Category Archives: Civil War accoutrements

Sharpshooter glasses

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Dick Stanley

You can buy these orange-colored, nickle-plated wire-frame glasses on eBay with the assurance of several books that they were worn by sharpshooters in the Civil War. Ahem. One sharpshooter (today he would be called a sniper) played a prominent role in the 1863 siege … Continue reading →

Posted in "Knoxville 1863", Bleak House, Civil War accoutrements, Fort Sanders, Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. William P. Sanders | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Cooking with one pot on an open fire

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Dick Stanley

The novel’s fictional widow Parthenia Leila Ellis presumably had more than one pot to cook with, but soldiers on both sides at Knoxville probably didn’t unless their unit’s cooks were rustling up grub for all. For those, particularly among the … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War accoutrements, Parthenia Leila Ellis, Slavery | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Surgery kit

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Dick Stanley

It’s the bone saw that caught my attention. Looks a lot like a wood saw you could buy at any hardware store.

Posted in Civil War accoutrements, Civil War Medicine | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Company flags

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Dick Stanley

Although Rebel companies gained letter names early in the war when they stopped being militia units and became part of a regiment, many still carried their old militia flags. Hence this silk one of the Burt Rifles, Company K, of … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War accoutrements, Eighteenth Mississippi, Fort Sanders | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Save your Confederate money boys….

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Dick Stanley

….the South will rise again. Via Poore Boys In Gray.

Posted in Civil War accoutrements | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Anesthesia

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Dick Stanley

Chloroform, an anesthesia, such as once contained in this 1863 Union tin flask, was routinely available to Union wounded, particularly those facing extensive surgery or amputation. Confederate doctors also had it, at the beginning of the war, but by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War accoutrements | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Reprise: Embalming the dead

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Dick Stanley

The novel’s fictional Sergeant Timothy Chase of the 29th Massachusettes Infantry Regiment was detailed to see to the embalming and transportation of the regiment’s dead after the battle of Fort Sanders. Chase’s “scientific curiosity” led him to closely inspect the embalming … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War accoutrements, Knoxville, Twenty-Ninth Massachusetts | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A reenactor explains the cavalry

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Dick Stanley

Cavalry played no part at all in the attack on Fort Sanders and little enough in the whole Siege of Knoxville. But General Joseph Wheeler’s rebel cavalry had an early role, and that’s my excuse for including this good video … Continue reading →

Posted in "Knoxville 1863", Civil War accoutrements, Civil War armament, Civil War clothing, Knoxville, Reenactors | Tagged , , | Leave a comment