Union Infantry Uniform Confederate Sword

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Union Infantry Uniform Confederate Sword Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center CONFEDERATE SWORD Confederate officer’s saber and scabbard. The letters “CSA,” for Confederate States of America are cut out of the guard. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center UNION INFANTRY UNIFORM At the start of the Civil War enlisted men in the U.S. Army were issued two coats. One was a frock coat used for dress which had a standing collar and reached almost to the knees. The other was the fatigue coat and was worn when performing regular duties. According to the 1861 regulations the trousers were to be dark blue just as the coats. This was changed to sky blue on 16 December 1861 and lasted to the end of the war. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center CONFEDERATE INFANTRY SHELL JACKET This type of jacket was worn by Infantrymen in the Confederate Army. They became the standard uniform by virtue of being less expensive and easier to make than the regulation frock coat. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center ZOUAVE UNIFORM The uniform of the 5th New York Volunteer Infantry (Duryée’s Zouaves), 1861, consisted of a distinctive jacket, vest, sash, baggy trousers, and fez. The Zouave uniform adopted on both sides by many volunteer units during the first year of the Civil War was based on that of the elite Zouave battalion of the French Army, whose dashing appearance matched its fighting abilities. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center PATCHED DRESS Clothing was patched and altered to extend its usefulness. A woman performing nursing tasks would have chosen her least ornate frock and done away with hoops or layers of petticoats. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center SURGICAL KIT Surgical kits like this one were used by both Confederate and Union surgeons. Surgeons amputated shattered limbs, probed wounds to extract bullets with their bare fingers, and stitched bowels together. They neglected to wash their hands or sterilize instruments. Thousands of soldiers died from subsequent infections; but thousands survived–maimed, but alive. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center CONFEDERATE BOWIE KNIFE AND SCABBARD It is claimed that the Bowie knife was designed by Rezin Bowie, the brother of James Bowie. The blade, made of steel, was up to 14 inches long. It was made in a shape that enabled the cowboy or mountain man to skin or disembowel an animal. The bowie knife was popular from the 1840s through 1865 and was sometimes called an “Arkansas toothpick”. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center CONFEDERATE UNIFORM This Private’s uniform is a gray wool frock coat with black facings and gold colored buttons. It includes sky blue trousers, black leather belt with brass “CS” belt plate, leather cartridge box, bayonet scabbard, and a buff slouch hat. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center CONFEDERATE DISPATCH BAG This dispatch bag was a brief case or document bag generally containing orders or other sensitive information. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center NEW TESTAMENT This copy of the New Testament of the Bible was owned by James H. Stetson who was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center CONFEDERATE OFFICER’S FROCK COAT This jacket is double-breasted gray wool with gold braid trim on sleeves and gold colored buttons. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center EVERYDAY MAN’S SHIRT This is a handmade, off-white cotton banded collar shirt with one button at collar. This was a typical man’s shirt of the 1860’s. This is the type of shirt men would have worn under a uniform jacket. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center CONFEDERATE OFFICER’S KEPI The kepi is similar to the forage cap. It was copied from the French officer’s hat. The crown could be colored, usually for the branch of service of the wearer. The kepi was shorter than the forage cap, and was not very popular because it did not protect from the rain or sun. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center EVERYDAY DRESS Brown and tan cotton background with red and white floral print. Narrow tan braid trim outlines cuffs of long set-in full sleeves. This is the type of dress that would have been used for shopping, to visit neighbors, and by pinning on an apron, a woman could have worn this for light chores. This dress was used by Sallie Mason Faulkner around 1862–1868. She was the wife of a federal soldier. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center FIRST CONFEDERATE NATIONAL FLAG The Confederate States of America’s 1st National Flag was also known as the “Stars & Bars.” This flag flew from 1861 to 1863. Each of the eight stars represented a Confederate state in March, 1861 when the flag was adopted. The similar design of the Confederate and Union flags made it difficult to distinguish between the two in battle. The Confederate battle flag was adopted after the Battle of Bull Run to address this problem. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center 1853 ENFIELD RIFLE-MUSKET British Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle- musket, .577 caliber also fired a .58 caliber bullet and was used by both the Union and the Confederacy. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center UNITED STATES NATIONAL 34 STAR FLAG United States National 34 Star flag was adopted with the admission of Kansas as the 34th state in January 1861. It was used until 1863 when West Virginia became a state. At no time did the National flag lose stars. Since the United States believed that secession from the Union was illegal, the flag continued to bear the stars of all the states of the union, even the Southern states. