Need some help sorting out some items

[east_beast]

The sleeves on those dresses look like 1890s styles.

Yeah, these could've been added to the box after the fact. There were some family letters in there from the post-war period though I think the most recent was still 1870s.

 

[east_beast]

Any ideas what this is?

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It's hard but seems like something that likely would've been gummy or maybe resinous 170 years ago. It still has a very faint odor to it. I would describe it as herbal, almost similar to frankincense if you never smelled that.

As crazy as it sounds, I think it might actually be opium.

 

[east_beast]

I mean, it would make sense. Opium was in pretty widespread use during the era as a painkiller and probably was no doubt abused. Edward spent a month in the hospital suffering from his mortal wound at Petersburg before succumbing. He wrote letters from the hospital so there's a be good chance this "box/briefcase" whatever the proper term for it was with him given that it contained his ink well, toothbrush, etc. I'm sure if they had anything for pain relief they were giving it to him as his brother was on their butts to make sure he had the best of care available as was mentioned in letters to the family from the nurse. I would've thought that they would've probably taken that to use for others once he passed but at the same time if his brother came to retrieve his final effects or they otherwise hastily gathered them up they may not have checked or noticed. I don't know that's what this is but I honestly just don't know what else it could be. I did pinch off a small corner to check my suspicion that it was a resinous material that had hardened with time and it definitely is.

 

[east_beast]

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No, it is a Merrill Patent Box and was made for the Merrill carbine. Larry is great and may never have seen one of these as they are exceptionally rare. There is usually a stamped ink manufacturer mark under the top flap and I see remnants of one on yours. Let Larry know this and he will concur. Here is a series of pictures of a recreation:

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These items have sat in my safe for the past 2+ years waiting on me to get off my butt. In that time I've done little in terms of further research. Now that I have the display built and am starting to put stuff together I'm back off my butt and back in the research. Thanks to @Package4 pointing out that this was a Merrill Patent Box I went back and remeasured the bullet mold. It wasn't .58 caliber like I originally thought, it's .54. It seems like it might actually be a Merrill Carbine bullet mold.

Shiloh Civil War Relics Catalog

Shiloh Relics is one of the world&146;s largest Civil War and World War marketplaces on the web. We provide online trading exchange between the individual customer and Shiloh Relics. Individuals not big businesses use Shiloh Relics to buy and sell

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Seems like somehow this Confederate soldier ended up with a Merrill Patent Carbine and it's accompanying kit.

 

[east_beast]

It's done. I still have some documents to mat and frame but the primary display is done.

 

[R. Porter]

It's done. I still have some documents to mat and frame but the primary display is done.

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Wow!

 

[Package4]

It's done. I still have some documents to mat and frame but the primary display is done.

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Nice job, you have done your ancestor proud!

 

[Gandycreek]

What a great display ! congrats on your work.

 

[east_beast]

These items have sat in my safe for the past 2+ years waiting on me to get off my butt. In that time I've done little in terms of further research. Now that I have the display built and am starting to put stuff together I'm back off my butt and back in the research. Thanks to @Package4 pointing out that this was a Merrill Patent Box I went back and remeasured the bullet mold. It wasn't .58 caliber like I originally thought, it's .54. It seems like it might actually be a Merrill Carbine bullet mold.

Shiloh Civil War Relics Catalog

Shiloh Relics is one of the world&146;s largest Civil War and World War marketplaces on the web. We provide online trading exchange between the individual customer and Shiloh Relics. Individuals not big businesses use Shiloh Relics to buy and sell

shilohrelics.com

Seems like somehow this Confederate soldier ended up with a Merrill Patent Carbine and it's accompanying kit.

My uncle is a gun nut (I use that term lovingly, I could very fairly be labeled the same myself) who casts a lot of his own bullets and I have a buddy who does glass blowing so we're all gonna team up and cast some bullets using this mold and make us some pint glasses using bullets cast from the mold.

I'm also going to lend the entire display to the local county museum for a bit. The curator is a family friend and is a bit butthurt that I scooped them on this haul. Like buddy, I didn't even ask for it. They offered it and I extremely graciously accepted.

 

[east_beast]

Sitting here today on the anniversary of Antietam wondering if any of these items were in the West Woods 163 years ago and how the young men still relatively green in battle handled the losses that day. They'd suffer 67 casualties at Antietam.