A photograph preserves the essence of memory and the ambiance of the past. We find ourselves reliving moments beneath the yellowing gloss of pictures contained in old family albums, a random photo of an old friend tucked away in a Christmas card, or a childhood birthday many decades ago. From a historical perspective, many events of our nation are preserved by the camera’s lens. The older the photograph, the more compelling and enchanting it becomes. When most people think of the oldest pictures, it’s of the Civil War – snapshots of Gettysburg, Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and other people of that era. Many are not aware that there are photographs of Revolutionary war veterans, some of whom served under George Washington himself and several of our pre-civil war presidents, which we typically only see in paintings and drawings.
William Henry Harrison was the first sitting president to be photographed using the new technology of the daguerreotype on March 4, 1841. Unfortunately, that photo, much like its subject, had an unexpectedly short tenure. Harrison, the 9th president, died one month later, on April 4, 1841, of pneumonia, and the picture taken of him a month earlier after his inauguration was never found. Harrison was the first commander-in-chief to die in office. However, two years later, on August 1, 1843, our sixth president John Quincy Adams (age 75), was photographed in his Quincy, Massachusetts, home. Adams was the first ex-president to have his image taken for posterity.
The second oldest surviving photo of a U.S. President is of our 11th, James Polk, on February 12, 1849. Polk was in a foul mood on the day this picture was taken after dealing with many people asking to be appointed to various offices, as an entry in his diary confirms.
“I have great contempt for such persons and dispose of their applications very summarily. They take up much of my time every day. I yielded to the request of an artist named Brady, of New York, by sitting for my daguerreotype likeness today. I sat in the large dining room.”
James Polk, February 12, 1849
This is the third oldest surviving image of an ex-American President, Martin Van Buren, our 8th commander-in-chief. It was taken at some point in the 1850s after he left office. Martin Van Buren was president from 1837 to 1841 and ran again in 1844 but lost the nomination to James Polk, pictured above.
These timeless photos connect us to our history in a way other mediums can’t. A photograph is not subject to the interpretation of a brushstroke; they capture the expression at its source with few artistic filters. This is very evident in the following snapshots of Revolutionary War Veterans. It is profound to look into the photographed eyes of a soldier who served under George Washington to secure our freedom from the crown.
Conrad Heyer holds two distinctions as an American. He is the earliest born person to ever be photographed, according to Smithsonian Magazine, and the only Revolutionary War veteran captured on film who crossed the Delaware with General George Washington in December 1776, according to The New Market Press. This photograph of Conrad Heyer was taken in 1852 at the age of 103.
Samuel Downing was 102 in this photo in 1864. He served under General Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Saratoga. Downing once stated that “Arnold was a fighting general, one who treated his soldiers well, and as brave a man as ever lived.” He also lamented that “Generals in the Civil War were not as gentlemanly as they were in his time.
Daniel Waldo was drafted in 1778 in Connecticut at the age of 16 and was captured by the British and later released in exchange for British soldiers; Waldo was over 100 at the time of this photo.
Lemuel Cook, age 105, was the oldest surviving veteran of the war. He joined the Continental Army only by convincing the recruiter he would serve for the duration of the war. Cook was in the Army at Brandywine and Yorktown, under the command of Washington, Lafayette, and Rochambeau. He remembered Washington ordered his men not to laugh at the British after the surrender, because surrender was bad enough.
Alexander Milliner, a Quebec native, served as a drummer boy at the Battles of White Plains, Brandywine, Monmouth, and Yorktown. Additionally, he served on the crew of the USS Constitution. Milliner recalled George Washington patting him on the head and referring to him as “his boy.”
In this picture, William Hutching, over 100 years of age, was a native of Maine who enlisted at age 15. He served in coastal defense batteries along the Maine coast. The British captured him in the Siege of Castine and released him a year later because of his young age.
These rare photographs are a window into our nation’s history that animate the past in the way only a photo can. They strengthen our connection to important people and events that created this wonderful nation we are all fortunate to call the United States of America.
If you have not seen these photographs, I hope you enjoyed the experience.
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