Zouave Medical Doctor

civilwarincolor

2nd Lieutenant
Joined
Oct 27, 2012
Location
California
OK, I love images with lots of things happening in them, and this is one of those. There is something that I just have not been able to figure out though. WHAT is the Doctor sitting on?

It has this checkerboard pattern that stops partway down. At first I thought it was stopping because it was in shadow. When you look closer though you see that the shadow from the desk actually crosses into the area that the checkerboard pattern goes from white/black to gray with just hints of the checkerboard and then picks up again for just a bit by his left foot.

I'm stumped. Any ideas?

zouave_medical_doctor.jpg
 
I think he's sitting on the corner of a box or trunk, with a patterned rug thrown over it.

Thanks for your response. I thought about that, but what does not makes sense is WHY does the pattern stop 1/2 way down and then go dark gray and then pickup again at the bottom? As I mentioned, I first thought it was a shadow line, but that is not the case when you look at the shadow line from the table. If that is part of the original pattern of the rug, it seems to be really unusual.

I love looking at the rest of the photo as well. I noticed that the medical officers both seem to be wearing standard U.S. uniforms (not Zouave uniforms), but that the kepi seems to be a different shade of gray than the uniform. Did medical officers assigned to Zouave units have different color Kepi's? Also, When you look at both of the Doctors they do not appear to have the "MS" in the middle of their rank (I have to admit the Captain is harder to tell, perhaps he does). Was the "MS" standard for Doctors, was that added later in the war and perhaps this was an early war image?

So many questions???
 
I'm not so sure the doctor is sitting so much as just stooping over with a bent leg.

But I agree, it's a patterned rug or blanket of some kind. Maybe a horse blanket?
 
Line and staff officers that were part of Zouave regiments didn't always dress the same as the rest of the enlisted. The 5th NY, and 14th Brooklyn officers typically wore standard US patterned frock coats, that some may have been further embellished with additional trimmings... or not. It was also commonly found with them wearing red kepi's, and/or red trousers to semi match up with their troops. The photos above were staged for the photographer.

The "MS" insignia on officers shoulder straps were a non-regulation item. Some used them,, many didn't. The Surgeon being a staff officer would be wearing the same shoulder strap as all the others on staff. The use of a green sash and/or MS insignia used on the cap or hat frequently was the only indication he was a medical officer. Some surgeons purchased and used the "MS" shoulder straps on their own accord and personal preference. There were other non-reg straps in use out there too.... "PD" for Pay Department.... "QD" or "QM" for Quartermaster Dept.
 
Line and staff officers that were part of Zouave regiments didn't always dress the same as the rest of the enlisted. The 5th NY, and 14th Brooklyn officers typically wore standard US patterned frock coats, that some may have been further embellished with additional trimmings... or not. It was also commonly found with them wearing red kepi's, and/or red trousers to semi match up with their troops. The photos above were staged for the photographer.

I suspect that you may be right as to the color of the kepi's for the medical officers. If you look at the shade of gray of his coat and the one for his cap (easier to see for the 1st Lt. on the right) you will notice that the kepi is a lighter shade than the coat, while in traditional uniforms they would have been made from the same material and should be the same shade of gray.

100% agree that this was staged for the photographer. Asking a patient to hold still while the glass plate is exposed would have been a bit too much, even for these guys.
 
It's a blanket, for sure. :smile: If you do an image search for "patterned wool horse blanket," you can see that type of pattern is pretty standard.
Here's a checked blanket, and one where the pattern stops and then starts again, so although I could not find an exact match, it is easy to imagine.
 

Attachments

  • checker.jpg
    checker.jpg
    30 KB · Views: 171
  • horseblanket2.jpg
    horseblanket2.jpg
    25 KB · Views: 159
Here's a checked blanket, and one where the pattern stops and then starts again, so although I could not find an exact match, it is easy to imagine.

Thanks so much for taking the time to do that. I suspect from all of the comments that it is a blanket, just threw me a bit because of the pattern change in the middle, but it does make sense that it might be one that was meant for a horse with a pattern on both sides and none on the top part that would appear under the saddle.
 
Back
Top