Posted 12 years ago
blunderbuss2
(199 items)
Very informative book. Anybody has any Confederate things, I can send pics & information. The is a very comprehensive index of manufacturers with history of each.
The last pic is one I've known since probably the 60's & always presented as an original. I noticed something that has had me wondering for decades. Notice the man next to the left wheel of the Parrot Rifle seems to be wearing a loafer. Also, iron barrels were supposed to be painted flat black to cut down on glare & other things seem a bit too shiny. Any opinions?
Good early reference work.
Like many early works, some of the information has since been proven incorrect (some of the buckles pictured are actually post Civil War).
scott
Yes Blunder, there are a few odd things in the photo. The reflection seems to be off of the black paint, but there seems to be a strong light source, so that might be an answer. Weird about the “loafers” though. Infantry sack coats instead of the regulation shell jackets for the artillery apparently did occur in the field, but enlisted sack coats had four buttons, and the fellow in the back has five buttons like a company grade officer, but no discernible rank insignia. I’ve read that’s something else that happened in the field (to be inconspicuous to snipers). So, there are a number of explainable uniform irregularities. This photograph is obviously posed for. People had to stand still for the camera longer for the image to be that clear, and since one man is about to pull the lanyard, I couldn’t want to be where the cameraman is! The question that comes to mind is whether those uniform irregularities would appear in a photograph so carefully staged? I dunno, Civil War uniforms (or photography) are not my strongest knowledge area.
Maybe a reflector was used. Having built a carriage for my 3" Ord. Rifle, I know the design well. The handspike mounted on the left side plate(cheek) caught my attention where it goes thru the D-ring. Appears that if you swivel the D-ring forward that it would fall out. Everything was made strickly to blueprints & something about that handspike is incorrect.
Chris-- I have never heard of a 5 button sack coat being an officer model.
The 4 button coat was typical Civil War construction (officer and EM), while most 5 buttons are post war sack coats. There are war era 5 button sack coats (as this image illustrates).
As an image collector, 5 buttons are one of the indicators of post war.
scott
Scott, I bow to your better knowledge of this era.
I am aware of the late Indian Wars 5-button coat (I have one in my collection) and understood the 4 button sack coats were appropriate to the Civil War. So, when I noticed five buttons on the fellow in the background, my first thought was “Aha! Post war!” BUT… because most of my studies are later than Civil War, I wanted to be sure. So I did a little Googling and found this:
http://www.tstitches.com/store/UnionSackCoats.htm
And, as we all know, internet sources are never wrong..ha!
Also, the crowns of the caps look a bit too high. More like the famous “bummer cap” than the post-war kepis. I’m willing to believe this is wartime.
Thanks for the link chris-- I'll research some more.
I have never heard/ read that part of the regulation.
I have seen/ owned many images of officer wearing sack coats and don't recall any sort of consistency with the quoted regulation. As we all know actual practice may differ from regulation.
I'll let you know what I find out.
scott
The guy with the loafers looks just a tad overweight to be a civil war soldier? Also, the guy pulling the primer doesn't have a regulation buckle?
Actually, fly, that is the style buckle for the belt with the friction primer pouch, which can be seen on his hip. This pic in still suspect to me. In the field, the barrel & carriage would be flat paint to cut down on glare & reflections. Of course, this is in a fortification (Probably around Washington).
That picture is in the 1910 Photographic History of the Civil War, 10 volume set. My guess? For what its worth of course!! It's taken during the civil war, but somewhere like Washington. Maybe testing a new foundry's cannon.
If the Yankees test fired every gun with 8 people standing around it, the South may have won.