The Spring 2024 Issue
Two years ago at the Chesapeake Postcard Fair & Civil War Photography Show in Havre de Grace, Md., I struck up a conversation with collector Jonathan Beasley. I soon learned
Tag: Last shot
Mississippi Cavalryman, Maynard Carbine
By Rick Brown While shopping during setup day at the 2020 Chickamauga Civil War Show in Dalton, Ga., I came across this image. The dealer did not know the identity
A Guide to His Southern Travels?
The thin volume held by this Union enlisted man may have helped him pinpoint the movements of his regiment during its Southern tour. The pocket-sized book, G. Woolworth Colton’s New
Greenback Pay Day
By Mike Fitzpatrick As a result of the war, the federal government suspended specie payments to maintain its bullion reserves. The move forced Congress in 1861 to authorize the U.S.
Starr Power
A Confederate brandishes a cocked Starr revolver, the most prominently pictured of three weapons. The others, a Colt pistol and a bone-handled knife, are tucked into his belt, which is
Gettysburg Memory
The death of Col. Harry Burgwyn at the head of his 26th North Carolina Infantry during the first day’s fight at Gettysburg is deeply embedded in battlefield lore. Less remembered
Badge of Honor
This clean-shaven soldier sports a crocheted patriotic badge with tassels pinned to his distinctive uniform. His jacket, trimmed with a taped outline around the chest, and McDowell-style forage cap mark
Accusations
The pencil inscriptions above the portraits of these Union officers leave no question about the point of view of the unnamed writers. The major pictured on the left is branded
A Reminder of War’s Human Cost
A carte de visite with photographs pasted on the front and back remind us of the human cost of war. On the front, a revolver and sword lying on top