Thats a child…
Also is that gold paint added on top of a black and white photograph (I think there is some red paint on his cheeks as well? Pretty cool, never seen something like that.
Kids as young as twelve served as drummer boys, but lying about one’s age to recruiters was rampant and recruiters had no ability (and little desire) to verify ages.
Bear in mind that for a good century or two before the Civil War midshipmen (naval officers in training) tended to be children, usually around fifteen but sometimes younger. Kids served and fought on ships and in a handful of emergencies even commanded them. Modern attitudes about the capability, responsibility, and even value of children are just that - modern.
I think it used to be common enough to add a bit of paint to them to highlight certain features. I have my grandma’s senior class photo from the 50s, and it’s got pink/red lipstick and blush painted on an otherwise B&W photo.
Right? He looks like he’s 16 at the absolute oldest
And yeah, photos were actually colorized fairly often back in the day and there were a bunch of different techniques
