th Tennessee was under siege at Island Number 10. He vividly describes the miserable conditions under which the men lived and how the surgeons “had their hands and brains and hearts full of duties." As the surgeons sought refuge for some of the men in nearby Hickman, Kentucky, Rennolds states that Caldwell and Taliaferro “did all that human skill could do with the very limited means at their command.” As Union gunboats surrounded the Confederates, General William Mackall was forced to surrender his men including the two field surgeons. The officers, including Taliaferro and Caldwell were sent to Camp Douglas, Illinois. <BR><BR>Thomas Taliaffero was a working surgeon while at Camp Douglas as a prisoner. He was exchanged on September 23, 1862 but later fought with the 26th Tennessee Infantry which saw action at Murfreesboro and Chickamauga.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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