Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

[JACKSONVC]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

What really stands out in this photograph is that of the 25 pictured Rebs, only one is wearing a kepi. One soldier, partly hidden between the 3rd and 4th soldier on the right, appears to be wearing a Hardee. The rest bowlers and flat crown bowlers. Brings one to think that the issue of kepis in the AOT was somewhat suspect, or the soldiers prefered brimed hats.

Most of the Rebs are clean shaven, only one sports a full beard. Six look as if they have moustashes. Their hair appears to be trimmed and for the most part, short. A few goatees and at least one is smoking a pipe (fellow just left of center).

Several appear to still have haversacks and canteens, some of which appear to be tarred varieties (haversacks that is). Great photo!

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

Mr. Dally,

Yes, my hat curls like that too. Nice to know that some things you do are right! Interesting point on the way the hats are shaped and worn. Not like most I've seen, yet the hats still hold their shape to some degree.

I left the house without that @#$% article from that picture. I'll remember it!
I have email and internet at work here only... have to wait till tomorrow.

What's creepy is some of those guys look like people I know or have run into. Makes you wonder why we do this for a "hobby"??? :thinking:

Jim Ross

I have this photo as my wall paper now. My wife thought that the fellow with the cap was me. :wink_smil

[ScottMcKay]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

Robert,

You are right, the fellow in question is wearing saggy pants. What may look like an odd front when magnified, proves to be a very large bandana tied around his neck.

As I recall, this image was originally published as a stereo card in 'North/South Trader' magazine about 8 or 10 years ago, hand-titled "Just From Dixie."

It is truly a definitive image of midwar AOT fighting men!

I am posting this to the Image Gallery post haste!

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

Robert,

You are right, the fellow in question is wearing saggy pants. What may look like an odd front when magnified, proves to be a very large bandana tied around his neck.

As I recall, this image was originally published as a stereo card in 'North/South Trader' magazine about 8 or 10 years ago, hand-titled "Just From Dixie."

It is truly a definitive image of midwar AOT fighting men!

I am posting this to the Image Gallery post haste!

This is now my favorite CS picture. It does for the AoT what the famous 3 prisoners at Gettysburg does for the ANV. I have been staring at it nonstop since it was posted.

[Stickboy]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

Do my eyes deceive me or does the reb standing to the FAR left have his trousers bloused in his socks. I can see that he must have moved his leg and it blurred a bit. But you can still see the outline of the top of his shoe and what looks like light colored socks over his pants leg (a technical way for describing that, sorry..hehe). Does anyone else see this? This could open an alternative theory if i'm right.

Preston Todd
Top Rail Mess

[Pritchett Ball]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

"Do my eyes deceive me or does the reb standing to the FAR left have his trousers bloused in his socks. I can see that he must have moved his leg and it blurred a bit. But you can still see the outline of the top of his shoe and what looks like light colored socks over his pants leg"

Good observation, wondered about that myself, but enlarging area in question leads me to think otherwise.
If leg was bloused by sock, I would think that the trouser leg would show verticle type wrinkles. Tapering would occur at top edge of where the sock is contacting the leg. I "bloused " my own blue jeans with my sock, and material shows verticle gathering from tightness of sock. Legseems too straight, with slight wrinkle washed out from light reflection.
I notice though, that at the low end of the photo the lighter colored trousers are almost washed out, due to light color of ground reflection.
Kevin Dally

[Stickboy]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

Hmmm, still looks like it wrinkles near the calve though. Hmmm...

Preston Todd
Top Rail Mess

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

What we don't see, what we will never know is who they are, where they are from and what horrors they had witnessed.

They had a name,a favorite food, a mother who loved them and had a sweet little name for them when they were young.

These boys look fed, rested and a little content. Maybe not quite realizing what the coming winter in The Great Lakes prison pens has in store for them.

The boys at the fence in Gettysburg are still thunderstruck, just begining to think about the recent scenes that will haunt their sleep the rest of their days.

[SouthernFed]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

The Lt looks to be carrying a sword I think. Also the frock he has on shows 8 buttons as I see it. I would say another is under the belt so this most likely would have been a Federal enlisted frock right. pants rolled seems to me to be 2nd or 3rd man from the Lt to the right.
Ron Orange

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

I keep staring at there faces, wondering what happened to them. If they made it home, how and were they got captured. What state were they from. What they did before and after the war.

