More Confederate Prisoners.

[BobDenton37thVA]

Situational Raggedness

Sure, there were fits and starts and periods of want, but current research is certainly banishing the ragged rebel more and more to the confinds of mythology.[/QUOTE]

Well John, a bit more than "fits" I think. The entire period of Jackson's Valley Campaign through the fall of 1862 was, arguably, one long "supply ebb" for the AoNV. Similarly, Bragg's KY Campaign was a major supply ebb as well for the AoT. Interestingly, during the Gettysburg Campaign we have numerous accounts of poorly shod, or unshod, CS troops, many of whom have uniforms in bad repair. This is especially interesting, in that the first large scale issue of government clothing listed in the CSRs for many regiments appears in 1st Quarter 1863!

But "ragged rebels"? Nahhh....Les Jensen, Ross Kimmel and others torpedoed that concept back in the late 1980s.

Regards,
Bob D.

[Moonshine]

Re: More Confederate Prisoners.

Jason,

Thanks for taking the time to get those photos and enlarging them.

Now, have you found a picture of dead confederates lined up for burial after Spotsylvania? Do you know the one I mean? The lad nearest the camera has his left foot over his right and the one next to him has his trousers bloused in his socks and is missing a shoe! Those guys look YOUNG! Some of the other poor fellows have whiskers so maybe they were older.

Jim Ross

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: More Confederate Prisoners.

Jim

One reason for the soldier you spoke of loosing his one shoe, may have been the obvious trauma that the soldier faced at his death. Something akin to people in car accidents loosing there shoes. Just a thought.

[markj]

Re: More Confederate Prisoners.

Greetings,

If you haven't already thought of it, and have access to the images, you might also want to zoom in on those photos made of Confederate prisoners in the "Punchbowl," which are discussed in William Frassanito's book "Lee and Grant."

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[Moonshine]

Re: More Confederate Prisoners.

Mark/Robert,

Mark - Can you refresh my memory on those images? I recall that book but not all the pictures.

Robert - I was thinking besides that the trama from the wound but the dragging of the body to the spot where he rests at the time of the photo (which might explain some of the mud on the shins from the poor kid in the foreground). Under close magnification, it looks like the shoes is only held with a string or leather lace.

Jim Ross

[markj]

Re: More Confederate Prisoners.

Greetings,

Here is the Belle Plain VA POW image (one of several made) as produced by www.zazzle.com and offered for sale on Ebay. The "zazzle" images are digitally-enhanced and absolutely awesome:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3651804827&category=20139

Here's one showing Confederate POWs at the Chattanooga Rail Depot in 1864:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2216012487&category=125

Here's one showing the execution of Henry Wirz (of Andersonville notoriety):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3265224557&category=37896

As added bonus attractions, here are their versions of a) that famous image showing Confederate dead along the Hagerstown Pike at Sharpsburg and b) Confederate dead at Gettysburg:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3651804660&category=20149

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3651812561&category=2211

Definitely take a look at the rest of their images on eBay--you'll never look at these photos the same way again.

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[ThehosGendar]

Re: More Confederate Prisoners.

Those zazzle guys are doing exactly what I'm doing - downloading high resolution images from the Library of Congress. Is what they're doing legal, without giving credit to the Library or doing so without their permission? It'd sure be nice if I could print out images I downloaded and sell them for $10 a pop.

Back to the prisoner images:



This is the maximum zoom I can achieve without it getting pixelated and blurred. A few points of interest:

1) Cuff trim.

2) This coat is the strangest out of the bunch. It's a weird almost a short jacket, almost sack coat.

3) As Tim Mattimore noticed earlier, this soldier is wearing a frock coat.

4) Strange animal. Perhaps a small turkey or emu.

I'm glad you've all enjoyed these images. I know a few of you asked about images of battlefield dead, but I'm a bit skittish about putting those up. The extra high resolution makes these much, much more gruesome. I anyone wants to see them, e-mail me : thehosgendar@optonline.net

In other high-resolution image news, the pictures from Mars are incredible (I'm also a space nerd as well). The really interesting thing is that the rocks in Gusev crater are smooth and not jagged as were the rocks from the Pathfinder landing site, which may indicate water erosion and not wind erosion!

[markj]

Re: More Confederate Prisoners.

Greetings,

I'm not sure what "zazzle" has done vis a vis permissions from the LoC, etc. although, given that they are selling their wares on eBay and elsewhere for all to see and buy, I suspect they have indeed been in contact with them. This is from their website:

Special Collections
Our unique, on-demand printing capabilities are now being leveraged by world-renowned museums, corporations, institutions, and libraries, who are making their collections available in the Special Collections section. Many of the images you'll encounter in the Special Collections section have never before been available to the general public. The Zazzle Special Collections section is quickly becoming one of the most important destinations for spectacular, historically significant images and products on the Internet

Otherwise, shucks, beats the hell out of me. I sent a couple I noted to John Peterson ("Otter Creek Tinware") and he really liked them--they showed details of tin cans and tinware he had never noticed before.

As for the Mars pics, it's a "good news/bad news" situation for me. The good news is that the probe's camera is working fine...but the bad news is that the pics we're getting show what appears to be Osama bin Laden's backyard.

Yours, &c., &c.,

Mark Jaeger

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: More Confederate Prisoners.

It apears to me that #2´s jacket is the same as #1´s but he has a haversack that is making the jacket look wierd.

[Dingus]

Re: More Confederate Prisoners.

I'm glad you've all enjoyed these images. I know a few of you asked about images of battlefield dead, but I'm a bit skittish about putting those up. The extra high resolution makes these much, much more gruesome.

But these images of the deceased are a source of non-studio photographs of confederate soldiers in the field, which are not as readily available as pics of union troops in the field. (Overlooking that some soldiers have been robbed of their outer clothing and shoes).

After searching the LOC for prisoner, dead, wounded, burial etc., except for a few photos where death came from an artillery shell instead of a minie ball, the images seem no worse than what I've seen on the front page of the NY Times. But then, just finding the photos after a search is different from posting them here, and it's quite possible that some gentler people than myself would be upset....so I guess I've just talked myself into agreeing with your decision :)