Interesting Photos Found During My Search

Having just finished researching photos of everyday camp life, I figured I would share a few more of my favorite finds. Many of these were found thanks to a great suggestion made by RedRover!

1) First, we have a group of Federal soldiers boxing in camp. Perhaps they were settling a dispute, taking bets, fighting off boredom, or merely acting for the camera?



2) This is a photo of Confederates taken very early in the war. The wild variation in hats and attire, particularly the polka-dot shirt, stands out to me.



3) Union soldiers watch as two camp servants prepare to release gamecocks into a fight. Bets were certainly being made on this one.



4) I found this while looking for photos of shebangs, but certainly these were not something soldiers were living and sleeping under. Perhaps they are VERY temporary sun protection or something that was placed over the dead? Perhaps it is a photo from a POW camp? It looks like a Union officer standing in the photo. My bet is that it is, in fact, from a POW camp.



5) This one has a clear description. Reported to be the only photo of Texan soldiers in the Army of Northern Virginia. ???



6) This one is a very interesting photo of a group of Confederate soldiers sitting in front of a tent labeled "Music Hall" or "Music Hill." The photo was reportedly taken before the fighting had even really begun, and the group is very well outfitted. A violin or fiddle is clearly visible in the lap of the man seated by the table. I believe that the photo was taken in Virginia.

BMD77 said:

Having just finished researching photos of everyday camp life, I figured I would share a few more of my favorite finds. Many of these were found thanks to a great suggestion made by RedRover!

1) First, we have a group of Federal soldiers boxing in camp. Perhaps they were settling a dispute, taking bets, fighting off boredom, or merely acting for the camera?

View attachment 584178

2) This is a photo of Confederates taken very early in the war. The wild variation in hats and attire, particularly the polka-dot shirt, stands out to me.

View attachment 584179

3) Union soldiers watch as two camp servants prepare to release gamecocks into a fight. Bets were certainly being made on this one.

View attachment 584180

4) I found this while looking for photos of shebangs, but certainly these were not something soldiers were living and sleeping under. Perhaps they are VERY temporary sun protection or something that was placed over the dead? Perhaps it is a photo from a POW camp? It looks like a Union officer standing in the photo. My bet is that it is, in fact, from a POW camp.

View attachment 584181

5) This one has a clear description. Reported to be the only photo of Texan soldiers in the Army of Northern Virginia. ???

View attachment 584182

6) This one is a very interesting photo of a group of Confederate soldiers sitting in front of a tent labeled "Music Hall" or "Music Hill." The photo was reportedly taken before the fighting had even really begun, and the group is very well outfitted. A violin or fiddle is clearly visible in the lap of the man seated by the table. I believe that the photo was taken in Virginia.

View attachment 584183

Click to expand...

Nice collection of camp scenes. About #4, there are a number of observations that will inform the interpretation.


The Union officer ( 1st lieutenant ) is standing amonst a collection of shebangs ( improvised shelter. ) In this image the shelter half / pup tents & blankets providing shade for the slumbering soldiers. This is consistent with active duty of some kind, picket line, a halt or the like.

Note:

Upon a bit more research, this is a field hospital at Antietam. The shiny surfaced tarps would be rain ponchos rather than shelter halves that weren't issued until early 1863. See JPK Hudson's CWT post down thread.


When shelter half / pup tents were issued there were tent pegs, & a length of line that was passed through the trigger guard of a musket bayoneted into the ground. It was an ideal personal shelter that had only the bare minimum of pieces. Any chance to catch a nap was always welcome.



The shebang in front of the officer is made from a blanket. The soldier's shoes are center right. Hay that was used for bedding is camera left. The improvised shelter is a good example of what a brilliant idea the shelter half was.

I have seen other images of pickets seated with a shelter half with a fixed bayonet passed through a corner grommet to create a welcome bit of personal shade. As the officer is here, members of the picket post on duty stand guard.

Rhea Cole said:

Nice collection of camp scenes. About #4, there are a number of observations that will inform the interpretation.

View attachment 584199
The Union officer ( 1st lieutenant ) is standing amonst a collection of shebangs ( improvised shelter. ) In this image the shelter half / pup tents & blankets providing shade for the slumbering soldiers. This is consistent with active duty of some kind, picket line, a halt or the like.


View attachment 584200
When shelter half / pup tents were issued there were tent pegs, & a length of line that was passed through the trigger guard of a musket bayoneted into the ground. It was an ideal personal shelter that had only the bare minimum of pieces. Any chance to catch a nap was always welcome.

