James Edward Kelly, born New York City - Major General Alfred Pleasonton - 1895 - T-Shirt

A charcoal and white chalk profile portrait of Union cavalry commander Major General Alfred Pleasonton, facing right against a warm grey ground.

Visual Elements & Composition

Graphite lines build the older man's face in strict profile. The hair sweeps back from a high forehead, and a full beard curls in loose strands across the jaw and chin. White chalk lifts the crown, cheekbone and nose, while the ear and neck dissolve into softer, looser strokes. Warm grey paper fills nearly all of the sheet, so the head stands out as the single focal point. Beneath it, a handwritten inscription reads "A. Pleasonton, Maj: Genl," and a signature with the place name "Kelly, Washington D.C." sits in the lower corners.

Meaning & Symbolism

The inscribed rank fixes the sitter's identity within the drawing itself. Pleasonton led Union horsemen at the cavalry battle of Brandy Station in June 1863 and played a cavalry role at Gettysburg that July. The profile format was a familiar way to record officers of the period, and this portrait presents him as a figure of rank and character rather than in the midst of action. James Edward Kelly (1855–1933), the New York illustrator, painter and sculptor, made the original drawing, and its place name ties it to the capital.

Crafted for the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

The vertical format of the drawing centres a single head on the shirt, so the profile reads clearly from across a room and the eye settles on the face. The restrained palette of grey, graphite and white suits a plain garment, letting the portrait carry the design without competing graphics. Wearing it puts a 19th-century officer's likeness on your chest, drawn with the economy of a practised hand.