The Thomas Caldwell Moore sketchbook, housed in a blue tray case with gilt lettering on the spine, is made up of twenty-two images on nineteen loose, encapsulated, pages as well as the original cover boards and binding. Three pages have drawings on both sides. The back of the original front cover board of the sketchbook includes the penciled inscription: "Sketch Book, New York -1865, T.C. Moore of Allegheny Arsenal Pittsburg, Pa." The creator of the sketchbook has been identified as Thomas Caldwell Moore (1825-1886). While only two of the drawings are individually dated (both 1865), given that the date on the inside of the front cover matches the two dated sketches it can be assumed that the sketchbook contains pencil and watercolor landscape views of rivers, shorelines and towns from ca. 1865. Nine of the images include titles, many of which are in ink written over pencil, indicating the location the sketch depicts. Locations represented include the Shenandoah Valley, the Allegheny River, and New York City. One sketch (image #2), titled "U.S Rifle Factory on the Shennandoah," is likely to be Harpers Ferry Armory.
Thomas Caldwell Moore was born sometime in March, 1825 in Louisiana. He was admitted to West Point on July 1, 1841 at the age of 16. At the time of his enlistment, he listed his guardian as his uncle, Judge Joseph Andrew Moore of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana. Moore did not successfully graduate from West Point; he was arrested in late December of 1842 for dereliction of duty and tendered his resignation on January 15, 1842. Moore appears to have enlisted in the army during the Mexican-American War on May 19, 1847, though little else is known about his wartime service. At some point after the war Moore moved to the vicinity of Harpers Ferry, Virginia before venturing out to California, serving in the Charlestown (WV) Mining Company during the Gold Rush of 1849. The extent of Moore's service during the Civil War is not known; the inside of his sketchbook mentions a possible role at Allegheny Arsenal but no definitive connection has currently been made. Moore, still living near Harpers Ferry, died in January of 1886.
