Civil War Soldier's Corrrespondence With Stamp

Thought some of us might be interested in looking at this unidentified soldier in camp, contemplating his correspondence with the aid of a rather impressive pipe. The Smithsonian is putting up high res scans of some of their material and you can zoom in to see enough detail that we might be able to reduce the stamp to several likely possibilities.

The soldier himself is unknown, but the photo would have been taken near Washington DC as is is a Matthew Brady. The buttons appear to bear a harp motif which would make him a member of the so-called "Irish Brigade" which was primarily from New York, with one Massachusetts and later one Pennsylvania regiment added.

The photo here is to whet the appetite. Follow the link to the full deal and click on the letter or card to enlarge. https://www.si.edu/object/civil-war...NPG.81.M2420

The stamp would be a Scott 65. Period.

Why not a Scott 20 ?

Statistically, the odds are very long against any other stamp.

Could be a #26.

I actually meant to type 26, wasn't until I read the replies that I noticed I typed 20....

Yes, either 26 or 65, but leaning very heavily toward 65's based on length of use and number of soldiers during that period. A haggard soldier far off in the field, again later in the war.

Very interesting photograph!

Very unlikely to be a #26 since #26 was probably declared invalid for postage before the time that photograph was taken.

Do we know when this photo was taken?

Cropping, enlarging and sharpening the area of the stamp below. Looks like I see an oval around the portrait which would point toward a S.25/26?

By going to the original source, I was able to find a little better image to cleanup. See below. Looking at this slightly better version, I think it could be either one. The stamps are the same size physically but the portrait on the 26 takes up more area than the 65 but I don't see an oval shape on 65s. So I still think 26.

Definitely have other things I should be doing. But not as much fun!

A S.26 and S.65 shot from roughly same angle turned to grayscale.

My eye doesn't detect any dark background below the bust in the photo, so I'm going with #26 design.

It seems like a #26. If so, that explains the smirk on his face. He realized that he has the rare "Old Stamps Not Recognized" cancel on this cover, and knows that he will be able to sell it for $.

edit: he may also recognize that its a good plate variety of the stamp as well. You never know.

If I recall correctly, the Irish Brigade was formed in late 1861 but its soldiers served in other units before this, including at First Bull Run (July 1861). Therefore, the man in the photo could well be holding a letter mailed to him before demonetization.