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center SHARPS RIFLE This United States Sharps rifle Model 1859, .52 caliber was carried by the 5th New York Zouaves. The Zouaves were one of the most renowned fighting regiments of the American Civil War. Their precise maneuvers, effectiveness in combat, and steady bearing under fire won them universal respect and recognition. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center CANNON The 12-pounder smoothbore cannon fired round 12 pound solid shot, explosive shells, or canister–tin cans packed with lead or iron balls, something like a giant shotgun shell. As the Civil War went on more and more rifled cannon came onto the scene which were capable of shooting farther and straighter than the smoothbore cannon. Sometimes rifling was added to older smoothbore guns like this one. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center CIVIL WAR SOLDIER’S MESS A match safe, lantern, frying pan and cup would have been part of a soldier’s equipment. Hardtack is the name given to a thick cracker made of flour, water, and sometimes salt. When stored properly, hardtack would last for years. Because it could be prepared cheaply and would last so long, hardtack was the most convenient food for soldiers. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center COLLODION PHOTOGRAPHY KIT The invention of the Collodion photographic process, also known as the wet-plate process, by British photographer Frederick Scott Archer in 1851 was an important breakthrough for photography, resulting in detailed images that could be produced more quickly and cheaply than ever before. Photographers took advantage of these new conveniences and set out to photograph in the field. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center AMBROTYPE OF A UNION SOLDIER Soldiers often had their portraits made before going off to war so that loved ones would have a remem- brance of them in the event they did not return. Ambrotypes were most popular in the mid-1850s, and, therefore, are less common than other formats for portraits of Civil War soldiers. In this example, pink coloring has been applied to the subjects’ cheeks to make the portrait feel more warm and human. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center CARTRIDGES AND BULLETS When the Civil War began both sides had a mixture of the standard .58-caliber rifle-musket and the old- er, .69-caliber smoothbore musket. On the left are a paper cartridge and several .58-caliber minié bullets. The minié bullet expands slightly gripping the spiral grooves of a rifled barrel which cause it to spin and fly straighter and farther than a bullet from a smoothbore gun. The cartridge and bullets on the right are for a .69-caliber musket. http://historyexplorer.si.edu Smithsonian National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center JAMES BOLT The James bolt is a solid shot for rifled cannon. Originally it was wrapped in a sheet of lead that gripped the rifled grooves of the cannon barrel which cause it to spin and fly straighter and farther than shot from a smoothbore gun.
Recommended publications
  • The Fiction of Gothic Egypt and British Imperial Paranoia: the Curse of the Suez Canal
    The Fiction of Gothic Egypt and British Imperial Paranoia: The Curse of the Suez Canal AILISE BULFIN Trinity College, Dublin “Ah, my nineteenth-century friend, your father stole me from the land of my birth, and from the resting place the gods decreed for me; but beware, for retribution is pursuing you, and is even now close upon your heels.” —Guy Boothby, Pharos the Egyptian, 1899 What of this piercing of the sands? What of this union of the seas?… What good or ill from LESSEPS’ cut Eastward and Westward shall proceed? —“Latest—From the Sphinx,” Punch, 57 (27 November 1869), 210 IN 1859 FERDINAND DE LESSEPS began his great endeavour to sunder the isthmus of Suez and connect the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, the Occident with the Orient, simultaneously altering the ge- ography of the earth and irrevocably upsetting the precarious global balance of power. Ten years later the eyes of the world were upon Egypt as the Suez Canal was inaugurated amidst extravagant Franco-Egyp- tian celebrations in which a glittering cast of international dignitar- ies participated. That the opening of the canal would be momentous was acknowledged at the time, though the nature of its impact was a matter for speculation, as the question posed above by Punch implies. While its codevelopers France and Egypt pinned great hopes on the ca- nal, Britain was understandably suspicious of an endeavor that could potentially undermine its global imperial dominance—it would bring India nearer, but also make it more vulnerable to rival powers. The inauguration celebrations
    [Show full text]
  • Settler Soldiers, Colonial Categories and the Centenary of the First World War
    This is a repository copy of “The Forgotten of This Tribute”: Settler Soldiers, Colonial Categories and the Centenary of the First World War. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/142187/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Eldridge, C orcid.org/0000-0002-9159-3547 (2019) “The Forgotten of This Tribute”: Settler Soldiers, Colonial Categories and the Centenary of the First World War. History and Memory, 31 (2). pp. 3-44. ISSN 0935-560X https://doi.org/10.2979/histmemo.31.2.0003 © 2019, Indiana University Press. This is an author produced version of an article published in History and Memory. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self- archiving policy. Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ “The forgotten of this tribute”: Settler Soldiers, Colonial Categories, and the Centenary of the First World War 1 Abstract: This article uses the Centenary of the First World War to explore how colonial Frenchcategories Algeria, have beenit argues mobilized that inthe memory Centenary projects.
