Material Culture

both sides. It was a thin sheet of canvas coated with heatand pressure-treated gum rubber roughly 6 ½ x 3 ½ feet in dimensions. The rubber blanket…

Smith of the 16th Wisconsin Company G. Smith enlisted on November 11, 1861, and was discharged on March 14, 1863, due to an unspecified disability.1…

Southern States had several daily newspapers, and many households held multiple subscriptions, including at least the morning and evening editions.…

rural and agrarian. If food prices rose too high, farmers would plant and grow their crops or do without. However, this was not the case with tea, as…

Maryland, on September 17, 1862, he later developed chronic bronchitis and dysentery. In 1862, he wrote this to his family from Moore Hospital:

the Confederates thought more highly of these imported arms than Union soldiers. Liège-Belgium was a center for manufacturing a variety of military…

is a single pot concoction consisting of field peas, bacon, and rice. It is usually served with greens and cornbread. Consuming the meal as described…

An individual who came immediately to mind was one Carlo Camilius (Charles) DeRudio, a former Italian aristocrat and anarchist associated with a plot…

during the Civil War as part of the normal rations were not the canned “pork and beans” known today. There were canned foods during the Civil War but…

are manufactured in Italy by two main manufacturers, D. Pedersoli and Armi Chiappa (Armi Sport), both experienced factory shutdowns related to the…

the Civil War erupted, the U.S. military updated its insignia. The War Department introduced metal insignia for U.S. accoutrements, while the…

taken very seriously. When a woman was being introduced to a new male acquaintance, would she offer her hand to be polite? It depends…on…

ground-peas or ground-nuts—were useful as an alternate source of protein, at least in emergencies. Since cooking facilities and other equipment were…

“at [First] Manassas, over thirty-five thousand Union troops went into battle, armed primarily with aging smoothbores. Their final assault up Henry…

alongside the quays; the stores are taken thence down the river, and shipped on board the transports now off Deptford and Woolwich… Each soldier…

sewn, the buttons and button holes were still done by hand. Take a seam ripper and pick out the buttonhole stitches and handwork them using the…

“mess pork” or “clear mess pork.” However, if period accounts are to be trusted, some parts of the hog commonly discarded by fussier eaters ended up…

Of that newly acquired Federal contract work, Whitney allowed, “I expect to be more particular in my government work than in my State work as the…

(P-53) and the various “short rifles” (P-56/58/60), much less the exact model of short rifle. In the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion…

size caps and loose powder). Nor did he realize that afterwards... by the time he had done his duty faithfully and well with the arms the government…

a pioneer in the oyster canning business going back at least to 1851, according to the Boston City directory.

in New York have been ordered to you.”

Farragut, Winfield Scott, John Gibbon, Edmund Davis, and William R Terrill. Nevertheless, when Thomas stayed in the Union Army his true loyalties…

Celebrate America’s History with Beer, that the beer ration on the Mayflower was a gallon per day for every man, woman, and child. This was not…

by a gentleman possessing a true sense of the artistic, a deep reverence for the ingredients and a proper appreciation of the occasion. It is a rite…

It probably goes without saying that Dr. Salisbury was not married at the time of these experiments. He subsequently settled down and got married in…

of cloth is manufactured weekly, and about 450 blankets. The latter, of which large numbers have already been furnished to the army, are quite equal…

instances of smuggling personal necessities like soap and other items into the Southern states by Confederate sympathizers in the North, supply never…

At age 15 Crosby left for New York City, which at that time meant Manhattan, to attend the New York Institute for the Blind. She used her gift of…

A debate on a well-known Civil War internet forum centered around the American Civil War provenance of any 1853 British Enfield long rifles with a…

soldier’s issued equipment did not include any cooking utensils beyond camp kettles and mess pans for company use in camp or in garrison.

Craig L. Barry was born in Charlottesville, Va. He holds his BA and Masters degrees from UNC (Charlotte). Craig served The Watchdog Civil War…

data of any more children afterwards. While two prison guards accidentally shot during an off-duty argument about fire engines was unusual, Major…

As far as the numbers rifled and sighted, Tim states “Between 1855 and 1859 slightly less than 44,000 M1842 muskets were rifled at five U.S. arsenals…

saved the Army of the Potomac by ordering that famous bayonet charge at Gettysburg. He noted in his report the following:

how to spread butter on a piece of bread. It has been said that one is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. This is an opinion…

In addition, a muslin “huck” towel, toothbrush and a couple of small poke bags holding personal items like soap, a clay pipe, and a twist of Virginia…

would contemptuously gather in their skirts, cross streets, flee rooms, cast hateful glances, or make derisive comments. Some sang spirited…

The 9th Virginia carried their M1841 rifles to the “high water mark” (seen in this clump of trees) in Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg. (Jack W. Melton…

‘change’ theunderwear too often, and the disposition not to change grew, as the knapsack was found to gall the back and shoulders, and weary the man…

However, for anyone not named Wild Bill Hickok, probably 25 to 50 yards is the upper limit to hit the intended target with four out of six shots.…

Confederacy. It is worth noting that at least one Confederate contract with J.E. Barnett & Sons fell into Union hands when the C.S. Government did…

cannot be gained by firing at long ranges; at short ranges the (smoothbore musket with) the buck and ball cartridge is certainly more effective. It…

Weekend Warrior: Over Fifty Years Re-living American History. By Lawrence J. Bopp, illustrated, appendices, subject index. Privately published 2020…

went into camp before the end of the month, where a regular depot of supplies might be established from which the other parts of the rations could be…

financially, or at least lessened the misery on the home front. The amounts of paper currency in circulation were not solely responsible for their…

would theoretically “work” in both arms, it required adaptation before the Enfield cartridge could be issued in the field. C.L. Bragg noted in, Never…

days rations and have absolutely no room in your haversack, you should keep your assortment of tin ware stored inside. We often bang around like…

their retail training materials it states that it was not customary for men to wear wedding rings prior to World War II.

