USMRR Construction Corps photo question

Mike Serpa

Major
Joined
Jan 24, 2013
Is the man in the center holding bread?
Gang.jpg

Gang "A" Construction Corps, USMRR. - http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p16003coll6/id/313/rec/15
 
Mike, it appears to me to be bread. But there are a couple of other things which are interesting in this photo. A man wearing gloves, a man on a crutch and what appears to me to be some type of stake.

What I find interesting is that many of these fellows appear to be civilian contract.

Anyway what could be seen as a glove on that particular (front row, 3rd from right) fellow could as well just be a bare hand (a slight blur making a hand look like a glove) but unremarkable in either case. Two other men have long gloves, particularly apparent on the front artillerist on the wheel hub. I really think that what could be seen as a crutch is simply just another long gun, being held in an informal (long-gloved) grasp. What could be seen as a stake could as well just be another piece of plant stubble like the other pieces strewn nearby. But again, either thing is unremarkable.

(I only mean unremarkable in the sense of common and expected circumstance, not that it's not worth remarking about).
 
Last edited:
Not sure it is bread unless it is in some type of packaging. If you look at the top row between the 2nd and 3rd "loaf" you will see a wrinkle. That makes it appear to be a large package or wrapping of some type. Also what kind of hat is that guy in the front wearing? The one with the Napoleon pose with hand in coat at chest. Also notice the one with a rifle? I'm not a photo expert but this photo appears odd to me but intriguing. I may have misspelled that last word.
 
Not sure it is bread unless it is in some type of packaging. If you look at the top row between the 2nd and 3rd "loaf" you will see a wrinkle. That makes it appear to be a large package or wrapping of some type.
To me it looks like multiple loaves of bread made joined together. The large loaf of bead is in the process of spitting.

View attachment 183701 Also if some of yall thought that may be some type of supply wagon or other type transporting device like I initially thought , its not, its a cannon. One guy at top is holding either a rammer or sponge and you can clearly see the muzzle protruding out to the right.
Yes, a cannon.
 
I'm seeing nothing other than bread loaves just-baked and just out of a depot camp oven, ready to be separated, in the same manner rolls are baked in a baking pan today - you simply separate them after baking.

Perhaps the scale is what is throwing us off. Long-term or depot bakeries baked in bulk for lots of men in big ole brick ovens. I doubt they'd mess with one loaf at a time.
 
View attachment 183701 Also if some of yall thought that may be some type of supply wagon or other type transporting device like I initially thought , its not, its a cannon. One guy at top is holding either a rammer or sponge and you can clearly see the muzzle protruding out to the right.

Hmm, could the bread actually be bags of gunpowder for the cannon?
 
I like the photo but I’m just not sure what message they were trying to convey (if any) at first I thought perhaps someone had suggested taking a picture of all the tradesmen, particularly those with specific jobs to do but if that was the case it would appear that only the baker made an effort, nobody else bothered to bring their tools of the trade, I’d expect to see a blacksmith or cook/butcher but there’s nothing giving any clue to what these men did. So why did they decide to place some random bloke in the middle of the picture with loaves of bread. The only plausible explanation that I can come up with is that the photo is letting people know that they are all safe and happy and everyone is eating well and taking care of themselves.
 
Another thought, maybe the significance of the bread has a serious side, remember the Richmond bread riots. Perhaps these guys are just letting people know that everything is fine and nobody is starving.
 
Mike, it appears to me to be bread. But there are a couple of other things which are interesting in this photo.
A man wearing gloves, a man on a crutch and what appears to me to be some type of stake.View attachment 183377 View attachment 183377
And what about the apparent Russian looking guy, Front third from left. Is this photo what it claims to be ?
 
Good question. There's nothing really "railroady" about this picture. And, a number of the men have a distinctly European appearance (note the headgear particularly) -- could be recent immigrants. But the whole thing just doesn't seem to fit the USMRR image.
 
The photo says Gang A, so I would hazard a guess that this is a civilian work crew that is attached to the army, which would explain the many different styles of dress. They may well be immigrants; the cap on the man in front definitely looks Russian or eastern European. That is bread in the centre, you can see where the loaves are beginning to tear apart. The spike looks like on of those augers that you screw into the ground to tie up a dog.

I also noticed that many of the men are slightly older than the average soldier. I think that perhaps they are a general work crew who help the army with many tasks around the camps.
 
Back
Top