5th Michigan Cavalryman

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Oct 10, 2012
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Mt. Jackson, Va
Posing with a Spencer Rifle.

146218843_4011287848883693_1642908564164120702_n.jpg
 
The 5th Michigan was issued Spencer rifles and carried them at Gettysburg . Interesting to see his revolver has been removed from the holster and stuck in his belt for the image . I would think it wasn't ideal to hold the rifle with the muzzle on the floor , but with the receiver up the viewer can see it's a Spencer without a doubt .
 
Looks like he missed a button on his trousers too . As far as his blouse buttons , maybe he tried the Napoleon - Little Mac pose with his hand in that position .
 
That sure looks like a "pop up" studio!
It basically IS - it's merely a canvas stretched on a frame so as to best catch and reflect available light - here's a similar one from my collection I've posted before that shows details of the arrangement a little better:

Union Soldier in New York Jacket.jpg
 
Would there be any particular reason for his blouse buttons to be undone?
Lubliner.
Either the blouse is to small or he forgot to button them..
Looks like he missed a button on his trousers too . As far as his blouse buttons , maybe he tried the Napoleon - Little Mac pose with his hand in that position .
Perhaps he keeps a jar in there, a half pint maybe.
As unlikely and silly as it may seem to us now, the answer is probably and simply fashion. One of the best descriptions I ever read - sorry, at this distance I now have absolutely NO idea where - of the appearance of a "typical" Civil War soldier is an umade bed.
 
As unlikely and silly as it may seem to us now, the answer is probably and simply fashion. One of the best descriptions I ever read - sorry, at this distance I now have absolutely NO idea where - of the appearance of a "typical" Civil War soldier is an umade bed.
Why I use a sleeping bag! Actually the idea of numerous poses possibly puts the gentleman in the picture as imitating the Napoleonic look. Change ups in poses could be the fault, so knowing the photographer was desiring to portray the man as the man saw fit, I doubt it was just negligence or a 'que sera' moment. (Great pic you added by the way).
Lubliner.
 
The 5th Michigan was issued Spencer rifles and carried them at Gettysburg . Interesting to see his revolver has been removed from the holster and stuck in his belt for the image . I would think it wasn't ideal to hold the rifle with the muzzle on the floor , but with the receiver up the viewer can see it's a Spencer without a doubt .
and it is not a reversed image. that is a plus for a change!!
 
and it is not a reversed image. that is a plus for a change!!
Why do you say that?? Everything about it is "reversed" from the side his buttons are on; the side his saber is suspended from; to the side of the Spencer the hammer is on. The only concession he's making to the normal "reversed" image produced by the camera is by holding the saber in the "wrong" hand on the "wrong" side.
 
is that a ROOT REVOLVER in his waistband?
Looks like the standard Colt 1860 Army to me - Colt Roots were small-caliber "pocket"-sized revolvers with the hammer on the right side of the frame.
 
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