Equipment issued with Cook and Brother Rifles, March 1862

[Wiedemann/McCalmont]

Hello everyone!

I have another 28th Alabama question.
Reading up on Company E's clothing account, it looks like they were issued belts, cartridge boxes, and cap boxes at the same time as being issued the Cook and Brother Rifle. This initial equipment was issued in March 1862 thru June 1862. I know the Cook and Brother rifles and equipment was sent back to the government and the 28th was slowly re-issued enfield rifles with presumably all the enfield equipment that came with those.

My main question is:

What equipment was usually issued with the Cook and Brother rifles at this time? The equipment was issued probably at Shelby Springs in Alabama, which is about 38 miles south of Birmingham, Alabama.
What belt buckles were used, and what style cartridge box? I am having a very difficult time finding info on what was issued that early.

Any help is greatly appreciated guys!
Thank you,

Jake Wiedemann
28th Alabama
41st OVI

[GenuineInformation]

Re: Equipment issued with Cook and Brother Rifles, March 1862

I think they looked something like this:

https://img1.etsystatic.com/109/0/12894634/il_570xN.1026279537_qz5h.jpg

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Equipment issued with Cook and Brother Rifles, March 1862

Hallo!

Not to be a Pessimist, but.. IMHO...

Unless you luck into unit records for the unit, you are extremely, extremely unlikely to find a level of detail that speaks to the nature of accoutrements. At best, most company reports and ordnance type reports rarely speak to such things other than in "numbers of things" such as counts of cartridge boxes, cap boxes, appendages, etc.

Not a Hard and Fast Rule.... New Orleans C & B rifles tended to use an M1855 type bayonet lug with guide rail for a sabre bayonet. But later Athens ones are known with no provisions for a bayonet.

And unless documented, there could be but also more likely could not be.... a link between Enfields and British imported belts, cartridge boxes, and cap boxes. At the risk of making to broad a statement, IMHO, I would rather strongly doubt it considering the nature of Confederate need, inventory, and supply (but it is remotely possible).

Curt

[Wiedemann/McCalmont]

Re: Equipment issued with Cook and Brother Rifles, March 1862

thank you Curt!

The account does have the sword bayonet mention for the Cooks rifles, and the angular bayonet for the enfield rifles. This leads me to beleive that at the very least the scabbards for the sword bayonets were replaced by scabbards for the angular bayonet.
I do agree with you though, there could be no english equipment issued....but there is a possibility with the strong ties to the enfield rifles. Its a stretch at best, but its more info then i already have.


With that...what is the possibility of full complete sets of matching equipment being issued with the Cook and Brother rifles?


Jake Wiedemann
28th Alabama
41st OVI

[GenuineInformation]

Re: Equipment issued with Cook and Brother Rifles, March 1862

http://www.fold3.com

I'd recommend starting here. The forum isn't a research service, but a research aid. If you let us know what sources you've consulted already (by that I mean where you are actually finding the "clothing accounts" or whatever documents you're referring to) then we can help you figure out what other sources might be out there that you haven't searched yet.

On Fold3, you can study the compiled service record of each officer or NCO in the 28th Alabama who may be likely to have signed an ordnance return. If you look at the first page under the regiment titled "Unit Info" you will find the officers of the regiment and then a listing of the rosters of each company, which have the officers of each company listed. This would be a good starting point. There's no way to magically predict a percentage chance of whether matching accoutrements were issued to each man, where they were from, etc. But by studying the records that exist, sometimes you can find nuggets that point you in the right direction. For example, if 100 rifles were issued and 100 sets of accoutrements were issued that contained 100 ball bags, that would be a good clue that the accoutrements were of English make. Similarly, if the term "belt plates" is used, you might assume that it isn't referring to a frame or roller type buckle.