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

The Lt looks to be carrying a sword I think. Also the frock he has on shows 8 buttons as I see it. I would say another is under the belt so this most likely would have been a Federal enlisted frock right. pants rolled seems to me to be 2nd or 3rd man from the Lt to the right.
Ron Orange

The officer is a Federal.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

http://www.chicagohs.org/DGBPhotoEssay/DGB02.html

http://www.izzy.net/~michaelg/ma-ryan.htm

These shed light on their possible fate.

[Pritchett Ball]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

http://www.chicagohs.org/DGBPhotoEssay/DGB02.html

http://www.izzy.net/~michaelg/ma-ryan.htm

These shed light on their possible fate.

Poignant, Camp Douglas touched my Ancestors...
"1859 On January 23, 1859 Harriett Evelyn Thornton married Margeman (Marge) Manning.
1861 Harriett and Margeman Manning had one child, a daughter Julia Elizabeth Manning who was born March 16, 1861 near Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia. On March 10, 1863 at Dalton, Georgia (on the same day, at the same place as Harriett's younger brother, Alexander N. Thornton) he enlisted in the Confederate Army. He was a Sergeant in Company C., 39th Regiment, Georgia Infantry.
Family tradition has it that he was "killed in the Civil War"...which is not quite correct. He was taken prisoner at Vicksburg on July 4, 1863 (as was Alexander N. Thornton) and probably signed the same oath of allegiance to the United States.
However, he did bear arms against the United States once more for he was captured again,this time at Jonesboro, Georgia in September 1864. Jonesboro is south of Atlanta and fell to Sherman's troops soon after Atlanta was captured.
Julia Manning remembers seeing her father when she was about 4 years old. The soldiers were passing by and her mother pointed her father out to her.
1864 Margeman was first sent back into captured Atlanta, to the "Department of Cumberland" hospital that was set up there for the wounded. The records show that he was 24 years old and had "got a cannonball in the left leg." From Atlanta he was sent to the General Field Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. On November 24, 1864 he was sent to a military prison in Louisville, Kentucky.
1865 Finally Margeman was moved to "Camp Douglas, Illinois" near Chicago, where he died on March 21, 1865, from chronic diarrhea. He was buried in Block 3 of the Chicago City Cemetery.

Harriett Evelyn (Thornton) Manning was my GGAunt.

Kevin Dally

[Moonshine]

Re: Photo: Confederate Prisoners in Chicago

I finally remembered!!!

Hopefully posting this here won't be a problem for MI.
I highly recommend this edition to anyone as it shows some good images of Confederates in early war poses.

The article begins of the discovery of the photo then goes on to read:

"... Les determined that the prisoners were probably from the western armies:..." based on a small amount of evidence and the feel of the photo. The man kneeling to the officers left is wearing a jacket of the type believed to have been produced at the Columbus, Georgia depot - made of light (probably butternut jean) material with wooden buttons and dark blue collar and cuffs. The man behind him has a star on his hat, perhaps a Texas device... the soldier in dark trousers sitting on his knapsack may be wearing a North Carolina jacket: somewhat baggy and of a thin material, as Tar Heel jackets are it appears to have the six button front associated with them. These jackets went to North Carolinians in both eastern and western armies. The presence of knapsacks is not anomalous, as ordinance reports indicate a widespread use of them in the Army of Tennessee... None of the jackets are distinctly of a type worn in the Army of Northern Virginia."
Les was more right than he knew. We received his commentary on a Thursday. Two days later, in a remarkable coincidence, we received another version of the same scene from Ken Turner. Ken's version has these words on the back: "Taken in the streets of Chicago - Rebbs" [sic]. The image came form the album of a soldier of the 105th Ohio who had been a guard at Camp Douglas. While not proof positive that the Johnnies are western, it adds substantial weight to Les's conclusion.



Hope this helps.

Jim Ross

[DougCooper]

Otis Baker type gathered front shirt

soldier 3rd from the right - Capt Otis Baker's (10th MS Inf) surviving shirt has this gathered treatment instead of the pleated type placket. Joe Blunt tells me this is somewhat common as an alternative to pleats.

Please excuse if someone already pointed this out.