scottiques Posted August 18, 2016 Share #1 Posted August 18, 2016 This Civil War carte de visite pictures identified Marine Corps Corporal Thomas W. Swayne: Online records show that 19 year old Swayne, enlisted in the USMC at Philadelphia, PA on 30 MAR 1861 and was assigned to the USS Minnesota. He served on the Minnesota for over 3 years. The USS Minnesota was the Flagship of the Atlantic Blockading Squadron and was part of the Battle of Hampton Roads. During which the ship ran aground and took several casualties after being fired on by the CSS Jamestown, Patrick Henry and Virginia (Merrimack). In May of 1864, Swayne was first noted as being transferred to the USS Malvern. The Malvern was a captured blockade runner that was used to enforce the Atlantic Blockade. The ship participated in the Fort Fisher Campaign. Swayne was promoted to CPL on 18 SEP 1864. In late MAR 1865, Swayne was transferred to Norfolk Station, VA with a status of awaiting discharge from the USS Malvern. He was discharged on 16 APR 1865 and returned to Philadelphia, where he worked for the railroad. He was tragically killed a short 5 years later in a train accident. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottiques Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share #2 Posted August 18, 2016 Here is a blow up/ oriented image of the identification on the back: Swayne's signing of the cdv in three different places is unusual! Tax stamps on the image would bracket it from 1 AUG 64- 31 JUL 66. Based on the CPL rank (18 SEP 64) and location, I would suspect the image was made close to his discharge from service. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian from Columbus Posted September 10, 2016 Share #3 Posted September 10, 2016 Congrats Scott! Very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottiques Posted September 13, 2016 Author Share #4 Posted September 13, 2016 Thanks much for looking Brian! I was happy to get it. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagjetta Posted September 13, 2016 Share #5 Posted September 13, 2016 Man, that is a SOLID image. Great ink inscription. Well-done on the research! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted September 14, 2016 Share #6 Posted September 14, 2016 Thx for sharing with us! s/f Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottiques Posted September 15, 2016 Author Share #7 Posted September 15, 2016 Man, that is a SOLID image. Great ink inscription. Well-done on the research! John Thanks-- I appreciate that. Most of the documentation on ship service came from the FREE site Familysearch.org. I need to give a big thank you to the folks on here who have mentioned the usefulness of the site. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now