Second Lieutenant The Washington Artillery CSA
The prewar militia and private units that came into the Confederate service rarely adopted the national uniform regulations entirely, and the Confederate government never made any really concerted attempt to enforce them to do so. Indeed, in the hard-pressed Rebel service, any uniform, even one with improper insignia, was better than none at all. The Washington Artillery of New Orleans, whose gunners have already been seen on an earlier page, enjoyed a long and distinguished history, and...
Contents
Federal Cavalry Uniforms and Equipment Federal Artillery Uniforms and Equipment Federal Siqnal Corps Uniforms and Equipment Confederate Weapons Pistols and Revolvers 288 Federal Medical Staff Uniforms and Equipment Federal Musicians' Uniform and Equipment Federal Commanders' and Staff Uniforms and Equipment 98 Confederate Uniforms and Equipment Overview Confederate Infantry Uniforms and Equipment Confederate Cavalry Uniforms and Equipment Confederate Artillerymen's Uniforms and Equipment...
Union Revolvers
Revolvers, like swords and rifles, appeared on the battlefield and in the camps in a bewildering variety of makes and models. The Colt .44in Model 1860 Army revolver right was the most commonly seen sidearm during the Civil War, both among Union officers and among those Confederate officers who could get hold of one. A percussion weapon, it used rammer loading from the front of the cylinder, with the wiser shooters having a ready-prepared stock of paper cartridges to hand. The weapon was made...
Union Sabers
Federal weapons, with few exceptions, exhibited advanced manufacturing techniques and excellent quality, as shown by these curved-blade, cavalry sabers. The weapons are shown in close-up 1 to 3 , while the photograph shows a group of Ohio cavalrymen, rugged western Yankees, typical of many in the ranks of Union cavalry regiments, with their sabers very much in evidence. They were young, lean, and hardy young men, well-used to the outdoor life, and meant business. The great cavalry tradition was...
Union Longarms and Accouterments
Probably the three most widely used arms of the war were the U.S. Army's Springfield Model 1842 musket 4 and Model 1861 rifle-musket 10 , and the British Enfield Pattern 1853 13 which was imported from England in large numbers. Despite the availability of these relatively modern weapons, such antiques as the Model 1816 1 were still in use. 12 Socket bayonet and scabbard for item 10 13 British Enfield Pattern 1853 muzzle-loading rifle-musket 14 Tompion, plug for top of barrel for item 13 15...
Brig Gen John H Winder GSA
It would have been difficult to find a Confederate general more universally unpopular, North or South, than Brig. Gen. John H. Winder, who was responsible for overseeing all prisons holding Federal captives. His administration of the prisons, while never deliberately cruel, was very badly mismanaged, resulting in untold hardships for the prisoners in his charge. He was also the chief provost for Richmond, controlling the issuing of passes into and out of Rebel lines and there were widespread...
Union Zouave Uniforms and Equipment
Zouave uniforms originated among native North African troops recruited to serve in the French Army in the 1830s and the superb esprit de corps and elite status among these units, and their distinctive dress, soon came to the notice of foreign military observers. Elmer E. Ellsworth, a young amateur soldier is credited with raising the United States Zouave Cadets in Chicago in August 1859, his mentor being a former French surgeon and veteran of Zouave service, Charles Q. Devilliers. The unit...
Civil War
This edition first published in 2001 by MBI Publishing Company, 729 Prospect Avenue, PO Box 1, Osceola, Wl 54020-0001 USA Salamander Books Limited 2001 A member of the Chrysalis Group pic All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purpose of review no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the Publisher. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without any...
Captain 9th Texas Cavalry
This captain of the 9th Texas Cavalry ably depicts what many of the mounted men from the western Confederacy looked like. Even more than their eastern counterparts, they carried a wide variety of weaponry depending upon what was available, and not according to regulations. This officer holds an English-made, percussion, double-barreled shotgun. In his right hand he wields a Confederate-made Dance revolver, a close copy of the prewar heavy Colt .44 caliber Dragoon percussion revolver....
Colonel of Engineers CSA
In the years before the Civil War, graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point who finished at the top of their class invariably went into the Engineer Corps, so prestigious was that service. This attitude continued during the Civil War where, whether supervising the construction of a pontoon bridge, a railroad bridge, or a corduroy road, or building field fortifications and battery emplacements, the engineer officer was always one of the most valued on any general's staff. This...