    [Show full text]
  • A Comparative Analysis of the Headscarf in France, Turkey, and the United States Hera Hashmi
    University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class Volume 10 | Issue 2 Article 8 Too Much to Bare? A Comparative Analysis of the Headscarf in France, Turkey, and the United States Hera Hashmi Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/rrgc Part of the Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Hera Hashmi, Too Much to Bare? A Comparative Analysis of the Headscarf in France, Turkey, and the United States, 10 U. Md. L.J. Race Relig. Gender & Class 409 (2010). Available at: http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/rrgc/vol10/iss2/8 This Notes & Comments is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UM Carey Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UM Carey Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TOO MUCH TO BARE? A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE HEADSCARF IN FRANCE, TURKEY, AND THE UNITED STATES BY HERA HASHMI* INTRODUCTION In July 2009, a man stabbed and killed a pregnant woman wearing a headscarf in a German courtroom during an appellate trial for his Islamophobic remarks against her.1 Her death led to outrage around the world, and she became known as the "martyr of the veil," a woman killed for her religious belief.2 Yet it was just a simple piece of cloth that evoked this violent reaction. Such Islamaphobic sentiments seem to be spreading throughout various parts of the world. In 2004, France banned headscarves and all conspicuous religious symbols from public classrooms.3 In 2005, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)4 upheld Turkey's headscarf ban barring thousands of headscarf-wearing women from attending schools, universities, and entering government buildings in a country where a majority of the population is Muslim.
    [Show full text]
  • Glitter Text
    All That Glitters – Spark and Dazzle from the Permananent Collection co-curated by Janine LeBlanc and Roger Manley Randy and Susan Woodson Gallery January 23 – July 12, 2020 Through the ages, every human society has demonstrated a fascination with shiny objects. Necklaces made of glossy marine snail shells have been dated back nearly 135,000 years, while shiny crystals have been found in prehistoric burials, suggesting the allure they once held for their original owners. The pageantry of nearly every religion has long been enhanced by dazzling displays, from the gilded statues of Buddhist temples and the gleaming mosaics of Muslim mosques and Byzantine churches, to the bejeweled altarpieces and reliquaries of Gothic cathedrals. As both kings and gods, Hawaiian and Andean royalty alike donned garments entirely covered with brilliant feathers to proclaim their significance, while their counterparts in other cultures wore crowns of gold and gems. High status and desirability have always been signaled by the transformative effects of reflected light. Recent research indicates that our brains may be hard-wired to associate glossy surfaces with water (tinyurl.com/glossy-as-water). If so, the impulse drawing us toward them may have evolved as a survival mechanism. There may also be subconscious associations with other survival necessities. Gold has been linked to fire or the sun, the source of heat, light, and plant growth. The glitter of beads or sequins may evoke nighttime stars needed for finding one’s way. The flash of jewels may recall an instinctive association with eyes. In jungles as well as open grasslands, both prey and predator can be so well camouflaged that only the glint of an eye might reveal a lurking presence.
