Confederate Prisoners and Union Soldiers Together

[OleMissRebel]

I've seen this picture before but never zoomed in and looked at each individual soldier via a high-res photo.

The caption contained on the sleeve of the negative is: "Confederate prisoners waiting at Chattanooga to be sent north."

I consider myself to have a pretty darn good eye for this sort of thing, but I really am having a hard time telling who are the Rebs and who are the Yanks in this picture.



Here is the high res link to download from:

http://memory.loc.gov/master/pnp/cwpb/02100/02115u.tif

It really is an amazingly detailed photo though.

What do y'all think?

[Prodical Reb]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

I would say all of those without weapons are Rebs. The 2 with muskets, botton L/H corner are the yanks! My .02 cents!

[sepoy1857]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

Not an expert, but they all look Union to me (?).

[OleMissRebel]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

Plucked some closeups off the high res photo:

These look like Yanks to me.






Is that guy in the middle smiling?


Another smile?


Could these be Rebs? These are the only guys in the shot that I could conceivably think are Rebs. But it looks like they are wearing sack coats.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

Somewhere in the damp dark recesses of this forum is a first-rate dissection of this and other Chattanooga rail yard images.

[Jubilo]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

Dear Ole Miss ,
Thank you sir for these superb images ! The assortment of headgear and coats/jackets is intersting as is the fact that none of the soldiers wearing forage caps have the visors turned up . All are low across the eyes . Too bad we cannot see the clump of Rebs so well .
all for the old flag ,
David Corbett

[LWhite64]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

I have went over this picture numerous times with Jim Ogden and we cant find anything in it that shows Confederates, indeed the picture most likely comes from a set of photos that were made most likely in late 1864.

Lee

[roundshot]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

This has been discussed in an earlier thread: A great shot of Feds probably going on furlough. Rebs? I don't see a one.

[OleMissRebel]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

I have went over this picture numerous times with Jim Ogden and we cant find anything in it that shows Confederates, indeed the picture most likely comes from a set of photos that were made most likely in late 1864.

Lee

That's pretty much what I was thinking as well. I was desparately looking for Rebs because of what the original caption on the negative says, but they just all look like Yanks! As I indicated above, the ONLY things that appear to be even close to Confed gear are the off color items contained within the picutre of the guys resting i.e. the tan colored hat and white haversack. But then again, it looks like most of the guys that are resting are wearing sack coats and clearly having off-color items doesn't make one a Johnny.

[Andrew Kasmar]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

Hi,


I agree most of these guys in the picture are Federal soldiers. The only ones that might be Confederates have white or tan haversacks, but they are wearing what appear to me to be Federal sack coats, which means that they could be just Federals with white contract haversacks bought by the Federal government during the war.

Andrew Kasmar

4th Missouri Company E

[dirtyshirt]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

Does any one else agree that that is a field of tents in the upper right hand section of the photo? Or am I just pointing out the obvious here? I do agree that it is odd that a large group of prisoners would be anywhere without a force of men standing guard.

V/R
Brandon Jolly

[dirtyshirt]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

Oh, I also agree as well that this is a late year photo, hence the great coats, and what appears to be lack of foliage on the trees in the distance. There is also a woman and a child in front of the rail car if that matters a darn to disproving the presence of Confederate Soldiers.

Brandon Jolly

[lukegilly13]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

Plucked some closeups off the high res photo:

Could these be Rebs? These are the only guys in the shot that I could conceivably think are Rebs. But it looks like they are wearing sack coats.

I agree they are wearing sack coats. Look at the right edge of the bottom picture...there is a man laying down with his hat over his face. Is that a smudge in the picture, or do I see hat brass? If it is not, it is very coincidentally placed smudge.

The smiles are interesting! It is possible that they are looking into the sun and are just making that, 'my hat is not quite blocking out the rays' look? I do agree however...it resembles posed smiles!

Another interesting point...notice the difference in uniforms....I see sacks, greatcoats, frocks, and even some shell jackets. I'm new at the uniform but isn't there a guy wearing a RD II....standing directly in-line with left hand corner of the buliding next to the smeared man wearing a frock? He is behind the single guy you zoomed in on. I'll try to capture a zoomed in image myself.

[OleMissRebel]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

I'm new at the uniform but isn't there a guy wearing a RD II....standing directly in-line with left hand corner of the buliding next to the smeared man wearing a frock? He is behind the single guy you zoomed in on. I'll try to capture a zoomed in image myself.

Yes, that certainly looks like a RD II. 9 button front, epaulettes, etc.

[roundshot]

Re: Confederate prisoners and Union soldiers together

And it also looks just like a Federal State issue jacket, which it most likely is.