Id’d Signed C.R. Rees 1/2 Plate Hand-Colored Ambrotye of Captain George Riggs Gaither Company K, 1st Virginia Cavalry

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Id’d Signed C.R. Rees 1/2 Plate Hand-Colored Ambrotye of Captain George Riggs Gaither Company K, 1st Virginia Cavalry – Superb fully cased, half plate ambrotype of Captain George Riggs Gaither; image was created by the famed Virginia photographer C.R. Rees of Richmond, perhaps some time in the mid-winter of 1862, when Gaither was detailed in Richmond on recruiting duty. The image is signed, on the left side, just below Gaither’s arm – “Rees / Richmond”; Gaither is depicted sitting, in full uniform, wearing his sword belt with a CS two-piece belt plate, over his crimson officer’s sash; resting on the table next to Gaither is his kepi cap with bullion crossed sabers insignia, with the number “1” just above the intersection of the sabers. Various uniform and insignia elements of the image have been artfully tinted, as have Gaithers’ cheeks. Both the image and case remain in excellent condition; there is a very thin crack in the plate on the right side of the image, running the vertical length of the plate; the crack is extremely narrow and does not in any way, subtract from the quality of this superior and rare image. A former owner seemingly taped a black piece of backing paper to the the brass frame on the interior back of the image. 

Captain George Riggs Gaither

Residence Howard County, MD; a 30-year-old Farmer.

Enlisted on 5/14/1861 at Leesburg, VA as a Priv.

On 5/14/1861, he mustered into “K” Co. Virginia 1st Cavalry.

He resigned on 10/1/1863

(Resigned for ill health)

He was listed as:

Detailed 2/14/1862 Richmond, VA (On Recruiting Duty)

Returned 3/15/1862 (place not stated) (Estimated day)

POW 8/27/1862 Manassas, VA

Exchanged 9/21/1862 Aiken’s Landing, VA (Exchanged for Leonard Gordon 11th MA Inf)

Hospitalized 11/15/1863 Richmond, VA

Sent 12/15/1863 Europe (On mission for Confederate Government)

Promotions:

Capt 7/1/1861

Born 1/25/1831 in Baltimore, MD

Died 5/11/1899

(Cotton Trader, Baltimore, MD 1865-79. Major 5th MD Militia 1871 and Lieut Col 1875. Colonel of Veterans Corps 1895.)

Confederate Captain George Riggs Gaither, of Company K, 1st Virginia Cavalry, rests his arm atop a book in this hand-colored ambrotype by the Richmond photographer Charles R. Rees. Gaither’s cap and an elegant dish lie on the table beside him. This full-length portrait of Gaither, which was a large-format, half-plate ambrotype, indicates the officer’s high social status. Gaither, whose ancestors founded Gaithersburg, Maryland, was a captain of the Howard County Dragoons in 1861, when he refused to swear allegiance to the United States. He and other Maryland landowners, many of them slaveholders, left for Virginia, where they joined the Confederate army. On August 27, 1862, the day before the Second Battle of Manassas began, Gaither was captured at Manassas Junction by the Union army. About a month later he was released in an exchange, and the following year he went to Europe on a mission for the Confederate government. After the war Gaither became a cotton trader.

Col. George Riggs Gaither Jr. Veteran

Birth

21 Jan 1831

City of Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Death

11 May 1899 (aged 68)

City of Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Burial

Green Mount Cemetery

Baltimore, City of Baltimore, Maryland

Mortuary Notice, Baltimore Sun, May 12, 1899: “COL. GEORGE R. GAITHER DEAD. The Well-Known Business Man And Soldier A Victim of Heart Disease. Col. George R. Gaither, whose name for many years has been prominent in business and military circles in Baltimore, died yesterday afternoon at 2:45 o’clock at his residence, 310 Cathedral street. He had been ill about ten days, the cause of his death being heart disease. Colonel Gaither was in the sixty-ninth year of his age. He was the oldest son of the lat George R. Gaither, who for years was well known as one of the leading capitalists of the city and was a direct descendant of John Gaither, who settled in Anne Arundel county in 1650. The family has ever since lived in Maryland. Colonel Gaither was born in Baltimore, January 21, 1831, and received his earlier education in the public schools of the city, afterward graduating from the academy at Lawrenceville, N.J. Prior to the civil war he resided at his place in Howard county, which he named ‘Bleak House’ in honor of Dickens’ book, which appeared about that time. Colonel Gaither took an active interest in military affairs, and as a young man formed a cavalry company near Ellicott city, known as the Howard County Dragoons, with himself as captain. In April, 1861, at the time of the riots in Baltimore, Captain Gaither and his company of dragoons came to the city, where they were stationed for several days. When the war broke out Captain Gaither and most of his company went South. He was appointed captain in the First Virginia Cavalry of the Confederate army. He participated in many of the important battles of the war under Gen. J. E. B. Stuart and Fitzhugh Lee. In August, 1862, he was taken prisoner at the battle of Manassas, but was exchanged in two weeks. With the close of the war he returned to Baltimore and successfully engaged in the cotton business for a number of years. He joined the Fifth Regiment, and in 1870 was elected major, and afterward lieutenant-colonel, commanding the regiment. He resigned from the regiment in 1877, but during the railroad riots took charge of the armory while the regiment was absent. He later became a member of the Fifth Regiment Veteran Corps and was elected its first lieutenant-colonel. Five years ago he was made its colonel, and still held that position at the time of his death. Colonel Gaither was an enthusiastic sportsman and a keen hunter. He frequently took hunting trips through Maryland and Virginia. In 1851 he married Miss Rebecca H. Dorsey, daughter of Col. Charles W. Dorsey, of Howard county, and granddaughter of Gen. Charles Ridgely, of Hampton, a former Governor of Maryland. Mrs. Gaither, with seven children, survives him. They are his eldest daughter, Mrs. Mary R. Norris; George R. Gaither, Jr., attorney general of Maryland; Capt. Charles D. Gaither, United States Volunteers; Dr. A. Bradley Gaither, John D. Gaither, Miss Rebecca D. Gaither and Capt. Ridgely Gaither. The funeral will probably take place tomorrow and will be attended with military honors, the Fifth Regiment Veteran Corps acting as an escort. The interment will be made in Greenmount Cemetery.”

According to the Gaither Family Bible, Family Record, page 3, George Riggs Gaither, Junior and wife Rebecca Hanson Dorsey had the following children:

Mary Ridgely Gaither, b. 30 JUN 1852

Henrietta Gaither, b. 4 NOV 1855

George Riggs Gaither 3rd, b. 28 FEB 1858

Charles Dorsey Gaither, b. 27 NOV 1860

Abram Bradley Gaither, b. 18 MAR 1863

John Dorsey Gaither, b. 6 DEC 1865

Thomas Henry Gaither, b. 9 NOV 1867

Also, from the Family Record, page 6:

Hannah, wife of Geo. R. Gaither, Senior died June 27th 1873 aged 73 years 10 months

Geo. R. Gaither, Senior died September 18th 1875 aged 79 years 5 months

George Riggs Gaither, Jr. died May 11th 1899, aged 68 years 3 months

Rebecca Hanson Gaither wife of George Riggs Gaither, Jr. died July 14, 1916 aged 83 years 3 months