2d U. S. Dragoons Officer
Courtesy William J. Schultz Collection

Second Lieutenant Bezaleel Wells Armstrong, Second U. S. Dragoons, graduated from West Point in 1845. This daguerreotype shows the informal approach to uniform regulations of the era. Here, Armstrong wears the regulation dress uniform coat (adopted in 1833) and officer's forage cap (adopted 1839), a non-conforming combination.