Private North Carolina Infantry CSA
The troops from the State of North Carolina were among the best clothed of all Confederates, and enjoyed perhaps the greatest degree of uniformity of dress among their regiments. These Tar-heel infantrymen are quite typical in their gray sack coats, reaching halfway down the thigh, with loose collars that were just as often worn turned down as standing up. On their shoulders they wear strips of cloth in colors denoting branch of service, but contrary to the usual Confederate regulations calling...
Union Heavy Artillery Projectiles
With the advent of armored vessels, projectiles capable of penetrating or crushing such armor had to be developed. The breaking of masonry forts was also accomplished by the use of similar projectiles fired from large bore rifled guns. Many of these projectiles had specially hardened noses designed to punch through armor. Excellent examples are to be seen at West Point and the Washington Navy Yard. The result of bombardment by such projectiles can be seen at Fort Sumter, Charleston, and Fort...
Private 140th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry USA
The 140th Pennsylvania Infantry carried with it the unusual nickname, the Walking Artillery. They got the name because of the old Belgian-copied French 0.69 caliber Vincennes muskets with which they were issued. The huge bore of the guns led to the joke about these infantrymen being 'artillery, and fellow soldiers taunted them with questions such as do you shoot solid shot or shell out of those pieces Worse than this, the Pennsylvanians also carried massive sword-bayonets that others teasingly...
Union Hardee Hat and Branch Indicative Insignia
The Hardee hat was named after Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee, who was respected throughout both Union and Confederate armies as the author of a widely used drill manual, which was known simply as Hardees Tactics. Shown here are a number of badges suitable for such a hat for the major arms-of-service mounted infantry 2, 3 foot infantry 4, 5 ordnance 6 engineers 8 artillery 9. 10 , and cavalry 12, 13, 14 . Alternative patters of officers cap badges, in black velvet with silver wire embroidered...
Cavalry Rushs Lancers
Oddly enough, the state of Pennsylvania attained a degree of notoriety during the Civil War for some of its unruly cavalry regiments. Arguably the worst disciplined regiment in the Union army was the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, which had rather more than its fair share of courts-martial, desertions, insubordinate enlisted men, and incompetent officers, although the last-named may well have been the root cause of the other problems. Perhaps it was in reaction to such a poor reputation that the 6th...
Locally Made Weapons
Handguns were actually made in the Confederacy in very limited quantities, one of the most common being the Griswold and Gunnison 3 , and only about 3,500 of those were produced. All Confederate handguns are considered rare. 1 U.S. Government Model 1836 pistol made by A. Waters at Milbury, as used by Confederate forces 3 Griswold and Gunnison late model revolver, used by Confederates Confederate Weapons Pistols and Revolvers
Starr 44 Caliber Army Revolver
Manufactured by the Starr Army Company of New York, the Starr Army .44 caliber, single-action revolver operated in much the same fashion as the Colt, using the same ramrod-under-barrel layout and the same size copper percussion caps on the nipples. Unlike the Colt it had a top strap, resulting in a stronger weapon which has a much more twentieth century' appearance than contemporary Colts. The revolver was a particularly well-balanced weapon. It was made of steel, with a one-piece walnut butt...
Artillery Ammunition
The photograph shows a further selection of the artilleryman's wares, as listed below. Civil War projectiles differed little from those of earlier generations, being only sometimes larger and a bit more reliable. There was the solid shot, literally a round ball of iron, and of little effect except when it hit an opposing artillery piece - and, of course, any unfortunate soldier in its path. Other loads were designed to be more effective as anti-personnel weapons. The shell, either round or,...
I 1
At the outbreak of war, the Confederates became the first into the field with their own corps of signalers. They also became adept practitioners of telegraphy. Indeed, so handy did some Rebs become with the telegraph key that they were perhaps the first in peace or war to wire tap. Some former railroad telegraphers riding with Rebel partisans learned how to throw a wire across telegraph transmission lines, cut one, and tap into the break with a portable key. The consequence was a breach of...
Infantry CSA
The 11th Mississippi Infantry presented one of the handsomer variations on the standard gray uniform of the Confederacy. The regiment was made up chiefly of prewar volunteer militia companies, many of which wore entirely different garb. Most eventually wore slight variations of the state militia dress, the mid-thigh length gray blouse with red collar and red frogging on the breast, red cuffs and trouser stripes. Their headgear was predominantly the Hardee-style hat, as worn by this enlisted...
