LOC photo of Sherman's bummers

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: LOC photo of Sherman's bummers

They are on extraduty for being farbs :D

[Agate]

Re: LOC photo of Sherman's bummers

They are on extraduty for being farbs :D

I caught the differences in the trousers as well, and I wonder if these soldiers are a penal detail? In the Serial Set testimony, one of Crosmans suggestions for the use of irregular clothing in storage at Philadelphia was to issue it to those who had committed offenses in the Army.

Serial Set, Volume 1143, pg. 880

Philadelphia, March 6, 1862

G. H. Crosman sworn:


Q. Can you furnish the committee with a statement of the amount of this irregular clothing on hand now, and which are not adapted for army use.
A. I can in a few days.

The following statement was subsequently furnished by the witness:

Army Clothing and Equipage Office
Philadelphia, April 4, 1862

Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of a letter from Theodore F. Andrews, clerk of committee, asking the amount and character of irregular clothing on hand at this department, and have the honor to report:

There is on hand at the Schuylkill arsenal the following irregular clothing, viz:

40,611 uniform coats
69,142 great coats
185,216 pair trousers
708 jackets

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

G. H. Crosman,
Deputy Quartermaster General

Hon. E. B. Washburne,
Chairman Com. of Gov't Contracts, Washington, D. C.

Q. From your long experience and your knowledge in reference to articles of this kind, what in your judgment would be the best manner for the government to dispose of them?
A. I think the best mode would be, in the first place, to issue them to prisoners of war, if they are to be clothed by the government, and also to the negroes. That would be the first disposition to be made of them; and then they might be issued to prisoners of the army-our own men in confinement for offenses. After that I would sell them in small parcels at various points and at suitable seasons, so as not to put too many upon the market at one time or at one place.

Not to suggest that these fellows are wearing clothing from those stocks, the QMD continued to purchase at least some irregular clothing after the date of the above testimony. For example, in Cincinnati, the first mention and advertisement for knit clothing by the QMD that I can find in any of the four local papers is in August of that year. It was during this period that the QMD was purchasing for the 600,000 men called up by Lincoln, quite a stock of clothing and material in storage had been used up already according to the QM General in the OR's. It appears they were looking for a way to keep the market from greatly advancing while further procuring goods. In what volume however, I don't know. Appears in my opinion anyway, that much of it was purchased on the open market, which makes a certain amount of sense if an attempt was made to somewhat control the market. As there doesn't seem to be a contractual record on those purchases, makes it tough to peg.

Anyway, it is interesting that at least the fellow in this last image (with traps) doesn't appear as ragged as those in our work detail. Maybe just can't see enough detail to form an opinion.

BTW, does the soldier with the "huge guffaw" have his blouse collar turned under?

Jason, your photo studies are of great interest. My opinion is that you may very well turn up something of real importance doing this sort of thing. Many of the photos on that site have been published over and over. That you are able to bring out so much that is new by closely examining them in this format is plainly something else.

Having said that, I have a request of you. :) As have others on the board, been looking through some of the images at the LOC site rather closely. Don't have the ability to pull out the detail you are able to do. Several stuck out that I would like to more closely have a look at, none more so than a stereo in the NYHS collection titled "Capt. Bollerman's kitchen, tasting the soup."

When our study here has run it's course, would you consider, if you have the time to do so, posting that one? Have something I would like to look at up close, which I think too, would interest folks, and maybe worthy of discussion. The blouses worn by these fellows are very different.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cwnyhs:38:./temp/~ammem_UlHt::

Regards,

John

Jno. Sarver
Cin. O.

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: LOC photo of Sherman's bummers

If this is Ft McAllister, the troops my very well be from Hazens division. I am going to dig into the ORs this evening and see if there are any records of what units would have been detailed to this task. 24 guns and 40 tons of ammunition were removed from Ft McAllister.

The previous post was an excellent piece of research, and should set a benchmark for the type of input posted on this site. Altough my gut tells me that these men are not a penal unit, as they are Shermans men at the end of his march from Atlanta to Savanah. But who knows, it is food for thought.

There are more images of Shermans men at Ft McAllister out there. It would be interesting to look at some of these other images an comapare and contrast.