Gettysburg's unknown soldier
Subtitle: the life, death, and celebrity of Amos Humiston
By: Mark H. Dunkelman.
Publisher: Praeger
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Westport, Conn
Language: eng
Number of pages: 272
Subjects: Humiston, Amos, 1830-1863.; Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863.; Soldiers -- New York (State) -- Biography.; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Unknown military personnel.; Pennsylvania -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Unknown military personnel.; New York (State) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Unknown military personnel.; Portville (N.Y.) -- Biography.
Description: He was found dead on the battlefield at Gettysburg, an unknown soldier with nothing to identify him but an ambrotype of his three children, clutched in his fingers. With the photograph as the single, sad clue to his identity, a publicity campaign to locate his family swept the North. Within a month, the bereaved widow and children were located in Portville, New York, and the devoted father was revealed to be Sergeant Amos Humiston of the 154th New York Volunteers.

Using many previously untapped sources, this book tells the tale of 19th-century war, sentiment, and popular culture in greater detail than ever before. In this extensive account, a full portrait emerges of Amos Humiston, the loving husband and father destined to be remembered for his death tableau, and his family, the widow and orphans who struggled for the rest of their lives with celebrity born of tragedy.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.