Carte de visite by Henry Ulke of Washington, D.C. Two gents pose with a wet plate camera equipped with a Petzval lens, a carte de visite album and a stereoviewer. The man standing is Edward Thornton Tayloe, the scion of a prominent family that traced its lineage to Maryland and Virginia. His father, Benjamin Ogle Tayloe, was an influential Whig activist with deep political connections in the nation’s capital. Two residences in the family, the Octagon House and Tayloe House, are well-known landmarks. The latter home, located off Lafayette Square across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, was the birthplace of Edward Thornton Tayloe in 1829. Prior to the Civil War he became a cotton planter in Alabama and, after the country split in 1861, he cast his lot with the Confederacy. He joined the army as a lieutenant in the Jeff Davis Legion of Gen. Wade Hampton's Division of JEB Stuart's Cavalry in the Army of Northern Virginia. He was listed as a casualty in the 1864 Battle of Trevilian Station. He married a first cousin, Rosa Matilda Tayloe, and she gave birth to five children, two of which lived to maturity. Tayloe died in 1881. The seated man bears a strong resemblance to Tayloe. He may be his older brother, John Dickinson Tayloe (1826-1901). I encourage you to use this image for educational purposes only. However, please ask for permission.