Portrait of Abraham Joseph Mabbett
Ronald S. Coddington Collection
Behind this portrait of Abraham Joseph Mabbett, well-groomed and meticulously dressed in a tailored suit and military hat with a star on one side, is the story of a man who served the U.S. Army without enlisting.
Born in New York and raised in Maryland, Mabbett grew up in a Society of Friends settlement outside Washington, D.C. As a Quaker, he faced a dilemma shared by many of his faith when the Civil War came: how to support the Union without violating the peace testimony central to his religion. Rather than enlist, he served as a sutler to the 123rd New York Infantry, supplying goods to soldiers in the field. Sutlers were entrepreneurs, selling food, clothing, and small luxuries otherwise not available to troops. The best were honest traders, the worst, opportunists who preyed on men far from home. Mabbett seems to have been among the former, as evidenced by the distinctive star on his hat—the badge of the XII Corps, to which the 123rd belonged.
Organized in late 1862, the regiment fought its first battles at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Newspaper reports indicate that Mabbett shuttled back and forth to Washington, probably gathering items to sell.
In late 1863, when the regiment received orders to head to Nashville, Mabbett followed. He posed for this portrait in a Nashville photographer’s gallery.
The 123rd went on to participate in various campaigns with Major General William T. Sherman’s army. Just how long Mabbett operated his sutlery is unknown, but anecdotes suggest he ended it before the 1864 Atlanta Campaign.
Mabbett returned to Maryland and made his home in Baltimore, where he prospered as owner of the Empire Steam Laundry. He died in 1893 at 57, a Quaker who found a way to serve without taking up arms.
Ronald S. Coddington is publisher of Military Images, a magazine dedicated to showcasing and preserving photos of Civil War soldiers and sailors.
