William Philip Schwartz

The Letters of William Philip Schwartz 1842-1855

In 1987, John F. Schwartz transcribed a collection of letters from his great-grandfather, William Philip Schwartz, who took the first known war photographs in 1847. This remarkable correspondence covers his exile from wife and family in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, service in the US Army in the Indian Wars and the Mexican-American War, his court-martial and desertion, his adventures in the Gold Rush and the Pacific, his enlistment in the Marine Corps and service aboard the USS Constellation in the Mediterranean Sea. His vivid and highly detailed letters paint an unforgettable portrait of a life on the American frontier and at sea-a must-read for anyone interested in American history.