Cavalryman with Banjo

[General Casey]

I've seen a lot of Civil War photographs of soldiers posing with friends or family members; with rifles and knives and pistols. But none (at least off the top of my head) with a banjo.Expired Image Removed

 

[MRB1863]

Posted image above would not open for me, but here's one....

...don't know if it is the same as your post or not.

 

[General Casey]

Thank you MRB1863...that is the same one

 

[Frederick14Va]

 

[John Winn]

Looks like the very same prop as used in the first of Frederick's photos. Obviously, neither of those guys actually played the banjo (their grips are just wrong).

 

[Patrick H]

We've discussed this image previously, but let me call your attention to the scalloped edge of the banjo fret board. That's the side with the short fifth string. As we face the front of the banjo with the neck pointed up, that edge should be on the left side of the neck. The first soldier with the pipe is actually playing or at least holding the banjo left-handed and the image is flopped. The second soldier is holding it left handed and the image is NOT flopped. The next image with the guy holding it on his shoulder is also a flopped image. The last image of the larger group is a puzzler. I can't tell what is going on. Their buttons seem to indicate that the image is flopped. However, if it is, then they are ALL holding their instruments left handed. What are the odds of that happening?

 

[James B White]

We've discussed this image previously, but let me call your attention to the scalloped edge of the banjo fret board. That's the side with the short fifth string. As we face the front of the banjo with the neck pointed up, that edge should be on the left side of the neck. The first soldier with the pipe is actually playing or at least holding the banjo left-handed and the image is flopped. The second soldier is holding it left handed and the image is NOT flopped. The next image with the guy holding it on his shoulder is also a flopped image. The last image of the larger group is a puzzler. I can't tell what is going on. Their buttons seem to indicate that the image is flopped. However, if it is, then they are ALL holding their instruments left handed. What are the odds of that happening?

Instructions must have gone out to everyone, if you're getting your picture taken, hold your banjo left handed so it will look right in the picture. Except the poor fellow in the CDV didn't get the rest of the message, unless it's a negative for a paper print.

 

[kholland]

I've seen a lot of Civil War photographs of soldiers posing with friends or family members; with rifles and knives and pistols. But none (at least off the top of my head) with a banjo.Expired Image Removed

The most well known "cavalryman with a banjo" was JEB Stuart's own Sam Sweeny, who I believe was accompanied by a bones player and tamborine at times. He would ride along with his banjo wrapped in an oilcloth ready for a quick show.

Older sibling Joel Sweeney, experts say, is the first documented white man to play the banjo, having learned the music from slaves by the mid-1830s. Considered by many to be the first pop star in America, the so-called "father of the banjo" was considered an innovator in the use of the five-string banjo, an instrument with roots in Africa.

"He was the one who brought (the banjo) into white, middle-American culture," says David Wooldridge, a museum technician with Appomattox Court House National Historical Park.

http://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2014/01/jeb-stuarts-banjo-player-and-famous.html