behind AotW

Private James Burke of Company D, 27th Indiana Infantry was wounded at Antietam on 17 September 1862. Here he is perhaps 25 years later, about the time he began receiving a government pension for his war service.

Thanks to Polly Kaczmarek for this photograph. She got it from her grandmother, who was James’ granddaughter.

Polly notes the similarity with the photocopy, below, of a picture found in his pension file in Washington, DC. In it, as she says, he’s “shirtless and scrawny,” at least in part due to his wartime experiences.