Intelligence officer for the Army of the Potomac
(1828-1900) He graduated from Rutgers in 1847 and studied law at Yale. He practiced law until the start of the Civil War when he was commissioned captain of the 20th New York State Militia. He was mustered out 3 months later and commissioned colonel of the 120th New York Infantry who he served with in the Army of the Potomac. He served on the staffs of Generals' Joe Hooker, George G. Meade and U.S. Grant. He also served as Deputy Provost Marshal General of the Army of the Potomac and Chief of the Bureau of Military Information. He was promoted to brevet brigadier general, December 20, 1864, and brevet major general, March 13, 1865. In 1867, he was appointed special agent of the U.S. State Department by request of William H. Seward, and he went to Europe to locate and investigate persons who may have been involved in the assassination of President Lincoln. Seward was especially interested in finding John Surratt, one of the Lincoln conspirators who escaped justice. Surratt was the son of Mary Surratt, one of the four conspirators who were hung, on July 7, 1865. Sharpe served as U.S. Marshal, for the Southern District of New York, 1870-73.
Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Bust view in uniform with rank of brigadier general. Backmark: Alexander Gardner, Washington, D.C., with vignette of the U.S. Capitol building. Light age toning. Very fine. Rare. |