Interesting Photo

[wsjax4]

Re: Interesting Photo

For the soldier in front, I am of the opinion that the fatal wound entered at the chin. Note the blood over most of the face but directional marks can be seen below the ear which suggest the bullet, or other projectile, entered there. The photo's background is difficult to seperate from the foreground but that is my view of this poor lad.

[sgt sidd]

Re: Interesting Photo

Hello the photo looks like to me that has a black Confed and a white Confed that are there, the pants might be and looks like maybe some that the Mississippi groups might have had, some of the Mississippi units had pants like that, I think. Nice photo. Robert S Lanier

[PalmettoGuard]

Re: Interesting Photo

A differnt slant:

Is the body in the backgound a Negro (servant)?

Is it posed?

Great observation. Everyone's so intent looking at gear, we may have missed that. I think you could be right.

[minieball]

Re: Interesting Photo

One thing that struck me about the photo is that it appears that the man in the foreground has a trouser patch/repair on his right knee. If it is a repair and not some trick of the light, etc then this is one of the very few period photographic instances that depict a classic reenacting farbism.

[JacobReichwein]

Re: Interesting Photo

I like how his canteen isn't covered. I notice a lot of people nag about having them covered. Reenactorism?

[JacobReichwein]

Re: Interesting Photo

And you can see the wound in the back of his neck.

[Masich]

Re: Interesting Photo

Wow, I evidently guessed it exactly right--take a look at the the Civil War Times article by David Lowe and Philip Shiman, "Substitute for a Corpse" (December 2010, pages 40-1). It's all about this picture. The fake dead guy in the background (with the boots too nice to be missed by looters) is in fact the photographer's assistant playing dead for dramatic effect.

[itz3r1k]

Re: Interesting Photo

This picture is entitled "Confederate and Union dead side by side in the trenches at Fort Mahone" and is contained in the LOC collection. I was curious if anyone could comment on the pants and the way of wearing them on the dead Confederate. Are they tucked into a pair of boots? Are those "checks" on the pants?

if you look closely on the guy in the foregrounds head there apears to be a piece of his skull missing. and the guy in the background is just a living prop.

[Dreamer42]

Re: Interesting Photo

Gentlemen,
The latest issue of Civil War Times illustrated had a story on this very photo, or photos, as the case may be. There are three images that were taken very soon after the rebs evacuated, but before the site could be disturbed. It was the author's belief that the lad in the background with checked pants is actually the photographers assistant. Support for this was another image of the same fellow standing near a building...same hair, vest, wearing a hat, and bagging pants, although if I remember correctly, his pants were not tucked in. Also, one image in the CWTI does not have the cannon sponge in view, indicating that part of the image was staged.
Note also that the reb's buttons have been cut off, suggesting that at least some lead elements of union troops have had time to scrounge the area. So, why are the buttons removed from both his pants and jacket, yet the fellow in the background still has his?
My .02 worth.

- Jay Reid
9th Texas (actually IN Texas, ya'll)

[ironbrigade6]

Re: Interesting Photo

The identification of the "black man" in this photograph was discussed in another threadnin which they found him to be a posed photographers assistant.

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?30050-A-mystery-is-solved&highlight=petersburg

Thanks,
Jonathan Bachmann
104th Pennsylvania Volunteers
Company C McClellan Rangers

[Secesh]

Re: Interesting Photo

It appears that the soldier in the foreground has a wound to the head at the hairline...I wouldn't be surprised if the photographer had repositioned the head for the photo in order to show the wound. Earlier posts on this topic have additional photos of the photographer's assistant in the background alive and well in additional photos.

[PetePaolillo]

Re: Interesting Photo

There are other photos of the same fallen soldier from a different angle. Notice the rammer, and then notice it gone. The posed Photographers assitant is one of many manipulations that thes photographers used to "sell" a photo. It has been discussed in many threads.





EDIT : My apologies for repeating a post that has already shown these photos. Should have went back to 04 first ..."Yay for dead thread revivals!!"

[roundshot]

Re: Interesting Photo

An overlooked but interesting aspect of this photo is the oft called "pile of rubble" seen. Actually this is a pile of coal. There are a number of references of this being distributed along the lines as a valuable heat source in lieu of a much depleted wood supply.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Interesting Photo

Hallo!

Morbidly adding on worthless detail...

The head was initially facing to the right, as the blood flow is left-to-right.

Curt

[brian.donegan]

Re: Interesting Photo

I find it interesting that the guy in the front seems to have his canteen hanging on his right side. I have read documentation on how some soldiers wore haversacks and canteens on the right and left sides. this is interesting.