- Date:
- 1865
- Original Format:
- Carte de Visite
- Item#:
- MES20634
- Photographer:
- Jeremiah Gurney
Alexander Shaler (1827-1911)
Alexander Shaler was a major general in the Union Army. At Chancellorsville, Shaler fought bravely; he was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers and received the Congressional Medal of Honor for the storming of Marye's Heights. During 1863-64 he was in charge of the Johnson's Island military prison. Shaler was later captured and in retaliation for his treatment of Confederate prisoners, he was confined in Richmond. Shaler was brevetted major general of volunteers for war service. After the war he was a New York City Fire Commissioner. Shaler was twice tried for bribery but both trials resulted in a hung jury. In this photograph, he is wearing his general's uniform with a chest full of medals.