Impressions Historically Accurate or Farbism #2?

Legion Para

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Historically accurate or farbism?

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I've no problem with the painted canteen … soldiers had a lot of spare time on their hands.

Bit suspicious of the canteen (same with the other fellow) worn below the blanket roll. It's entirely impractical if you need to take a glug on the march and you'd have to take everything off to fill it at a stream, pond.
 
It may be historically inaccurate but is certainly not a farby. A farbism is a item that is worn or carried or used by a reenactor that is not correct for that period in time. All the items being worn in the photo are accurate for the period. As far as the bed roll interfering with a drink from a canteen is not an issue at all. The roll is tied on the opposite side of the canteen and the sling is long enough to to pick up the canteen and get a drink. I have been reenacting for 22 years and worn a bed roll many times and never had a problem taking a drink. Take a look at the famous Gettysburg photo of the 3 confederates standing by the rail fence, and you will see the canteen hanging under the bed roll on the middle soldier and they are loaded with gear. They would not give anything up for the sake of the ease of getting a drink.
 
It may be historically inaccurate but is certainly not a farby. A farbism is a item that is worn or carried or used by a reenactor that is not correct for that period in time. All the items being worn in the photo are accurate for the period. As far as the bed roll interfering with a drink from a canteen is not an issue at all. The roll is tied on the opposite side of the canteen and the sling is long enough to to pick up the canteen and get a drink. I have been reenacting for 22 years and worn a bed roll many times and never had a problem taking a drink. Take a look at the famous Gettysburg photo of the 3 confederates standing by the rail fence, and you will see the canteen hanging under the bed roll on the middle soldier and they are loaded with gear. They would not give anything up for the sake of the ease of getting a drink.

Fair enough reb ed - each to their own. Yeah, I've been re-enacting for a while too, though I must admit it's been mostly federal, so most of the time I'd be wearing a knapsack - you try filling and drinking a canteen with one of those under your kit (all those straps!)

It's a practice we continued when we did a Cornfed impression.

In my opinion, soldiers would make life as easy as possible, and having to take half your kit off to fill a canteen or pass it to a feller who was going to fill them does not come under the heading 'an easy life' :D
 
I suppose that what ever it takes to survive you do. Maybe we will meet on the field one day. Good luck out there.

Possibly, but I'd be doing Civilian now if anything. I'd enjoy the sitting round the campfire with the boys bit (and the drill - I loved drill!) But the marchin' and fightin's beyond me.

One other minor criticism of the Sarge's impression is that - in my opinion - he's wearing his haversack too low for a veteran.
 
No one has issues with the painted wood canteen?

View attachment 196666

I found one original in an online search (loads of painted Fed canteens by the way.)

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On that basis alone, I would suggest not many happened. I would imagine many canteens were decorated or painted after the war also. Carved drum canteens would probably have been more numerous.

However, it's certainly possible that a soldier may have had a painted canteen - the Sarge could have been an engraver or an amateur sketcher, who knows? As long as half the rest of his unit don't have painted canteens, I think he gets away with it :D
 
I found one original in an online search (loads of painted Fed canteens by the way.)

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On that basis alone, I would suggest not many happened. I would imagine many canteens were decorated or painted after the war also. Carved drum canteens would probably have been more numerous.

However, it's certainly possible that a soldier may have had a painted canteen - the Sarge could have been an engraver or an amateur sketcher, who knows? As long as half the rest of his unit don't have painted canteens, I think he gets away with it :D


Please post links whenever possible. Original wartime painted?

https://caseantiques.com/item/lot-387-painted-confederate-canteen/


Wooden Confederate canteen with painted scene of a Confederate flag displayed over a headstone marked "Unknown" and a footstone marked "C.S.A." Well executed with a faded gilt painted border. The scene painted on this canteen is taken from the central vignette of the Confederate Note Memorial chromolithograph. The canteen is accompanied by copies of Civil War letters possibly associated with Charles E. Moore. Moore is referenced in the book, "The Confederate Image: Prints of the Lost Cause" Holzer & Boritt, p. 106. The detailed painting of the canteen accompanied with the Civil War letter copies relating to the Moore family suggests the canteen may have been decorated by Charles Moore and belonged to him. 7 1/4" diameter. 19th century. Condition: Missing wooden band at spout, missing spout, and top circular edge of back wooden facing missing. 7 1/4" diameter. 19th century. Condition: Missing wooden band at spout, missing spout, and top circular edge of back wooden facing missing. 7 1/4" diameter. 19th century.

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Great detail on that canteen para. Yes, sorry, should have posted the link.