Similarly, searching for photos of 28th Alabama soldiers may give you some clues to where they were drawing accoutrements from. For instance, a forked tongue belt buckle is strongly associated with Magee & George; a rectangular C.S.A. plate is strongly associated with Atlanta. The Library of Congress website, unit websites, genealogy websites, the Confederate Faces series, the Portraits of Conflict series...all of these are good sources for Confederate images. You might also contact the Alabama state archives to see what info they have on the 28th Alabama. They may even have a website with helpful info or images on it.

Certain makers of reproduction goods may also provide useful info about when and where those goods are useful for a given impression. Missouri Boot & Shoe's website is particularly helpful in this regard.

Research isn't easy, but it can be rewarding. That's the crux of this hobby, which I have noticed seems to be deteriorating with the rise of "rate my impression" Facebook pages and the like.

[Wiedemann/McCalmont]

Re: Equipment issued with Cook and Brother Rifles, March 1862

I have done extensive research on the 28th Alabama and on Manigualt's brigade in general. I have collected images from the internet for the 24th Alabama, 28th Alabama, 34th Alabama, 10th south Carolina, and 19th south Carolina infantry units that fought within Manigualt's brigade. Most of the images found have been from the Find-A-Grave website.

The link below is from the national archives.

It is specificaly for Company E, the "Deyampert Warriors." Of the other brigade clothing accounts, the 28th Alabama's account is the least organized. I have read it a few times, and find more and more info each time i go through it. Most of the information in the clothing account accuractly reflects the letters from Joshua Calloway of Company K of the 28th Alabama.

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/12005275

On the Photo end:
The 28th Alabama has 2 officers in frock coats, a young NCO/Officer photo, and 3 privates. 1 officer and the NCO/officer have on full kits. The rest have on just their jackets. The NCO/Officer was originaly thought to be holding a prop in his photo, but when i saw the "Cook brothers rifles" being issued to the regiment, i realized he was in fact holding the Cook and Brothers rifle. The NCO/Officer's name is Carlos Reese. His incomplete info is below:

The attached photo is Srgt. Carlos Reese. He was transfered from the Phelan artillery in March of 1862. We date the photo to be early June of 1862, but could be wrong on that. He was promoted to LT. on June 12th 1862, and continues to serve with the 28th Alabama throughout the war.



Any and all questions i have asked on this forum reguard specific information that is difficult to find out of state or information that i have no idea where to start looking. I am limited by being out of state for 99% of my research that i have conducted.

If you would like more info on the 28th Alabama, i have plenty of it to share out.
I am currently working on a typed up version of the clothing account that i will share here on the forum for other researchers to view, unless people don't want the information.
I have also created a "equipment and uniform" guide for the regiment that spans from 1862 through 1865. The nitty-gritty details are all that i am missing. Details such as the above question are to detailed for google images and pinterest.

[GenuineInformation]

Re: Equipment issued with Cook and Brother Rifles, March 1862

That's some good info to have; I look forward to seeing your conclusions. I've never seen anything like that clothing account book, so that is a good find. I've seen individual receipts but that is truly a gem. Sometimes there are questions which cannot be answered...

The diaries I've read tend to reflect the interests of the person who wrote them. If you can find a diary from a quartermaster or an ordnance sergeant, you might be in luck with finding out info about the accoutrements. The biggest problem I've encountered in drawing conclusions re: AOT supply is that there are simply so many sources of supplies. Definitely a more scattershot situation than in the East, it seems. Lots of small makers contracting with the government, too...like Magee & George or Wellborn, Nichols & Oliver....just for example, see this link: http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/...terment-makers

[Wiedemann/McCalmont]

Re: Equipment issued with Cook and Brother Rifles, March 1862

Joe,
whats odd is Joshua Calloway describes multiple times in his letters about officers being sent home, to Alabama, to get clothing for the company.
A agree, the western theater Confederate stuff seems alot more chaotic and less organized. There is ALOT going on. This is why I have been asking questions to others to see if anyone knows the answer or can point me in the right direction. I have been researching the 28th Alabama for close to 3 years now and keep finding more and more info the deeper i dig.

Jake