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The 8"x10" glass plate negative of this picture had always been of interest to me as a boy. Four of my grandfathers five sons had served in WWI and I wondered if this was a picture of their homecoming. Then when the negative was scanned into a high resolution digital image some interesting information on the building behind the troops became readable. The year 1838 was found carved in the building behind the upper left edge of a column. It turns out the building of the capitol of Missouri at Jefferson City was started in that year. The same capitol building burned in 1911 when it was struck by lighting. Comparing this picture to pictures of the burned out capitol the columns matched. At least I had a window of time that the picture was taken.
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Second capitol of Missouri that burned in 1911. The site of the "Our Troops Come Home Photo. Photo from the Summer's Collection in the Missouri State Archives. Look closely at the steamboat on the river. Side views of the J.W. Spencer ferryboat that I have, indicate we have found her yet again. |
Searching the web I sent copies of the photo to organizations dealing with war pictures from around the turn of the century. No help came. In fact several of the history buffs were sure it would never be identified. They were wrong.
When I sent the picture to a very helpful photo archivist at the Missouri Secretary of States Office the search was over. She not only recognized the picture she had a copy of it that was printed in the Directory of Jefferson City and Cole County around 1900. The troops were Company "L" 2D Reg't of INF.,MO Vols. and had just returned from duty in the Spanish-American War. No credit had been given to B.F. Oliver when the photo was printed, but with his original negative in my hands, that is now changed in the Missouri Records.
Wait, there is more: The publication had the names of all the troops pictured. Mustered into service at Jefferson Barracks, May 12, 1898. Mustered out at Albany, Ga.,March 3, 1899. The Officers were, Claud L. Clark, Captain, Otto G.W. Fleming, 1st Lieut.,Addison D. Elston, 2nd Lieut. All the Sergeants, Corporals, and Privates are also listed. If you have reason to believe that you might have a grandfather or great-grandfather pictured in this group email me and I'll check the names for you. The print of "Our Troops Come Home" is available in a ready for frame photo-print from the original master scan sized 12" tall x16" wide.
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