corduory overshirt

[Andrew Kasmar]

Re: corduory overshirt

Hi,

I noticed that his trousers have mule ear pockets with button holes in them. Do any of you know how common this was in the ranks? Maybe the soldier in the picture sewed the shirt for himself out of cloth he found. At Vicksburg a soldier sewed himself a shirt out of a table cloth, then made the collar and placket out of black velvet, so in my opinion a corduory does not seem that strange. The shirt from Vicksburg you can see on page 155 of EOG Arms and equipment of the Confederacy.

Andrew Kasmar

[mslaird]

Re: corduory overshirt

I am glad that you have better photo enlarging capabilities than I do. I could not clear the image up enough and it looked like a dark blob around his nose, that is why I postulated that there might be head trauma. Thank you for posting the enlarged image. I am still leaning toward my original theory of concussion and internal injuries as cause of death. I also noticed some stains on the right trouser leg that looked like blood spatter, however there was not enough present on the portion that I could see to warrant a theory of exsanguination from a severed femoral artery.

Of course, this does not rule out the possibility of head injury to the back/base of the skull and top of spine. I know that a good hard strike to that region from a blunt object will still kill someone graveyard dead and not leave too much deformity or blood.

Still no sign of trauma:

[OleMissRebel]

Re: corduory overshirt

Matthew,

my guess would also be that he received a wound to the back side of his body somewhere.

[mslaird]

Re: corduory overshirt

That is also a very good possibility depending on where he was hit on his body from the back. His attitude and posture in his final resting place still looks a lot like an artillery casualty again, unless he was hit or bayonetted in the lower back, more toward the waist. High torso and shoulder hits generally fall forward because people naturally curl in when coping with pain. If he was hit in the lower back he very well could have fallen in that manner. People generally arch thier back or stand straight up when pain is applied to the lower back and lumbar region.

[tiger_rifles]

Re: corduory overshirt

"What I find strange is where is all his gear? Weapon, belt, box, could it be posed?"

Good Question! Seems to me that "Civil War Collecting" started around April 1865. When US Soldiers discovered that the war would be over soon, they all wanted something to take home, prove they were there on the front lines and not in some supply depot on the James River. I believe this is why you see so many pictures of CS Soldiers with all thier buttons gone, or only Federal Eagle Buttons. A teacher of mine in Highschool had a long thin piece of his GGGF's sack coat material, on it was stitched 2 federal eagle buttons and 3 other State Seal buttons for Units he had fight with. But there was also a Virginia and Alabama State Seals and a Block I. Men he said he captured.

First, just looking at them and reading all this is starting to feak me out a little! But I really feel these two pictures could be staged. I have been with, and seen a few men leave this world. These two, and some others by Gardner, look pretty good. Faces full and have color, Layed out straight but still with some arch to thier backs, not to mention what happens to your bodily functions upon passing! If these men are not Gardners assistants posseing, then they have been placed there, nice and neat for the photo! Maybe from the hospital were they just passed from sickness or what have you. And if this is possed, then we are looking at the under clothes of a well to do assistant and not a common soldier at Petersburg!

I mean, how quickly were these photographers allowed into the trenches after the attack? It most have taken at least a day to police up those left behind to man the treches, get the wounded to the hospitial, etc... Then they had to re-organize the Army to go after Bobby Lee who just broke out and is going cross country! There must have been some Sharpshooters and/or Provost Guards that would have stopped a Photo Wagon heading across "No Mans Land"!
Why don't we see any other US Troops or Civilians in the back ground?

"Just my 2 cent piece"

[Andrew Kasmar]

Re: corduory overshirt

Hi,

I have found another picture of this dead soldier. In the second photo of this man, you see a ammunition box to the right. In the photo I found, there is no ammunition box, there are also 4 muskets laying around ( a mixture of Springfields and Enfields). The picture is on the front of the book Death in the Trenches Grant at Petersburg.

Andrew Kasmar

4th Missouri Company E

[OleMissRebel]

Re: corduory overshirt

Not to appear like a ghoul....but here are all of the other "Fort Mahone" series of photographs. By the way, these weren't taken by Gardner but were taken by Thomas Roche.
























R.I.P. pards.

[Andrew Kasmar]

Re: corduory overshirt

Hi,

The picture I found are none of these I will try to post it, but I am not sure I will be able to.

Andrew Kasmar

[Andrew Kasmar]

Re: corduory overshirt

Hi,

In the back of Death in the Trenches Grant at Petersburg, its says that the library of congress has the picture, but I could not find it on their web site. The man is the same you can see the greatcoat and the corduroy shirt. Maybe it was taken from a different photographer than the others.

Andrew Kasmar

4th Missouri Company E

[BobbyHughes]

Re: corduory overshirt

FWTW, is it me, or is it that in only a few of these images is the mortal wound visible?

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: corduory overshirt

FWTW, is it me, or is it that in only a few of these images is the mortal wound visible?

Even then it can be hard to say that the wound you see is the "mortal-wound"...

Did anyone else notice the haversack made from a gum blanket?

Paul B.

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: corduory overshirt

Still no feedback on the haversack that appears to be made from a Federal Gum Blanket??

Paul B.

[BobbyHughes]

Re: corduory overshirt

Paul,

IIRC this image was seen in another view, with a "dead" african american behind him, in another older thread started by Mike Chapman. I do believe there were ALOT of comments on the gumblanket haversack....

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: corduory overshirt

Paul,

IIRC this image was seen in another view, with a "dead" african american behind him, in another older thread started by Mike Chapman. I do believe there were ALOT of comments on the gumblanket haversack....

Bobby,

If your'e reffering to the following thread...then we discussed about everything under the sun, except for the "rubber" haversack displayed in the image.

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1587

Perhaps these threads should be combined since they discuss elements of the same scene from a few different vantage points?

Paul B.

[FloridaConscript]

Re: corduory overshirt

3rd picture down, anyone else curious about the cart box wit the shoulder strap cut off?