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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
Curt,
I still think he is a southern sympathizer, in a covert kinda way....
Curt,
I still think he is a southern sympathizer, in a covert kinda way....
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
This family tintype was shared with me by Col. Connie Christensen, USAR (ret.). The image is her GG Grandfather, Pvt. Abraham Compton, Co. I, 35th IL Inf, "Gustavus Smith's Independent Regiment". Another Union soldier wearing his US belt buckle upside down-no explanation.
[B][/B][B][/B][B]Bill Slavin[/B]
SUVCW, SVR,
Liberty Guards Mess
GG Grandson of [B]Pvt. Willis Shattuck[/B] (1842-1912), Co. F, 16th NY Vol Inf and Co. K, 73rd Ohio Vol Inf
"[I]Dig [I]Johnnies! We're coming for you!"[/I][/I]
Six foot seven inch tall Union Brigade Commander Newton Martin Curtis as he tossed a handful of shovels over the traverse at Fort Fisher. The shovels had been sent from the rear with the suggestion of entrenching for a siege.Comment
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
I can picture in my head this guying, upon first viewing this image saying...well crap...I have my belt on upside down....I'll never live this down. He, not having money for another image...and the photographer not caring to waste tin and chemicals...well... just had to live with it.Originally posted by Pvt. Shattuck View PostGalen Wagner
Mobile, AL
Duty is, then, the sublimest word in our language.Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less. -Col. Robert E.Lee, Superintendent of USMA West Point, 1852Comment
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
I had exactly the same thought LOL. Last night I was switching buckles from NYS to US for an event and I put the belt on rough side out. Now that's stupid.Originally posted by GWagner View Post[B][/B][B][/B][B]Bill Slavin[/B]
SUVCW, SVR,
Liberty Guards Mess
GG Grandson of [B]Pvt. Willis Shattuck[/B] (1842-1912), Co. F, 16th NY Vol Inf and Co. K, 73rd Ohio Vol Inf
"[I]Dig [I]Johnnies! We're coming for you!"[/I][/I]
Six foot seven inch tall Union Brigade Commander Newton Martin Curtis as he tossed a handful of shovels over the traverse at Fort Fisher. The shovels had been sent from the rear with the suggestion of entrenching for a siege.Comment
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
My 3x Great Grandfather served in the 35th, in Co. K, Isaac Newton Larimer. I have always wanted to find an image of one of the boys from his regiment. Any thoughts as to timeframe of the image (obviously early war, but when)?
Alexander Vasquez
Co. C, 15 IAComment
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
The same thought ran through my mind. He must have been a little miffed at the pic he got.Mike McGee
Cure All Mess ~ Hard Case Boys
Co A, 4th Tennessee Infantry Regiment "The Shelby Greys"
Co C, 25th Regiment, Indiana Infantry
Pvt. Francis "Frank" Agee- G, G, G-Uncle
Co H, 22nd Tennessee Infantry Regiment
KIA Battle of Shiloh-April 6, 1862
Resting in Peace on that Hallowed GroundComment
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
Great example of a state jacket in that image. If I had to guess, I would posit that the musket and the belt were photographer's props. It strikes me as odd that this soldier would wander over to a photographer with his musket and belt but not his cartridge box. No way to tell, obviously.[FONT="Times New Roman"][/FONT] Aaron Racine
[COLOR="Blue"][I]Holmes' Brigade, USV[/I][/COLOR]
[COLOR="Silver"][COLOR="Gray"][I]Macon County Silver Greys[/I][/COLOR][/COLOR]
[COLOR="Red"]"This gobbling of things so, disgusts me much. I think the city should be burned, but would like to see it done decently." - Maj. Charles W. Wills, February 17, 1865, before Columbia, S.C.[/COLOR]Comment
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
I wonder if that jacket is a prop, too.Originally posted by Old Overholt View Post
Look at how many layers he's wearing under the jacket and how far it stands away from his neck...
...so why, then, are the front buttons pulled so tight? Could he be wearing a prop jacket over his "street clothes"?
Could he have enlisted, or been in-camp for training, but not yet received his uniform?John Wickett
Former Carpetbagger
Administrator (We got rules here! Be Nice - Sign Your Name - No Farbisms)Comment
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
If you go to the libary of congress's website and look at there photo's for the civil war you can find several original photo's that have the plate upside down.Your most humble and obedient servant,
Erik W Creekmore,
2nd Col Vol Inf.
Sgt Major, Territorial Battalion.Comment
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
Do you mean US or CS troops or both?Originally posted by itz3r1k View PostRobert Johnson
"Them fellers out thar you ar goin up against, ain't none of the blue-bellied, white-livered Yanks and sassidge-eatin'forrin' hirelin's you have in Virginny that run atthe snap of a cap - they're Western fellers, an' they'll mighty quick give you a bellyful o' fightin."
In memory of: William Garry Co.H 5th USCC KIA 10/2/64 Saltville VA.Comment
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
A year ago, I posted the photo found in this link : http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/...ighlight=eadie This Illinois soldier in his state jacket has several items which are obviously backwards.Silas Tackitt,
one of the moderators.
Click here for a link to forum rules - or don't at your own peril.Comment
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
While not about buckles per se, this reference to some "official" sanctioning of inverting captured Federal insignia is interesting:
"When the Confederate General Pettigrew's Negro cook was captured at Kinston, NC he was wearing a Federal dress coat. In explanation he told his Fedaral captors: 'I took it from one of your dead during the Peninsula Campaign and was allowed to wear it if I would turn the buttons with the eagle's head down.' And as a soldier of the 27th Massachusetts expressed it: 'Sure enough, every eagle drooped.'" [from Francis Lord's "Civil War Uniforms]Bob Williams
26th North Carolina Troops
Blogsite: http://26nc.org/blog/
As [one of our cavalry] passed by, the general halted him and inquired "what part of the army he belonged to." "I don't belong to the army, I belong to the cavalry." "That's a fact," says [the general], "you can pass on." Silas Grisamore, 18th LouisianaComment
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
Gents,
The following belt and holster is displayed in the Atlanta History Center collection:
The description in the exhibit, which indicates that sometimes US buckles were worn upside-down as a sign of contempt for the Union, seems a more plausible explanation than the "Southern Nation" rationale. I am not sure why, and perhaps that's just because I've heard so many farbs talk about "sn" buckles, but that rationale sets off my "step too far" alarm. As the Alsop Farm photo likely proves, though, it was done.
If I were in the place of having to deal with a US buckle, and if I were Confederate soldier, you bet I'd turn it upside down.
Best,
JSKJoe Knight
Armory Guards
Yocona Rip Raps
"Semper Tyrannis."Comment
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
As I am somewhat late to this discussion, I did want to point out that during excavations of the CS grave in Glorieta Pass, New Mexico, several bodies were wearing US buckles, and they were nearly all inverted. Granted this far west campaign is probably a statistical outlier, but it helps us to conclude that it was done, especially when troops were as isolated from bases of supply as the Texas boys were n New Mexico. I suspect it was more rare in the east, however we should avoid words like 'always' and 'never.' Is it over-represented in the hobby? possibly. For the same reason CS troops in federal sky blue trousers, (just change your jacket to galvanize,) it seems a shortcut has developed, in that fresh fish "can't go wrong" with a set of US accoutrements, less expense than two sets and easy to galvanize.Joel KelleyComment
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Re: wearing US buckles upside down
Bumping this up because I found a dig report on the earlier referenced Confederate mass grave at Glorieta......
Fred Lucas
Member, Company of Military Historians, Filson Historical Society & American Historical AssociationComment
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