The Supply Train and the SixMule Army Wagon
had to become involved - Ordnance, Commissary, Cavalry Bureau for the animals, adjutant to produce the orders detailing wagon-masters and teamsters, and more. Once the Troops and artillery had priority of movement on the march, while ammunition wagons took precedence over other supply vehicles. Keeping the wagons rolling was a priority for the staff of every army. For this reason, as seen in this example, the unit insignia and contents were usually displayed on the canvas top, which, among...
Union Signal Pistols
One of the great battlefield problems in the Civil War was that the numbers of troops involved had increased greatly but the means of controlling them had scarcely improved at all. Communications between headquarters still depended upon horsed messengers and aides-de-camp, while with brigades and battalions the main systems were runners, drums and bugles. One new system, however, was the use of pyrotechnics with multi-colored lights according to a pre-arranged code. One of the means of...
Private and Mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry USA
Quite a number of regiments went to war with special mascots -little drummer boys, vivandieres women in military costume , and most of all pets. Dogs, cats, raccoons, even small bears, went to war, but no mascot was as distinctive as Old Abe, the war eagle that went into battle with the 8th Wisconsin Infantry of the old Iron Brigade. All across the battlefields of Tennessee and Georgia, Old Abe soared into the air when the bullets started to fly, hovering over the fighting until it was done. In...
Private Washington Light Infantry
Composed of young men from the best Rebel families, the Washington Light Infantry of Charleston, South Carolina was typical of the more high-minded companies to volunteer for Confederate service at the war's outset. When the call finally came, some of Charleston's finest went off to war in 1861 accompanied by servants, picnic hampers, and ornate tents. It was July 1963 after they had served n and around Charleston after Fort Sumter, that the WLI was merged into the 25th South Carolina Infantry....
Bummer Army of the Tennessee USA
For all the differences between the Billy Yanks of the Eastern Theater and those of the West, no soldier was so distinctive to his army and region as the lean, hardened and ever-resourceful 'bummer' of the Army of the Tennessee. His uniform may have been outwardly similar to that of his eastern counterparts, but the differences showed in the hundreds more miles he marched, the greater variations of climate and weather he endured, and the increased uncertainties of re-supply available to this...
Captain Rutledges 1st Tennessee Light Artillery
Sometimes volunteer Confederate outfits combined their own uniform regulations with those of their enemy's. One result is seen here with this captain of Rutledge's 1 st Tennessee Light Artillery, who is wearing both collar insignia and epaulettes shoulder straps , each carrying badges of his rank. The style of his cuff facings is also different from prescribed design. In time, and thanks to the idiosyncratic nature of Confederate uniforms in general, men and fellow officers came to recognize...
Field Artillery Projectiles and Fuzes
The general acceptance of rifled artillery, and advances in projectile design and technology, made artillery of both sides much more effective. The importation of advanced English guns and projectiles by Federal and Confederate ordnance also furthered these advances. The 1980s saw an enormous increase in interest in a long-neglected subject and i collecting projectiles has become I increasingly popular today, withl some excellent books written on I the subject. The projectile collection at West...
Union Officers Presentation
Most of the swords seen here were probably the outcome of a subscription among fellow officers or soldiers and are of much better quality than the regulation swords they were based on. However, the two swords 7 and 8 , presented to Generals Meade and Blair, while of essentially similar design to each other, are spectacular and with sufficient differences to make them truly individual items. Both were made by Bailey and Company of Philadelphia, with inset semiprecious stones and enamel...
Berdans 1st US Sharpshooters
A few US units won special notice for their rifle-skills, none more so than the 1st and 2nd Regiments of U.S. Sharpshooters, commonly known as Berdan's Sharpshooters after the colonel of the 1st Regiment. Hiram Berdan. Seeing their role as skirmishers and special marksmen, Berdan selected experienced men and armed them with the best weapons available, the Sharps Rifle in 0.52in caliber. Many also carried telescopic sights. With a view towards camouflage, Berdan clothed his men in green kepis or...
Second Lieutenant 5th New York Infantry
This second lieutenant of the 5th New York Infantry, otherwise popularly known as Duryee's Zouaves, represents one of the more colorful of the Union regiments. His bright red kepi and trousers differ distinctly from the regulation, but otherwise there is nothing unusual in his outfit. His commander Colonel Abram Duryee was a flamboyant type, exactly the kind to organize and lead one of the dramatic zouave regiments, which, apart from their uniforms, also made their mark with intensively precise...
