Postcard Springfield
WWI soldier on horse: what can we learn about him from this picture?
This 'may' be a picture of my grandmother's father, whose identity is unknown. Can anyone gather any clues from this picture? Does his uniform indicate any rank? Does the fact that he's on a horse mean anything? There's patch on his sleeve with two crossed hammers(?), and his saddle blanket has the number "2" on it. The photo is printed on a postcard by a photographer in Springfield, IL. Any observations would be appreciated. I've got nothin' to go on but this!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2543/4516903240_1d13fb888e_b.jpg
The insignia is the patch used to designate an "Artificer" from the Spanish American War.
http://www.usarmypatches.com/Rank%20Insignia%20SAW.htm
The uniform looks to be from the Spanish American War
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kshs.org/portraits/graphics/spanish_american_war.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kshs.org/portraits/spanish_american_war.htm&usg=__yNrQS__JlUYOzDq1u2JCtEPvD7E=&h=392&w=494&sz=42&hl=en&start=18&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=CLaTyXaj600HkM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dspanish%2Bamerican%2Bwar%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3D0ZX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26tbs%3Disch:1
The saddle appears to be a McClellan saddle but doesn't show enough to date but it is consistent with a post Civil War saddle or the 1904 version used in WW1.
The hat he is wearing also looks like he is wearing it in the "Montana Peak" style which is another indicator of the Spanish American War.
The tent is also of the style from the Spanish American War. (sixth picture down)
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.floridamemory.com/PhotographicCollection/photo_exhibits/spanishamerican/images/_rc02394.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.floridamemory.com/PhotographicCollection/photo_exhibits/spanishamerican/spanishamericanwar3.cfm&usg=__upgDLQ49VwvfrRJJfd15yXWGAvM=&h=308&w=466&sz=92&hl=en&start=11&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=Grq0_a_5CGgI1M:&tbnh=85&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSpanish%2BAmerican%2BWar%2Btents%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26tbs%3Disch:1
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