    [Show full text]
  • Bersaglieri Infantry Heroes in Italian History
    raditions t heir t rmies and a O BERsagLIERI INFANTRy nat Heroes in Italian History by CaPT (ITa a) gianluigi arca the French army already had special troops called Voltigeurs, with the task to attack the enemy on its sides with succes- sion of strikes in order to create confusion and deceive the enemy as to their real in- tention. La Marmora took his inspiration from these troops. His idea was to have a quick and easy-to-manoeuvre Infantry force able to strike the enemy, specifically targeting commanders and other high val- ue or sensitive targets. In addition to this Bersaglieri were used in deep strike oper- ations, and reconnaissance to find routes or enemy formations in close cooperation during the first half of the XIX century with dragoons (cavalry troops that moved the army of the Sardinian Kingdom, like on horse but could dismount and fight as the French, British and Prussian armies, Infantry). Bersaglieri were able to picket started to revise and modernise tactics on choke points, high ground or other terrain the battlefield, opening the way for a dif- that the cavalry or other troops were un- ferent kind of troops employment on the able to reach. ground. On the 18th June 1836, royal Bersaglieri were early pioneers and masters of camouflage. their uniforms Grenadiers captain alessandro Ferrero were one of the first to be designed with de La Marmora proposed to King carlo vegetation and background being taken arberto of Savoy the creation of a new In- into consideration. this integration of fantry corps, called Bersaglieri.
    [Show full text]
  • Jacklex Miniatures Painting Guide: French Intervention
    Lowna House Gillamoor North Yorkshire YO62 7HU Tel: 07818 158494 [email protected] www.jacklexminiatures.com JACKLEX MINIATURES PAINTING GUIDE: FRENCH INTERVENTION IN MEXICO 1861-1867 A general guide to aid the wargamer get his armies skirmishing, battling and campaigning on the table! THE FRENCH ARMY FRENCH INFANTRY In 1860 Emperor Napoleon inspected the 56th Regiment in the new infantry uniform. Orders were then issued on 30 March 1860 for the rest of the Infantry to adopt it. Tunic. Dark blue short single-breasted tunic (habit-tunique). Yellow collar and cuff patches. Blue cuffs. Yellow piping on front edge, bottom and cuffs). Brass buttons. Epaulettes red for Grenadier company, yellow for Voltigeur and green with scarlet piping for Fusiliers. Grenadiers and Voltigeurs had red grenade and bugle horn respectively at the collar and turnbacks. Fusiliers yellow star at turnbacks. Chasseurs had plain blue collar, blue pointed cuffs piped yellow, white metal buttons and green epaulettes with yellow piping. Trousers. Madder red. Grey-blue with fine yellow stripe for Chasseurs. White linen or cotton in hot conditions. Fastened by buff or tan leggings. White short gaiters. Shako. Black, brass eagle plate with blue (centre) white and red cockade. Black chinstrap. Pompom (dark blue for 1st battalion, red 2nd red, green 3rd). Chasseurs green. Navy panama or M1858 kepi (red with dark blue band and piping. Chasseurs dark blue piped yellow) with off-white havelock cover in hot conditions. Belt Equipment. Black leather belt, straps, cartridge pouch and bayonet frog. Water bottle covered in grey-blue cloth. Off-white or fawn canvas haversack.
    [Show full text]
  • Report of the Quartermaster- General of the State of New Jersey, for The
    DOCUMENT No. 6, REPORT Qu^rlerm^^Ier-GeDer^I -OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, FOR THE YEAR 18S8. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from Lyrasis IVIembers and Sloan Foundation http://www.archive.org/details/reportofquarterm1888newj : REPORT. State of New Jersey, Office of Quartermaster-General Trenton, October Slet, 1888. •} To His Excellency Robert S. Green, Governor and Commander-in- Chief: Sir—I have the honor to lay before your Excellency my report, ^agreeably to the provisions of the act entitled "An act for the organization of the National Guard of New Jersey." The Quar- termaster-General is also required to lay before the Legislature a particular return of all the arms and equipments belonging to the State, the number loaned out, in whose hands, and whether under proper responsibility. Statement A, to which you are respectfully referred, contains an account of clothing, camp and garrison equipage. Quartermaster stores, baggage train, and ord- nance and ordnance stores, serviceable and unserviceable, remain- ing on hand at the State Arsenal, on the Slst of October, 1888. Detailed statements of the daily operations will be found in the appendices, under their appropriate heads; the issues of all ord- nance stores, clothing, camp and garrison equipage to the sev- eral organizations of the National Guard, and the receipts of the same, from all sources, at the State Arsenal during the past year. I have the honor also to submit a financial statement of the disbursements of the Quartermaster-General's Department for the year ending October Slst, 1888, also the strength of the National Guard, and the condition of the arms in its possession.
