Confederate Inscribed Signed Dated Pipe From Alton Help Please

[adamengland]

Hello all my name is Adam and im in England i work for a charity and we have been given an item i am researching i am in the process of taking some detailed pictures so until these are taken i will "try" to describe the item...

I believe the pipe bowl is made of stone of some kind.

on one side is a picture of what looks like palm tree ? and at the bottom to the right a snake, and to the left some boxes ??

on the other side is a flag pole with the American flag pointing to the right and around the pole on a banner the words "Southern Rights"

on the part of the pipe that goes up to where the mouthpiece went it is inscribed..

"designed and made by Q A Pearson March 6th 1862.

on the other side it says

"Prisoner of war confed in the penetentary at Alton Ills"

on the front of the pipe it has crest with two bears either side and the word Missouri at the top with one large star.

Does this mean anything to you ???

many thanks for any help you can give.

Adam

 

[Lazy Bayou]

Welcome from Mississippi. Someone will be along shortly to help you out.

 

[adamengland]

Hi there many thanks for the welcome.

 

[ErnieMac]

The Alton Penitentiary was a an Illinois Prison that had closed in 1860 and was used to house Confederate POW's during the war. There is a record of a Quincy A. Pearson being held there from December 19, 1861 through May 31, 1862. He had been taken prisoner at Milford, Missouri. Other records show him as a member the pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard from Saline County, Missouri, an area located along the Missouri River east of present day Kansas City.

December 19, 1861 is the date of a small battle in the southwest corner of Missouri called the Skirmish at Blackwater Creek located near the town of Milford. Union forces surrounded and captured a force of Confederate recruits and their supplies while en-route to join the Confederate Army. Nearly 700 men were taken prisoner.

Welcome to the forum from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I'm not certain what the pictures mean, maybe the photos will help. I'll be interested to see them.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Another Mississippi welcome. Looking forward to your photos of the pipe.

 

[reading48]

Hello and Greetings from Penna.....Cheers

 

[msimmons]

Greetings and welcome from Oklahoma.

 

[adamengland]

Hello and thanks to you both, many thanks "ErnieMac" some really interesting information there it would be brilliant if the details you have listed were in fact the owner of the pipe, i wonder how it ended up in England. I will attempt to upload the pictures tomorrow night so you can all see it, and hopefully you good people will be able to tell me more.

Are these items quite common ?

In my search on the "net" i have found a lot of carved wooden pipe bowls but hardly any that were made of "stone" and i could not find many that were from prisoners.

Its a fascinating subject and again thanks for all your help.

 

[BrassVols]

Welcome from the Volunteer State, looking forward to the pics as well.

 

[AndyHall]

The "palm tree" is likely a palmetto, usually associated with South Carolina but a very popular emblem of secession. There are depictions of the palmetto from the CW that also show a snake wrapped around its trunk; the snake being a symbol of defiance and unity going back at least to the American Revolution. The "boxes" may be a representation of cotton bales.

I'd really love to see some good images of it if you can imagine. Sounds like a fantastic piece.

 

[Stony]

Welcome.

 

[BrassVols]

Andy, you never cease to amaze, love the convention banner.
Thanks for your input.
I'm excited to see this pipe!

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

Hello all my name is Adam and im in England i work for a charity and we have been given an item i am researching i am in the process of taking some detailed pictures so until these are taken i will "try" to describe the item...

I believe the pipe bowl is made of stone of some kind.

on one side is a picture of what looks like palm tree ? and at the bottom to the right a snake, and to the left some boxes ??

on the other side is a flag pole with the American flag pointing to the right and around the pole on a banner the words "Southern Rights"

on the part of the pipe that goes up to where the mouthpiece went it is inscribed..

"designed and made by Q A Pearson March 6th 1862.

on the other side it says

"Prisoner of war confed in the penetentary at Alton Ills"

on the front of the pipe it has crest with two bears either side and the word Missouri at the top with one large star.

Does this mean anything to you ???

many thanks for any help you can give.

Adam

Welcome from east Tennessee. What Ernie said !!!!

Q A. Pearson

Residence was not listed;
Enlisted as a Private (date unknown).




He also had service in:
"3" Co. MO Robinson's St Gd Infantry


Sources used by Historical Data Systems, Inc.:

- Index to Compiled Confederate Military Service Records
(c) Historical Data Systems, Inc. @ www.civilwardata.com

 

[chellers]

Looking forward to your photos. Welcome from East Texas.

 

[adamengland]

 

[adamengland]

Here we are sorry for them being upside down and round the wrong way computers are not my strong point !!!!!

hopefully they are clear enough for you all to see.

I really look forward to your views.

Adam

 

[TinCan]

Pretty good artist I'd say.

 

[ErnieMac]

Photos look great. A couple of observations. The flag is a variation of the Stars and Bars, the first national flag of the Confederacy.

I defer to AndyHall's explanation of the palm tree and snake.

The bear motif on the front relates to the seal of the state of Missouri which was used on the flag of the Missouri State Guard (see below). He made some variations - removing the other 23 stars (Missouri had been the 24th state in the Union) and the Roman numeral date of 1820 which was its year of admission.

 

[adamengland]

Pretty good artist I'd say.

do you mean you think its a copy or are you saying that man was good at what he did ??

many thanks for the detailed report erniemac. do you feel its authentic ?

 

[ErnieMac]

I'm by no means an expert, but I think it is authentic for a number of reasons.

• The bowl's physical appearance.
• The dates and circumstances of Pearson's imprisonment match the date he inscribed.
• Q. A. Pearson was not a historically significant person, just a soldier doing his duty.
• The symbols inscribed on the pipe bowl and the way that they were modified would mean something to someone in Civil War Missouri, not so much today.