CDV on cardstock mount with photographer's imprint on verso. A war-date view of John Calvin Brown wearing a uniform that indicates this portrait was likely taken between August and December 1864, after Brown was wounded in action.

John Calvin Brown (1827-1889) was a 34-year-old lawyer who opposed secession when he joined the Confederate Infantry in 1861. He was commissioned colonel of the 3rd Tennessee Infantry and was at the battle and surrender of Fort Donelson. He was a POW at some point before August 1862, when he was exchanged for Union soldier Hugh P. Kennedy of the 31st Pennsylvania Infantry. Promoted brigadier general in 1862, Brown participated in the battles of Perryville, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Franklin, where he was wounded leading his brigade. He was promoted major general in 1864, fought in the Atlanta Campaign and in the Carolinas, until he surrendered his forces at Bennett Place in April 1865. Following the war, Brown resumed practicing law and was elected Governor of Tennessee, serving from 1871 to 1875.