The most common smoothbore percussion musket in Confederate hands was most likely a U.S. 1816/22 converted from flint sometime after the Mexican War.…

The continued lack of vitamin C (which leads to scurvy) begins with poor wound healing, then bleeding and blackening of the gums, followed by severe…

The horse was the backbone of the war effort, especially for the Confederate side. They carried generals and moved artillery and ambulances. One…

The rifled military arm was far from a new design by the time of the Civil War. The smoothbore muskets still dominated as the military arms because…

Stock always on hand of Breech- Loading Double Guns and Double Rifles for Central Fire or Pin Cartridges; Muzzle- Loading Single and Double guns, at…

The accomplishments of the Confederate forces during the Civil War, especially the continued success of the Army of Northern Virginia, are…

Infantry that lends some insight into how muskets could be lost, or in this case, exchanged. Pvt. Ware had previously entered in his diary how he had…

manufactured Parker Hales of any type currently available.

Major T.H. Blacknall in an article titled “Corn” (Confederate Veteran Magazine, Vol. 26, April 1918) noted the following: “During the war I commanded…

According to E. Lawrence Abel (Singing the New Nation: How Music Shaped the Confederacy, 1861–1865), by the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, “[a]…

A P53 (Pattern 1853) Enfield long rifle was recently purchased by a comrade who had questions about its history. It is an interesting piece. It looks…

U.S. troops there. Owens describes the killing of the trapped Union soldiers in the crater as “the most revolting sight ever witnessed in this lost…

Another feature of the English accoutrements was that the cap pouch was not worn on the waistbelt. The British accoutrement set was issued with a…

beer, made from beer seed. The seed multiplied several hundred fold monthly, is my recollection. I know that a seed the size of a grain of sugar grew…

for a substitute. Dough-nuts or “nutcakes” were popular with civilians and soldiers at any meal. They were cut into squares and diamonds, not the “O”…

was touched to the vent to ignite the charge. Based on advances in small arms technology, the matchlock musket was replaced by the flintlock around…

properly packed and turned over to the Quartermaster Department for transportation to Watervliet Arsenal.

Two letters of your “Local” have within the past few weeks appeared in your paper ridiculing and execrating the habit of “dipping snuff.” I do not…

compared to the richer black teas it is most similar in taste to a mildly bitter, weak green vegetable broth. The flavor is often described as…

“Gettysburg, Penn. July 3, 1863. We went out and picked up Springfields and left our Enfields. Nearly everyone did so.”– Diary of William Livermore…

An interesting topic came up on one of the Civil War internet forums about whether a particular musket followed the soldier to whom it was issued…

killing the owner. The two most common Confederate issue canteens are the smaller (six-inch) tin drum which was inexpensive to produce, and some…

and used to produce Special Model of 1861 Rifle Muskets at either Colt, LG&Y or Amoskeag. So, the grand irony is that while the Virginia Model Musket…

“Those (Confederates) wearing our army belts did so with the “U.S.” upside down…” Henry Tisdale, 35th Mass. Inf.

“Another year has nearly closed but before I moralize I will revert to facts… Harvey and our clerk John have together taken French Leave” (Civil War…

“Dear Sir, there is one hundred and fifty double-barrell shotguns here, all in good order. Shall I send them to have the Bowie knife attached to…

“Some of our boys got Austrian rifles, some Enfield, and others Springfield. I got the Enfield, and Bob got the finest arm of the whole lot, a fine…

Just south of Nashville, the City of LaVergne, Tenn., celebrated a milestone anniversary last month. Originally incorporated in 1860, the city…

In July 1864 the first Confederate Prisoners of War arrived at Elmira, N.Y., Prison Camp, sent from Maryland’s infamous Point Lookout to relieve…

The illustration depicts an exchange between two cartoon characters which would have been familiar to all American citizens (and soldiers) during the…

In 2013, the Sandusky, Ohio, Library Archives Research Center acquired a very important document about the Prisoners of War at Johnson’s Island Civil…

“After being camped there a few days, a detail of fifteen men was called to go to Richmond, Louisiana, to watch Gen’l Grant’s movements, whose army…

The John Anderson Tobacco Emporium of New York is an interesting story in and of itself, with both a famous clientele and a whiff of scandal in the…

The standard image of the hollowcheeked, gaunt, and starving Civil War soldier is deeply embedded in the consciousness of most Americans. It is…

“Training in the use of these weapons was startlingly belated and haphazard.” Orrin W. Cook, 22nd Mass. Vol. Co. B

“At noon we draw a ration of corn bread, pork and beans…took breakfast at 7 ocl (o’clock) of cold beans and corn bread.” Civil War Diary of Leonard…

The second most commonly imported European military arm during the U.S. Civil War after the P-53 Enfield long and short rifle(s) was the Model 1854…

“The Confederate troops are now entirely armed with excellent rifles, mostly Enfields.” Quote from the work: dated 22d June, 1863 (Monday), written…

During a recent visit to the Springfield Armory Museum there was a video program which included a re-enacted segment about 19th century British…

After Gettysburg in July 1863 27,574 muskets were picked up by the Union from the battlefield, according to the report of Lt. John R. Edie, Acting…

“Forward My Brave Boys!”: A History of the 11th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A. 1861- 1865.By M. Todd Cathey and Gary W. Waddey. Illustrated…