    [Show full text]
  • Tea for Interreligious Harmony? Cause Marketing As a New Field of Experimentation with Visual Secularity in India
    Nadja-Christina Schneider Tea for Interreligious Harmony? Cause Marketing as a New Field of Experimentation with Visual Secularity in India Working Paper #20 Working Paper Series of the HCAS “Multiple Secularities – Beyond the West, Beyond Modernities” #20: Nadja-Christina Schneider. “Tea for Interreligious Harmony? Cause Marketing as a New Field of Experimentation with Visual Secularity in India.”Leipzig University, 2020. © Nadja-Christina Schneider This Working Paper has been published online and can be downloaded from www.multiple-secularities.de/publications/working-papers or ordered in print via email to [email protected] The HCAS’s Working Paper Series serves to disseminate the results of work in progress prior to publication to encourage the exchange of ideas and academic debate. Inclusion of a paper in the Working Paper Series should not limit publica- tion in any other venue. Copyright remains with the authors. Please cite as: Schneider, Nadja-Christina. “Tea for Interreligious Harmony? Cause Marketing as a New Field of Experimentation with Visual Secularity in India.” Working Paper Series of the HCAS “Multiple Secularities – Beyond the West, Beyond Modernities” 20. Leipzig University, 2020. Leipzig University HCAS “Multiple Secularities – Beyond the West, Beyond Modernities“ Nikolaistraße 8–10 04109 Leipzig Germany The HCAS is part of Leipzig University and funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Contents 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................3
    [Show full text]
  • Fulfilling the Promise of Free Exercise for All: Muslim Prisoner Accomodations in State Prisons
    FREE EXERCISE REPORT JULY 2019 FULFILLING THE PROMISE OF FREE EXERCISE FOR ALL: Muslim Prisoner Accommodation in State Prisons 1 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... 4 I. METHODOLOGY: A Multi-Faceted Examination of Free Exercise Conditions in State Prisons ............................................................................................................................................. 7 A. State Religious Preference Data: 35-Jurisdiction Response ........................................................... 7 B. Database of 163 Recent Federal Cases Brought by Muslim Plaintiffs Alleging Free Exercise Violations ................................................................................................................................... 7 C. Religious Services Policies and Handbooks: 50-State Survey ........................................................ 8 II. BACKGROUND: Muslim Free Exercise History and Today’s Legal Regime ......................... 9 A. Early America and the Preservation of African Muslim Practices Under Conditions of Slavery ........................................................................................................................................ 9 B. Muslim Prisoners Spearhead Prison Conditions Litigation in the 1960s and 1970s .................... 10 C. Courts Reduce Prisoners’ Free Exercise Protection in the 80s and Early 90s .............................. 12 D. Congress
    [Show full text]
  • Canister Use in the American Civil War: Recreating Spread Patterns of Canister Shot from a U.S
    1 Canister use in the American Civil War: Recreating spread patterns of canister shot from a U.S. Model 1857 Light 12-pounder Gun by William Baehr 16,219 words Battlefield and Conflict Archaeology MLitt Dr Tony Pollard University of Glasgow, School of Humanities, Archaeology Subject Area This dissertation is submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MLitt in Archaeology at the University of Glasgow Figure 1. Firing the Napoleon during the experiment (author photo). 2 This work is dedicated to the men who served the guns and to those who still do. 3 Table of Contents Page Table of Illustrations 4 Abstract 7 Acknowledgements 8 Introduction 9 Part I—Experimental Archaeology 11 Chapter 1—Overview 11 Chapter 2—Other experiments using gunpowder artillery 17 Chapter 3—The need for this experiment 22 Part II—The Hardware 27 Chapter 4—The Model 1857 Light 12-pounder Gun 27 Chapter 5—The canister round and its employment 34 Chapter 6—The hardware used in this experiment 39 Part III—The Experiment 46 Chapter 7—Conducting the experiment 46 Chapter 8—The Data 52 Chapter 9—Conclusions 94 Appendix A 98 Appendix B 100 Bibliography 101 4 Table of Illustrations Figure Page Figure 1. Firing the Napoleon during the experiment. 1 Figure 2. Variables of canister shot spread. 11 Figure 3. Table of fire for the Napoleon. 12 Figure 4. A map of canister recovered from Wilson's Creek. 23 Figure 5. A composite map of the Pea Ridge Battlefield. 25 Figure 6. A Federal battery of Napoleons near Chancellorsville, VA.
