John Wetmore Hinsdale, Heartthrob

Every generation has its heartthrobs.  Think Justin Bieber, Robert Pattinson, Tristan Wilds, and Chris Hemsworth. History junkies realize that handsome dudes are nothing new, as demonstrated by the tumblr site My Daguerreotype Boyfriend.

Those of us in the Rubenstein find our own John Wetmore Hinsdale pretty irresistible. In 1861 he left The University of North Carolina to enlist in the Confederate Army and served with distinction under Generals Holmes, Pettigrew, Pender and Price before being elected colonel of the Third Regiment Junior Reserves.

John Wetmore Hinsdale, Hunk. Click to enlarge!

He went on to attend Columbia University Law School, pursue a successful legal career, and serve as president of the North Carolina Bar Association. John Wetmore Hinsdale was clearly more than just a pretty face.

My thanks to Walter Hilderman, for bringing this photo to my attention.  Mr. Hilderman is in the final stages of his Lieutenant General Theophilus Hunter Holmes, C.S.A., forthcoming from McFarland Publishers in late 2013.

This photograph is from the Hinsdale Family Papers.  We’re submitting it to My Daguerreotype Boyfriend, and we hope to see it there soon!

Post contributed by Elizabeth Dunn, Research Services Librarian.