Peter Tallman, Union Army soldier, 1861. Submitted by Peter Stunz of Ocean Grove.
We received this photograph from Peter Stunz of Ocean Grove. His email offers this explanation:
Just a side note: This is my great grandfather Peter Tallman (I was named after him, my mother’s maiden name is Tallman). He was a volunteer with the 127th Volunteer Infantry. He never saw a battlefield. He was severely injured when a tree limb fell on him while they were clearing a path somewhere unknown.
His past was one of many reasons that lead me to be a student of history. I would also like to add as a side note that the Tallmans have been living in Ocean Grove (renting) since nearly the beginning and we have had our summer home here since 1955. We love reading your blog and have been loyal readers since Sandy.
Editor’s note: Thanks to Peter for sharing. I love to hear anecdotes from those who have lived here and know the history of Ocean Grove. Of course, OG was founded after the Civil War (1861-1865.) But, the Methodist antecedents that ultimately led to the founding of the Grove, had their origins much earlier.
There were many Civil War soldiers from New Jersey and New York, and Peter’s great grandfather was a member of a volunteer regiment that was mustered in 1862 in Staten Island for 3 years service (until 1865). It was, as he points out, the 127th Volunteer New York Infantry Regiment.
That outfit did see some action, but I was interested, from a medical point of view, to learn that they lost 130 men—35 killed and 94 dead of “disease.” Conditions tended to be awful for soldiers on both sides, with malnutrition, poor water, bad hygiene and of course many communicable diseases before the age of antibiotics. The most common medical procedure was amputation of legs—a horrible chapter in American medical history, but combat medicine/surgery is so much better now. However, like all military preparations, we hope that the techniques will never be needed.
The photograph Peter sent is a daguerreotype, a process that was invented around 1840 by Louis Daguerre and used mostly for portraits. It was an expensive and fragile method using silvered (light sensitive) copper plates. These images are very collectible these days, especially ones that are of Civil War soldiers.
Below is a link on BF that discusses photography during the Civil War (the last part of a piece about a historic photograph from Ocean Grove):
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
JAQUELINE SCHWAB “The Battle Cry of Freedom” from Ken Burns documentary “The Civil War.”