The Civil War Monitor magazine assembled a group of 'historians' to select the 20 biggest Civil War celebrities. Is six women enough women? They came in 3rd place, 10th place,14th place,17th place, 18th place, and 19th place. Can anyone one guess what six women made the cut and what place they...
I definitely plan to invest in a quality made Italian bayonet, likely made from spring steel as opposed to carbon steel like most India reproductions. The question is does anyone know of any 1861 bayonets that would fit Pedersoli's 1861 springfield "out of the box?" If not, could anyone give me...
FOOD IN THE CIVIL WAR -- THAT STUFF CALLED HARDTACK The most common -- and likely the most hated -- food for Civil War soldiers was hardtack, a simple cracker made from flour and water. Hardtack was described as "indestructible, imperishable, practically inedible, too hard to chew, too small...
I have coin buttons on one of my commutation jackets. I have a cap made with original civilian flower pattern brass buttons on it so there were substitutes. Soldiers themselves if they had the means and could find them would often replace issued wood buttons with state buttons or alternative brass buttons.
The best quality arms made by any private company are from the London Armoury Company. You'll find various opinions / facts / alternative facts about how many arms imported to the US for the Civil War were from the London Armoury. I believe only a modest percentage of the hundreds of thousands of "enfield" arms imported were from the London ...
The Confederates made very little coins during the Civil War, but it's a bit more complicated than that. The U.S. had 5 mints around the country that they were using, so when the Confederacy came to be, they took over 3 of them, most notably in New Orleans. The Confederates started making coins...
The earliest type of Irish stew was made from mutton, onions, praties--the "lumber potato of famine infamy" salt and water. Full stop. That's it. Carrots and vegetables came much later. I suspect that once upon a time it was merely mutton, salt, onions, and turnips. Incidentally, there is a lowland Scottish concoction, which is a bit similar, called "stovies" after the Spanish word estofado ...
Here is a pistol many have never seen or heard of. That's why I'm sharing the information. They are the Tucker and Sherrard 44cal. dragoon pistols made at the Lancaster pistol factory, Texas 1862-1865. They are the same size and proportions as the Colt 2nd model Dragoon pistol. They were all...
Does anyone have in their collection the humble pocketknife from CW times? I'd like to see them, even if they're repros or custom-made modern ones. I think this simple tool was one of the most useful for all. What about "bowies"? Where they really used? I've seen pictures from the early war...
In addition to swords made by other manufacturers, military "volunteers" were offered a wide selection of Roby weapons that would have included N.C.O.,Musician, Horse Artillery, and Cavalry swords for enlisted personnel; a Foot Infantry Officer sword, model 1850; and large bowie-knives with inspiring brass, eagle-head pommels.