Second Lieutenant The Sumter Light Guard
Like so many of the Confederate volunteer outfits, the Sumter Light Guard of South Carolina came to war with its own arms and uniforms. Unlike the Washington Artillery, however, it adapted its specifications to be compatible with Confederate regulations and the cadet gray color of this uniform is right within regulations, as is the red sash. Only the absence of the stripe on the trouser legs is it in substantial variance from regulations. This second lieutenant wears the single collar bar of...
Gen John Bell Hood CSA
Short of actually losing his life, Gen. John Bell Hood gave up about as much of himself as any officer who made sacrifices for the Confederacy. He lost the use of one arm after being wounded at Gettysburg, but then had to have a leg amputated following another desperate wound at Chick-amauga. Any uniform for one who suffered what he had would most certainly need to be tailor-made. In this portrait, Hood wears the regulation general officer's frock coat, with the buttons in parallel groups of...
Union Rifles
Although the rifle-musket was the primary shoulder weapon of the Union soldier, substantial numbers of rifles, both muzzle- and breech-loading, were issued to troops in the field. Of primary significance in firearms development were the magazine-fed Spencer 7 and Henry 8 . There was a frenzy of invention in the North, spurred on by the war and lucrative government contracts, but only a few of the newly invented and patented guns ever saw as much service as the single-shot Springfield. The...
Swords
The presentation of ornate, deluxe swords to prominent politicians and local favorite sons, and, in particular, to war heroes was a recognized tribute in the 1860s. The majority of such presentation swords were enhanced models of swords then in current issue to the Army, but there were exceptions where no expense was spared. In the latter case, the result was a sword of exquisite quality and craftsmanship, such as those shown here. Some were even made by jewelers, such as Bailey and Co., of...
Confederate Cavalry Artifacts
No soldier of the war caught more of the dash and the flair of the era than the cavalryman, and especially the Confederate trooper, whose exploits were celebrated in both song and legend. He became the beau sabreur, the knightly paladin riding through the smoke of battle in daring raids against hopeless odds, to defend his country, home, hearth and honor. Indeed, at the beginning of the conflict, the Confederate cavalry was considerably superior to its Union counterpart, primarily due to the...
Sergeant US Army
The typical field uniform for a sergeant in the United States Army. His smart coat is in regulation blue, the only decoration being white piping on the cuffs, while his sergeant's chevrons are carried on both arms in the same color. The leather belt has a buckle carrying the Federal coat-of-arms, with a pouch for carrying percussion caps on the left. Not visible in this picture is the bayonet in its scabbard, which is on the right. The leather shoulder straps and cross straps support his...
th Virginia Infantry CSA
The 15th Virginia Infantry was formed, in part, by amalgamating companies from other regiments, in particular the 33rd Virginia and the 179th Militia. The soldiers of the new units were given a fairly regulation issue uniform of gray, with blue piping. The wounded field officer at left wears a two-piece Virginia State seal belt-plate, and is partially supporting himself on the private soldier's Virginia Manufactory converted flintlock musket, which has been altered to use the Maynard...
Union Handguns
1 Uhlinger pocket revolver in .32in rimfire 2 Army revolver by the Starr Arms Company of New York 3 Remington-Beals Army revolver 4 Remington-Beals Navy revolver 5 Remington New Model Navy revolver 6 Manhattan Pocket Model revolver 8 Smith and Wesson No. 1 Second Issue revolver 9 Colt Model 1862 Police revolver The U.S. Army had continuing access to the gunsmiths and the mass-production resources of the North, and used a wide variety of handguns. Most of these were government-issue, of which...
Enlisted Men 4th Texas Volunteer Infantry CSA
Few Rebel units achieved the reputation of the gallant Texans of Hood's Brigade, among them the 4th Texas Volunteer Infantry. Tough and rugged fighters, they became the shock troops of the Army of Northern Virginia when they came North to fight the Union's Army of the Potomac. The basic uniform shown here has some variations from the regulation Confederate pattern, the most noticeable being the black insignia of rank and the black piping, rather than the more customary blue although this is the...
st Cherokee Mounted Rifles CSA
By far the Confederacy's most unusual soldiers were its Indian allies. At least fifteen regiments and battalions were enlisted from the Cherokee, Choctaw, Osage, Creek, Chicksaw, and Semin les of the South. They proved to be indifferent soldiers, unused to the discipline of the military and often enlisting for private reasons of their own, which had little or nothing to do with the Confederate cause. Despite being troublesome they were very effective when they chose to fight. Best known amongst...