I guess the letters sold with the canteen would tell whether it was done in wartime or after.
 
Great detail on that canteen para. Yes, sorry, should have posted the link.

I guess the letters sold with the canteen would tell whether it was done in wartime or after.

I'm sure the auction house would have mentioned if the letters said anything about the canteen.
 
I'm sure the auction house would have mentioned if the letters said anything about the canteen.

This one's definitely post-war painted - and they say so :

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Description: CIVIL WAR ERA CEDAR DRUM CANTEEN, with iron banding, later painted Confederate reunion decoration depicting a variant of the first national flag of the Confederacy, or "Stars and Bars", and the second national flag of the Confederacy, or "Stainless Banner", crossed, with "C.S.A." above it, and "1861-65" below; natural surface to face and back, walls and iron bands retain some white paint; lacking stopper. Probably Confederate in origin.
Dimensions: 7" D, 2 3/8" W.
Date: Third quarter 19th century.
Condition Report: Very good as-found condition, expected minor separation to wall sections.

More photos here:

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/civil-war-era-cedar-drum-canteen-160-c-7a845e3984
 
This one's definitely post-war painted - and they say so :

H4034-L106712161.jpg


Description: CIVIL WAR ERA CEDAR DRUM CANTEEN, with iron banding, later painted Confederate reunion decoration depicting a variant of the first national flag of the Confederacy, or "Stars and Bars", and the second national flag of the Confederacy, or "Stainless Banner", crossed, with "C.S.A." above it, and "1861-65" below; natural surface to face and back, walls and iron bands retain some white paint; lacking stopper. Probably Confederate in origin.
Dimensions: 7" D, 2 3/8" W.
Date: Third quarter 19th century.
Condition Report: Very good as-found condition, expected minor separation to wall sections.

More photos here:

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/civil-war-era-cedar-drum-canteen-160-c-7a845e3984
Sorry found this thread way late, most of the painted canteen were done so post war and are a collecting venue of their own as they are in two genres, folk art and ACW. Many drums follow along the same lines......

I do consider it a farbism as evidence suggests, at least for the most part painted canteens are post war attributions.
 
Sorry found this thread way late, most of the painted canteen were done so post war and are a collecting venue of their own as they are in two genres, folk art and ACW. Many drums follow along the same lines......

I do consider it a farbism as evidence suggests, at least for the most part painted canteens are post war attributions.

Agreed, I even find canteens with regimental numbers suspect, though marginally less.

Exceptions might include militia units, possibly home guard... but designs and scenes find little place in a good impression. After all, soldiers might have had the time, but scrounging up food and socks and such seem a more important endeavor than locating paints and brushes!
 
So is that canteen farby for being painted? Well, who's to say somebody in the ranks didn't? Just because there isn't one in a surviving picture or one in a museum doesn't mean it didn't happen.

Let's look later in history. WW1 aircraft had some individualization, a trend that continued to nose art in WW2 aircraft. Armored vehicles had unauthorized markings. Gun trucks, aircraft, helmets and other stuff in Vietnam often had some artwork. We know about these because some is in living memory but photographic evidence is far more common. Soldiers have done "trench art" all through history in one form or another.

So painted canteen, did it happen? Entirely possible. Common? Probably not very, so I'm not terribly worried about it so long as the subject matter and color palette is correct.
 
So is that canteen farby for being painted? Well, who's to say somebody in the ranks didn't? Just because there isn't one in a surviving picture or one in a museum doesn't mean it didn't happen.

Let's look later in history. WW1 aircraft had some individualization, a trend that continued to nose art in WW2 aircraft. Armored vehicles had unauthorized markings. Gun trucks, aircraft, helmets and other stuff in Vietnam often had some artwork. We know about these because some is in living memory but photographic evidence is far more common. Soldiers have done "trench art" all through history in one form or another.

So painted canteen, did it happen? Entirely possible. Common? Probably not very, so I'm not terribly worried about it so long as the subject matter and color palette is correct.
That is one of the problems with the hobby, there are more painted canteens in the current hobby than exist from actual extant specimens, whether painted post war or not. The desire to be different and stand out, which is exactly what the ACW soldier did not want to do. A wooden canteen would have lasted long enough to grab a replacement from captured stores or battlefield pick up, why bother painting it and where does one find the paint?
 
So I reckon it maybe, possibly could be considered trench art. However I too thought "farb" when it first posted in the caption threads. Not too different than wearing a bright color bandanna to stand out. An early lesson in the military is to NOT stand out - even on the sidewalk.
 
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