    [Show full text]
  • The Most Talked About Man in the Country
    The most Talked About Man in the Country On Friday, May 24, 1861 as the country was rushing into the quagmire that would be the Civil War, President Lincoln received two visitors: a Senator and a New York Herald reporter. Years later the reporter gave this account of the occasion. .. as we “ entered the library we observed Mr. Lincoln before a window, looking out across the Potomac .. He did not move until we … approached very closely, when he turned round abruptly, and advanced toward us, extending his hand: Excuse me, he said, “ ” ” but I cannot talk. Then to our surprise the President burst ” … into tears, and concealed his face in his handkerchief. After …… composing himself somewhat, Mr. Lincoln sat down and invited us to him. I will make no apology, gentlemen, he said, for my “ ” “ weakness; but I knew poor Ellsworth well, and held him in great regard. ” 1 The man Lincoln mourned that day was born Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth, Jr. on April 11, 1837 in Malta, N.Y. to Ephraim Ellsworth and Phoebe Denton Ellsworth. At age 15, he changed the order to Elmer Ephraim, thus sparing countless numbers of post Civil War boys being named Ephraim. Elmer s paternal ’ grandfather, George Ellsworth a Halfmoon resident joined the Continental Army at age 15, in response to Burgoyne s invasion ’ and was present at the surrender after the Battle of Saratoga. His mother Phoebe came from an early Stillwater and Malta family whose descendents still live in our area. Elmer was born in the Rogers Hotel which stood for many years on the southwest corner of Rts.
    [Show full text]
  • The Forgotten Ubiquity of the Zouaves
    Office of Historic Alexandria City of Alexandria, Virginia Out of the Attic The forgotten ubiquity of the Zouaves Alexandria Times, April 8, 2021 Image: Children’s Zouave-inspired spelling game, late 1800s. Fort Ward Museum collection. Photo, Melanie Gonzalez, Fort Ward Museum. ith the160th anniversary of the Marshall House incident this year, many will reflect on the first Union and Confederate casualties of W the Civil War. While Colonel Ellsworth and James Jackson center the story, less focus is placed on the makeup of Colonel Ellsworth’s regiment, the 11th New York Infantry, known as the Fire Zouaves. Though Zouave units were used by both sides during the Civil War, they were not American in origin. Starting in the 1830s, the French Army created a class of infantry regiments based on the dress and fighting style of North African cultures, like the Zouaoua tribe in Algeria. Unmistakable in a uniform of baggy trousers, short open-front jacket, sash and fez, the Zouaves distinguished themselves with a fast, agile, almost theatrical fighting style that earned them many accolades. Zouave units were used sporadically in Britain, Poland, Spain and Brazil, fighting in local disputes as well as the first and second World Wars. The last Zouave unit was disbanded from the French Army after the Algerian War in 1962. The “Blue and Gray” has become synonymous with the Civil War and led to the marginalization of Zouaves in American culture. The Zouaves found prominence during the war after the death of Colonel Ellsworth, when commemorative objects such as pins, envelopes, poetry and ceramicware, exploded onto the market.
    [Show full text]