Uniform of Major General George G Meade
Meade was given command of one of the Pennsylvania brigades and promoted brigadier general. He fought under General McClellan during the Peninsula Campaign and was severely wounded at the Battle of Glendale June 30, 1862 . Barely recovered, he fought at Second Manassas, South Mountain, and Antietam. Meade commanded a division during the failure at Fredericksburg, performed well at Chancellorsville the following spring, and was placed in charge of the Army of the Potomac actually while on the...
Personal Effects and Decorations of Major General Galusha Pennypacker
3 U.S. Army Model 1896 Medal of Honor, complete with case, formerly the possession of General Pennypacker 1 U.S. Army Model 1904 Medal of Honor complete with case, belonging to General Pennypacker. The Medal of Honor at this time did not feature the neck suspension ribbon 2 Double-breasted frock coat with velvet collar and cuffs, formerly the possession of General Pennypacker 3 U.S. Army Model 1896 Medal of Honor, complete with case, formerly the possession of General Pennypacker The personal...
Private Guthrie Grays USA
It was commonplace among pre-Civil War local militia units to adopt cadet gray as the color for their uniforms, which led to some confusion when they first faced Confederate forces. Formed in 1854, the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was also known as Guthrie's Grays from its uniforms. Raised in Cincinnati, the outfit looked magnificent on parade. The gray uniform was trimmed with black on the collar, and frogging all across the breast, as well as on the sleeves. The short shako was particularly...
Captain 1st Dragoons 1858
The pre-war Old Army was always a pitifully small organization and with a strength of about 16,000 men in 1860, it was hardly larger than it had been thirty years before. Only a handful of infantry, cavalry, and artillery units made up its ranks, but one of the newer regiments was the 1st Dragoons, created in 1834 as the Regiment of Mounted Dragoons -one of its officers was the young Jefferson Davis, later President of the Confederated States. The dragoons had been popular in European armies in...
First Lieutenant 2nd Rhode Island Infantry
This first lieutenant of the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry shows the distinctive early war uniform of this state's first 90-days regiments. The pleated blouse with the full skirt and the rolled collar, would be very little seen after 1861, and future Rhode Island outfits opted for the more traditional Union Army uniform. Again, like most infantry officers, he carries the .44 caliber Colt New Model Army pistol, which, while a powerful percussion weapon, was not terribly accurate. Just firing it...
Confederate Medical Equipment
The Confederate Medical Department fought a hopeless battle against disease and infection in a war in which twice as many soldiers died of disease as became battlefield casualties, and commonplace childhood illnesses became fatal epidemics, incapacitating whole regiments. On the surgical side, amputation was the accepted procedure for wounds affecting the arms and legs, while body wounds were considered inoperable, and usually fatal given the high incidence of infection. Fighting for a cause in...
Confederate Medical Officers Uniforms and Equipment
Many features of the Confederate Medical Corps were the same as its Federal counterpart. Ranks were the same, as were the facings and the green sash. Most surgeons' kits were made in the North or imported, and many Southern doctors had been trained in Baltimore, Philadelphia or New York. The major difference was the ever-increasing lack of drugs and medial supplies faced by the Southerners as the war progressed. 1 Lieutenant colonel's frock coat of surgeon Lt. Col. Samuel Bemiss 2 Epaulettes of...
Officers
John S. Mosby below wears no chevrons, but displays three stars on his collar. The buttons on his jacket signify that he is ranked as a colonel. Although commissioned as a Confederate officer, John Singleton Mosby made a terror of himself as leader of the 43rd Virginian Partisan Rangers. His raids, including the capture of two Yankee generals, became legendary, and it is reported that he even donned Federal uniform at his feet during his raids behind enemy lines. Right until the end of the war,...
Pounder GunHowitzer Model 1857 Napoleon
The 12-pounder gun-howitzer was the work-horse cannon for both sides throughout the conflict, but it is indicative of its obsolete design that it was popularly known as the Napoleon. Indeed, despite being designated the Model 1857 there does not appear to have been a single technological advance over the weapons used by Napoleon and Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815. This light, durable, smooth-bore weapon had a range of 2,000 yards 1,830m , was served a by a crew which...
Gunners Washington Artillery CSA
The Washington Artillery of New Orleans was among the oldest and proudest of the private or fraternal artillery companies. All told, it comprised five companies, four of which went to Virginia in the first days of the war and remained there thereafter. The fifth company served with the Army of Tennessee. Like many units, their uniforms and equipment evolved as the war progressed. Originally they wore dark blue frock coats or short artillery jackets with scarlet collars and cuffs over light blue...