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blogbrainsmallSeacoast History Blog #41
March 28, 2009 

Joanne from Pennsylvania called the other day. She has a photo taken by LV Newell of Portsmouth, NH. That’s not rare. We’ve posted scores of them on this site (see Historic Portsmouth section). But Joanne’s photo was taken when Newell was at Point Lookout in MD. He set up shop shooting portraits of Union guards and Confederate prisoners during the Civil War. But his historic collection was later destroyed. (Story continued below with pix)

 

New Hampshire photo link to Point Lookout, MD

Point Lookout figure / SeacoastNH.comJoanne is looking for Lawrence Berry Taylor who became mayor of Alexandria, VA after the Civil War. He was detained a Fort Lookout. Joanne thinks the photo below might be him, but then again, it could be his brother-in-law William Llewellyn Powell. Or maybe one of his two brothers. Since her first email (see below) she is having second thoughts. Taylor would have been 43-45 years old during the war, she says. This soldier may be too young.

And so it goes with the plodding search for historical facts. In most cases, with unlabeled images, we may never know. My interest is simply in seeing a photo, any [photo, taken by Newell in Maryland. That’s because his entire collection of glass negatives, transported to New Hampshire after the war, was smashed and lost. You can read the sad story in my article "The Day History Died". Joanne found it searching the web.

Of course, I couldhelp in her quest. If only Newell’s collection survived, we might have been able to ID hundreds of Confederate POWs. Joanne is allowing me to post this great photo, and in return, we’re hoping someone searching for this page, might clear up the mystery. It happens, Each web page is like a message in a bottle, tossed into the Google Sea, awaiting the next searcher.

Lafayette V Newell in Maryland / SeacoastNH.com

As a bonus, we also get to see the back of Newell’s photo card while in Maryland. It is almost identical to the one he later used in Portsmouth, where he went on to create a huge archive of images that are among our most important resources for studying 19th century history here, especially the Navy Yard.

Here is Joanne’s original email. If you know more than we do, send a message.

"I believe this is a CDV of Lawrence Berry Taylor of Alexandria, VA. 1818-1873. According to a book by Bruce Allerdice, Taylor Attended UVA & Princeton, became a lawyer. Was mayor of Alexandria, and a State Representative, 1855-56. Married Virginia Powell. He was a COL. in the Confederacy. He also notes: Judge, military Court of Richmond Defense March 23, 1865 (I am not sure what he means by that). Paroled April 25, 1865 Fairfax Courthouse. Practiced law post war, died Nov. 16, 1873, buried in Ivy Hills Cemetery, Alexandria.
Regards, Joanne

Soldier at Point Lookout, MD prison camp in Civil War by Lafayette V Newell / SeacoastNH.com

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Is this Confederate POW Lawrence Berry Taylor?
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