The lollypop guild?

It's not like something crawled on his head and died!
rat-haircut.jpg
 
Some men probably had no idea what to do with their hair? This fellow seems so very proud of where he is and what he is doing, my guess is he wished to dress up the rest of him for a photograph. He doesn't come across as a dandy- in fact would also have to guess quite a few enemy jumped out of their socks when they saw him coming.
 
Also he has rather odd shoulder straps. Perhaps brass scales attachments and not shoulder straps?
You are correct, they are cloth epaulet attachments, the underneath brass part of the epaulet goes through the cloth strap. The other odd item on the front of the jacket are button extenders, this was most likely his war date jacket and he has gained a little weight due to inactivity, or more plentiful diet.
 
The style of combing it back and then sort of slicing the comb across in the back gave this effect - it was popular. There is at least one picture of Jeb Stuart in ringlets Custer and Pickett would envy - and Forrest almost achieved an Oompa-Loompa look with the sunburn and a hat head curl...but I don't think I'd tease either one of them about it!
 
Wow what an interesting looking fellow! Is it possible his look was influenced by living in certain immigrant communities? I did look the name up on Ancestry and Nicholas Ziesse only turned up on the 1890 Veteran Schedule as a bugler. I was hoping to find his census record to see where he was from, but other people with the same last name appear to be from Prussia, might that explain the interesting hair and mustache situation.
 
Is this Civil War soldier a member of the lollypop guild?

My real question is what is he wearing? he appears to be too fat for his jacket and seems to be wearing safety pins to hold the jacket together. Does anyone have a different view of what these items are?

Also I do not believe he is holding a bugle.


Not safety pins, they look like the brass button extenders that my great-great-grandfather used. I still have them and have seen other styles made of braided cord. Would like to see this photo colorized.
 
Appears to be "button loops", basically a loop of thread that goes through the button hole and then loops around the button. They used to sell plastic button extenders a bunch of years ago for putting under your tie when the top button on your shirt was too tight. ..... My guess is that he is basically doing the same thing here because his jacket is too small.
button loops.jpg
 
The photo shows/states Battery A, Tapbugler website states 5th Michigan which I think is wrong since neither the 5th Michigan Infantry or Cavalry fought at Perryville, Ky. However Battery A was in the Battle of Perryville, Ky.

Battery “A” 1st Michigan Volunteer Light Artillery “10 lb Parrot Rifles” April 23, 1861 to July 12, 1865. Battery "A" was a pre-war militia unit that tendered an offer of service and was enlisted as a body on April 23, 1861, and re-mustered in for three years' service on May 28, 1861.

Engagements:
Battle of Cheat Mountain, Battle of Perryville, Battle of Stone River, Battle of Chickamauga, Siege of Chattanooga.

Total strength and casualties: The battery suffered 1 officer and 11 enlisted men who were killed in action or mortally wounded and 28 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 40 fatalities.
 
Is this Civil War soldier a member of the lollypop guild?

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My real question is what is he wearing? he appears to be too fat for his jacket and seems to be wearing safety pins to hold the jacket together. Does anyone have a different view of what these items are?

Also I do not believe he is holding a bugle.
Hey now watch it! The Umpalumpa are everywhere and won't take kindly to those words :D
 
Confederate Commanders at Kernstown.jpg


My own personal candidate for the Guild is Confederate Col. Samuel V. Fulkerson, commander of the 27th Virginia and another regiment in a small brigade under Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley, seen here in an 1860 photo. Fulkerson was killed at Gaines Mill on the Peninsula a short time later.
 
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