GRAPHIC Dead at Petersburg

The gentleman was well dressed. Do we know if he was an officer? Perhaps the pockets were turned out and the jacket unbuttoned so looters would be less likely to disturb the gentleman.

At first glance, he appears to be an enlisted man but then I noticed he has no belt in
the photograph. Could it be that he was wearing a sword belt that was taken along with
the sword on it?

I believe this is one of a series taken after the trenches outside of Petersburg were
overrun by the Union and many of the dead photographed were artillerymen. That
is a possible explanation for why there is no cartridge box, haversack or rifle to be seen
in this picture or near this solider.
 
At first glance, he appears to be an enlisted man but then I noticed he has no belt in
the photograph. Could it be that he was wearing a sword belt that was taken along with
the sword on it?

I believe this is one of a series taken after the trenches outside of Petersburg were
overrun by the Union and many of the dead photographed were artillerymen. That
is a possible explanation for why there is no cartridge box, haversack or rifle to be seen
in this picture or near this solider.

Actually he does have a belt. If you look near his waist you will see that it has been unbuckled and is partially covered by his body. I suspect that looters would be responsible to his belt being in disarray, the pockets turned out and the missing cartridge box, rifle, haversack, etc.

There are a number of images of dead after Petersburg and almost none of them have a weapon. The one that stands out in my mind that does is this one (there are 2-3 others as well). If you look (particularly at the one in the back) it appears that the rifle is carefully placed and are most likely props provided by the photographer and would have "vanished" when the image was complete.

p277532451-6.jpg
 
Actually he does have a belt. If you look near his waist you will see that it has been unbuckled and is partially covered by his body. I suspect that looters would be responsible to his belt being in disarray, the pockets turned out and the missing cartridge box, rifle, haversack, etc.

There are a number of images of dead after Petersburg and almost none of them have a weapon. The one that stands out in my mind that does is this one (there are 2-3 others as well). If you look (particularly at the one in the back) it appears that the rifle is carefully placed and are most likely props provided by the photographer and would have "vanished" when the image was complete.

View attachment 133285
Noticing the bent end of the barrel on the strategically placed rifle above. No wonder it was left behind.
 
This is another image from "Blood and Glory". A lot of these images went by very quickly on the show, so this is an opportunity to view it in more detail.

View attachment 133288
Its strange to think that some of those footprints that we can see in the mud may well have been his. looking at these types of pictures never seems to get any easier and neither should it.
 
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