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United States Civil War In Photos.


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  • 4 weeks later...

I've spent an awful lot of time with my nose buried in Civil War books, and you've managed to find a couple of pictures that I hadn't seen before. Good finds.

 

I agree on "the forever soldier" in the picture of the engineers. One of him was in my basic training company.

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My pleasure Michael.

 

Confederate troops 1862

 

This is, reputedly, the only photo extant of Confederate troops on the march, during a campaign. As you can see, they are fairly individualistic in appearance. The hats are pretty much free-style. I can only discern a couple of the forage caps/kepis which just about every Hollywood Confederate is equipped with, and there are many variants of slouch hats evident. Most of the men in the two ( I am presuming ) companies closest to the camera are carrying their muskets at "right shoulder shift", which, I can attest, is the most comfortable way to carry them long-distance. Companies tended to be well below their authorized strength, especially so in many of the Army of N. Virginia's brigades, which had seen a lot of action, and not many replacements.

 

There does look like there might be some degree of uniformity, at least regarding the jackets. The lead company, or companies, seem to have darker uniform jackets than the ones closer to the camera. IIRC, this picture was taken during the Antietam-Sharpsburg campaign, somewhere in Maryland, prior to the battle. At least, that's what one of my sources said. Col. Lindquist might have better information, although I believe that he was still at VMI during this part of the war. ;)

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My pleasure Michael.

 

Confederate troops 1862

 

This is, reputedly, the only photo extant of Confederate troops on the march, during a campaign. As you can see, they are fairly individualistic in appearance. The hats are pretty much free-style. I can only discern a couple of the forage caps/kepis which just about every Hollywood Confederate is equipped with, and there are many variants of slouch hats evident. Most of the men in the two ( I am presuming ) companies closest to the camera are carrying their muskets at "right shoulder shift", which, I can attest, is the most comfortable way to carry them long-distance. Companies tended to be well below their authorized strength, especially so in many of the Army of N. Virginia's brigades, which had seen a lot of action, and not many replacements.

 

There does look like there might be some degree of uniformity, at least regarding the jackets. The lead company, or companies, seem to have darker uniform jackets than the ones closer to the camera. IIRC, this picture was taken during the Antietam-Sharpsburg campaign, somewhere in Maryland, prior to the battle. At least, that's what one of my sources said. Col. Lindquist might have better information, although I believe that he was still at VMI during this part of the war. ;)

 

 

Corner of Market and Patrick Streets in Fredneck (Frederick), Maryland.

 

Ironic that they think it was taken from the building which now houses the Museum of Civil War medicine. Some troops on that march literally went through what is now my aunt's and uncle's backyard before they crossed the Potomac. Alas, no relics ever found.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wedding photograph of Jefferson Davis and his wife Varina Howell. 1845

 

Supposedly his wife is of Welsh ancestry. I will admit not being very familiar with Wales, but is it common for the Welsh people to have such prominent African facial features? She looks like any number of white / black mixed race girls I went to school with.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varina_Davis

 

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Wedding photograph of Jefferson Davis and his wife Varina Howell. 1845

 

Supposedly his wife is of Welsh ancestry. I will admit not being very familiar with Wales, but is it common for the Welsh people to have such prominent African facial features? She looks like any number of white / black mixed race girls I went to school with.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varina_Davis

 

 

http://robotsinmasquerade.blogspot.se/2011/05/ethnic-origins-of-confederate-first.html

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Confederate private Henry Moore 1861

 

Looks like he's part of a Roman legion with that gladius.

 

Not a gladius, as such, but a US artillery short sword.

 

Wendist, Confederate troops often used US equipment of all sorts. Generally, however, if a US belt buckle was worn, it was worn upside down.

 

If anyone is interested, that image taken very early in the war ( obviously; 1861 ) , when most Confederates were using whatever they had captured from US armouries, which were all over the country, to service both the regular Army and the state militias. Initially, many units on both sides turned out in grey uniforms, since grey had been the designated colour for militia units, in most cases. This soldier's shell jacket is of a type that stayed in service throughout the war, but the extra trim, most likely for a local militia company, disappeared from most CS garments fairly quickly, due to scarcity of material, and the need for larger than expected quantities of such garments. True uniformity took a while to get going on both sides, with the south lagging behind because of shortages of all sorts. Depending on the state from which the unit came, and what theatre of the war that they served in, some Confederate units never really achieved uniformity to the same extent as the Union did, and some units with specialised uniforms ( e.g., Zouaves ) retained them throughout the war, although most eventually ended up in more drab uniforms as the cost and impracticality of gaudy dress became more apparent.

Edited by Michael Eastes
Stating the obvious.
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Interesting that all of the pictures on this page are flipped left-to-right, judging by the buttons (and the US being backwards on the belt). Means that the lad is holding the sword in his left hand.

 

Unless the convention for men's coat buttons has changed in the last 160 or so years?

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Interesting that all of the pictures on this page are flipped left-to-right, judging by the buttons (and the US being backwards on the belt). Means that the lad is holding the sword in his left hand.

 

Unless the convention for men's coat buttons has changed in the last 160 or so years?

 

Yes I noticed it to, perhaps it has to do with the camera lens technology of the time?

 

Union troops march in Washington DC, 1865

 

AqDKneH.jpg

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