He received a very rare on the battlefield promotion to general by President Jefferson Davis, at the First Battle of Manassas, Va., in July 1861

Twice wounded in 1862; at the Battles of Cross Keys, and Gaines Mill, Virginia

(1816-71) He was born on the "Elmwood" plantation along the Manokin River in Somerset County, Maryland. He graduated in the West Point class of 1837, and was assigned to the 2nd U.S. Artillery, and went to Florida to fight in the Second Seminole Indian War before being assigned to duty at Detroit, Michigan, during a series of territorial disputes between the United States and Canada. During the Mexican War, he was cited for bravery during the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, and was promoted to brevet captain. He also saw action in the engagements at Fort Brown, Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Molino del Rey, Chapultepec, and the capture of Mexico City. He served in Florida again during the Third Seminole Indian War in 1849–50. At the outbreak of the Civil War he commanded the U.S. Arsenal at Augusta, Georgia which he surrendered to Rebel forces. Resigning his commission in the U.S. Army, he was commissioned Colonel of the 1st Maryland Infantry which he led at the Battle of 1st Manassas, where he received a very rare on the battlefield promotion to general by President Jefferson Davis. He served with distinction under General Stonewall Jackson in the 1862 Shenandoah Valley campaign, where he was wounded in the leg and had his horse shot out from under him at the Battle of Cross Keys. General Elzey was shot through the head at the Battle of Gaines Mill, Va., on June 27, 1862, a serious wound that kept him from active field command. Commissioned a major general, to date from December 4, 1862, he commanded the Department of Richmond, and was charged with the defense of the Confederacy's capital city of Richmond. He thwarted a Union cavalry raid by General George Stoneman during the 1863 Chancellorsville campaign, as well as dealing with the attacks by Union gunboats that threatened Richmond from the James River. Later in the war he served as General John Bell Hood's Chief of Artillery in the Tennessee campaign. After the collapse of the Confederacy, he was paroled in Washington, Georgia, in May 1865. After the war, Elzey returned to his native Maryland, and retired with his wife and son to a small farm near Jessup's Cut, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. He died on February 21, 1871, in Baltimore, and was buried there in Green Mount Cemetery.

Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Half view wearing a double breasted Confederate uniform coat with his buttons spacing indicating his rank as that of brigadier general, but his collar insignia shows him with rank of colonel. This was probably Elzey's first war portrait taken, and it was not unusual early in the war for there to be some confusion with rank. Back mark: Published by E. & H.T. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York. Very fine image. A desirable Maryland Confederate. Uncommon.