View attachment 584201

The shebang in front of the officer is made from a blanket. The soldier's shoes are center right. Hay that was used for bedding is camera left. The improvised shelter is a good example of what a brilliant idea the shelter half was.

I have seen other images of pickets seated with a shelter half with a fixed bayonet passed through a corner grommet to create a welcome bit of personal shade. As the officer is here, members of the picket post on duty stand guard.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input!

Captain Adolph Metzner, Lieutenant Louis von Trebra and Jacob Labinsky, Huntsville, Alabama, July 1862. Drawing by Adolph Metzner, 1862. L.O.C.

BMD77, Looking for camp scenes, you may find the drawings of Adolph Metzner quite interesting. Unlike the special artists of the illustrated magazines, Metzner was a soldier & did not sanitize his images. He was also a caricaturist, so some of the drawings are drolly funny. See more than 100 drawings here from the Library of Congress.

Link

Rhea Cole said:

Nice collection of camp scenes. About #4, there are a number of observations that will inform the interpretation.

View attachment 584199
The Union officer ( 1st lieutenant ) is standing amonst a collection of shebangs ( improvised shelter. ) In this image the shelter half / pup tents & blankets providing shade for the slumbering soldiers. This is consistent with active duty of some kind, picket line, a halt or the like.


View attachment 584200
When shelter half / pup tents were issued there were tent pegs, & a length of line that was passed through the trigger guard of a musket bayoneted into the ground. It was an ideal personal shelter that had only the bare minimum of pieces. Any chance to catch a nap was always welcome.

View attachment 584201

The shebang in front of the officer is made from a blanket. The soldier's shoes are center right. Hay that was used for bedding is camera left. The improvised shelter is a good example of what a brilliant idea the shelter half was.

I have seen other images of pickets seated with a shelter half with a fixed bayonet passed through a corner grommet to create a welcome bit of personal shade. As the officer is here, members of the picket post on duty stand guard.

Click to expand...

a man that's been on guard all night will sleep under any old thing and would not care at all what it may look like!!
i've been caught out in heavy rains & would have real been happy to have a canvas tarp like these, just to keep the bread dry

BMD77 said:

Thanks for the input!

Click to expand...

If I recall correctly, this is a temporary field hospital at Antietam.

Lampass Bill, perhaps so….


Very similar looking shebang hospital shelters using muskets with the bayonet jammed into the ground for tent poles, Antietam. See more here scroll down.

Link

Rhea Cole said:

Lampass Bill, perhaps so….

View attachment 584210
Very similar looking shebang hospital shelters using muskets with the bayonet jammed into the ground for tent poles, Antietam. See more here scroll down.

Link

Thread 'A Walk Through The Field Hospitals, Antietam, September 1862'

Sep 19, 2019

The shattered Sherrick property, house, outbuildings and barn were filled with wounded by the time Alexander Gardner arrived three days post battle.

Intent is only to give a September, 1862 eye witness view of post battle Antietam, Maryland. Overwhelmed, understaffed Army medical staff did their best against the bloodiest day in the ACW. Help was slow arriving and too late for more men than we can know who died in appalling conditions. Clara was making her frustrated there with her first wagon loaded with compassion. I'm still looking for accounts by the doctors...

• JPK Huson 1863
• Replies: 7
• Forum: Medical Care

• 

Click to expand...

This very well could be the same hospital. At the very least, I believe it to be taken in the area around Sharpsburg after the battle.

BMD77 said:

Having just finished researching photos of everyday camp life, I figured I would share a few more of my favorite finds. Many of these were found thanks to a great suggestion made by RedRover!

1) First, we have a group of Federal soldiers boxing in camp. Perhaps they were settling a dispute, taking bets, fighting off boredom, or merely acting for the camera?

View attachment 584178

Click to expand...

LOC has the original glass stereo negative that this one came from: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2018671092/

BMD77 said:

3) Union soldiers watch as two camp servants prepare to release gamecocks into a fight. Bets were certainly being made on this one.

View attachment 584180

Click to expand...

LOC also has two glass negatives from this scene: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2018672266/ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2018672305/

BMD77 said:

2) This is a photo of Confederates taken very early in the war. The wild variation in hats and attire, particularly the polka-dot shirt, stands out to me.

View attachment 584179

Click to expand...

This is one of a group of at least 5 photos of the Clinch Rifles in a camp in Georgia, c. 1861. You can see all 5 and more in this thread: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/clinch-rifles.77651/

BMD77 said:

5) This one has a clear description. Reported to be the only photo of Texan soldiers in the Army of Northern Virginia. ???

View attachment 584182

Click to expand...

There were at least 4 photos of the Texas Brigade taken in camp in Dumfries, Virginia, c. 1861-1862: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/photos-of-the-texas-brigade.222398/

If you look at the first hospital image closely, I think you will see that it is the same location as the left hand side of the hospital image with the white building on its right. Compare the board used as a tent pole on the corner of the shelter closest to the viewer, the folds in the cloth of that structure, the fence poles in the background, the rope support running from the trigger guard to the ground of the rifle used as a tent pole on the structure with the dark cloth covering behind the first structure. Even the man standing in both pictures looks similar.

Rhea Cole said:

Nice collection of camp scenes. About #4, there are a number of observations that will inform the interpretation.

View attachment 584199
The Union officer ( 1st lieutenant ) is standing amonst a collection of shebangs ( improvised shelter. ) In this image the shelter half / pup tents & blankets providing shade for the slumbering soldiers. This is consistent with active duty of some kind, picket line, a halt or the like.

Note:

Upon a bit more research, this is a field hospital at Antietam. The shiny surfaced tarps would be rain ponchos rather than shelter halves that weren't issued until early 1863. See JPK Hudson's CWT post down thread.

View attachment 584200
When shelter half / pup tents were issued there were tent pegs, & a length of line that was passed through the trigger guard of a musket bayoneted into the ground. It was an ideal personal shelter that had only the bare minimum of pieces. Any chance to catch a nap was always welcome.

View attachment 584201

The shebang in front of the officer is made from a blanket. The soldier's shoes are center right. Hay that was used for bedding is camera left. The improvised shelter is a good example of what a brilliant idea the shelter half was.

I have seen other images of pickets seated with a shelter half with a fixed bayonet passed through a corner grommet to create a welcome bit of personal shade. As the officer is here, members of the picket post on duty stand guard.

Click to expand...

They put the blanket end over the nipple and lower the hammer to keep it in place I have read somewhere.

#4 is a field hospital. The standing officer is the surgeon of the 14th Indiana Infantry whose name I can't remember at the moment (Hurd? Maybe?)

BMD77 said:

Having just finished researching photos of everyday camp life, I figured I would share a few more of my favorite finds. Many of these were found thanks to a great suggestion made by RedRover!

1) First, we have a group of Federal soldiers boxing in camp. Perhaps they were settling a dispute, taking bets, fighting off boredom, or merely acting for the camera?

View attachment 584178

2) This is a photo of Confederates taken very early in the war. The wild variation in hats and attire, particularly the polka-dot shirt, stands out to me.

View attachment 584179

3) Union soldiers watch as two camp servants prepare to release gamecocks into a fight. Bets were certainly being made on this one.

View attachment 584180

4) I found this while looking for photos of shebangs, but certainly these were not something soldiers were living and sleeping under. Perhaps they are VERY temporary sun protection or something that was placed over the dead? Perhaps it is a photo from a POW camp? It looks like a Union officer standing in the photo. My bet is that it is, in fact, from a POW camp.

View attachment 584181

5) This one has a clear description. Reported to be the only photo of Texan soldiers in the Army of Northern Virginia. ???

View attachment 584182

6) This one is a very interesting photo of a group of Confederate soldiers sitting in front of a tent labeled "Music Hall" or "Music Hill." The photo was reportedly taken before the fighting had even really begun, and the group is very well outfitted. A violin or fiddle is clearly visible in the lap of the man seated by the table. I believe that the photo was taken in Virginia.

View attachment 584183

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting these. I also enjoy images of camp life because the soldiers were in camps far more than they were in battle. Camps could be like towns or even cities. They are endlessly fascinating to me.

7thWisconsin said:

#4 is a field hospital. The standing officer is the surgeon of the 14th Indiana Infantry whose name I can't remember at the moment (Hurd? Maybe?)

Click to expand...

Yes, Dr. Anson Hurd. According to our friend @Brian Downey's Antietam on the Web, the image was taken as Hurd treated wounded at the field hospital on the Otho J. Smith Farm after the Battle of Antietam.

He is reading The Atlantic Monthly. Now known as The Atlantic.