Civil War Then & Now:
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Old Dragoon
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Red Pant's...Louisiana Zouave Sniper..or? Hats (Wool caps) were like voyager hats and red pants.
Red pants were worn by some zouaves. Their uniforms were based on the Algerians zouaves. The French originally recruited them and eventually had all French zouave units attired like their Algerian counterparts. Zouaves weren't necessarily trained in marksmanship (most Civil War soldiers weren't given marksmanship instruction).
I want to thank all who posted photos here... I do have to say that I have seen the devils Den photo all my life and I always had questions about it and now there are even more questions??
Does anyone know how long after the battle it was that these photos were taken???
As a child I do always remember wondering about how that fine looking rifle was just left behind, You would have thought the army that occupied the battlefield afterwards would have gathered them up, and of course Souvenir hunters.. Now it looks like the rifles were picked up, and the Photographer provided the rifle.. (God the press has always been the same, if you can not report the news, just make it up)..
For example in the photo of the bloated bodies, I do not recall seeing any rifles on the ground.. ???? and that seems like a photo that is more "real" and less "stageable"...
Does anyone know how long after the battle it was that these photos were taken???
As a child I do always remember wondering about how that fine looking rifle was just left behind, You would have thought the army that occupied the battlefield afterwards would have gathered them up, and of course Souvenir hunters.. Now it looks like the rifles were picked up, and the Photographer provided the rifle.. (God the press has always been the same, if you can not report the news, just make it up)..
For example in the photo of the bloated bodies, I do not recall seeing any rifles on the ground.. ???? and that seems like a photo that is more "real" and less "stageable"...
After the battle the Provost Marshal attempted to secure the battlefield. The government got dibs (title) to all the battlefield litter. This meant any gun, accoutrements, field equipment left there. Looters were to be arrested.
However, countless civilians wandered the battlefield often to succor the wounded. It is estimated that several thousand responded to help or play lookey loo. Many pretended to help but used that guise to carry off souvenirs. there is a target telescope rifle that was purported to have been found at Devil's Den. It bore the initials HCP and some think it was Henry Clay Poor of the First Texas that fought there alongside with the Third Arkansas. Poor was wounded there but survived the war. That gun now belongs to the Gettysburg Museum.
However, countless civilians wandered the battlefield often to succor the wounded. It is estimated that several thousand responded to help or play lookey loo. Many pretended to help but used that guise to carry off souvenirs. there is a target telescope rifle that was purported to have been found at Devil's Den. It bore the initials HCP and some think it was Henry Clay Poor of the First Texas that fought there alongside with the Third Arkansas. Poor was wounded there but survived the war. That gun now belongs to the Gettysburg Museum.
@ Indy1919 @ 4V50Gary,
Sixteen-year-old John H. Rosensteel found a 36-pound rifle with a telescopic sight on July 5, 1863, at Devil's Den. A small brass plate on the stock was inscribed "HCP 1862." Rosensteel went on to amass thousands of relics that are the core of the national military park's collection and this rifle, his first artifact, is displayed at the visitor center. For years the sign with the rifle noted that its owner was not known.
In the meantime Raymond H. Herrington of Austin, Texas, had an interest in the Civil War. He visited the Gettysburg battlefield during a trip east to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. "I didn't know I had any relatives or anything and went to the museum a little bit," he recalls.
Then his aunt, Artie Fay Powell McDonald, now 88 and living in California, sent information that led Herrington back to Gettysburg. She's the family genealogist, doing it the old-fashioned way, going through hard copies, not the Internet, Herrington says. She sent information that Herrington's great-grandfather, 20-year-old Henry Clay Powell, served in Co. K, 1st Texas Infantry, at Gettysburg and he was wounded on July 2, 1863.
During a trip last summer to see the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, Herrington and his wife Zelda returned to Gettysburg. As they waited for a tour with a licensed battlefield guide they visited the visitor center exhibits.
When guide John Fuss began the tour he asked, as he always does, if Herrington was a descendant or had a special interest. Learning about Herrington's connection to the 1st Texas, Fuss says he talked a little more about the unit's action at Devil's Den and "it led to 'there's a sharpshooters rifle here with HCP on it.'"
Herrington had seen the rifle and the two men began to think the impossible - that rifle owner HCP was Herrington's great-grandfather.
By the time Herrington returned home information had been forwarded by Fuss and soon park museum specialist Paul Shevchuck was researching the possibility.
Herrington's great-grandfather was wounded in the head, which made sense if he were a sharpshooter. The rifle, which was made in Keene, N.H., was not government issue, and it had the brass plate with initials, two indications that it was someone's personal weapon. The gun's owner would not have left it on the battlefield unless he were wounded or killed.
These leads didn't prove that HCP was Henry Clay Powell. In fact Shevchuck found several HCPs in Texas and Arkansas rosters of units that were in Devil's Den. Then it came down to Texans H.C. Powell and H.C. Patrick.
Which man was the Gettysburg sharpshooter?
Herrington, a retired state auditor, put his digging skills to work. He found H.C. Patrick in the Texas archives. Patrick was ruled out as the Gettysburg sharpshooter - he had lost an arm the year before at Antietam.
Gettysburg's HCP was Henry Clay Powell.
In recognition of the new information the park changed the display this past June. Visitors can see the rifle on the left as they enter the exhibit gallery.
Herrington and his wife Zelda returned Gettysburg on July 28 to see the display and take pictures. He held his great-grandfather's heavy rifle, "the thrill of my life." Herrington says the park did a "wonderful job" with the display.
After he learned he was a Confederate descendant Herrington joined George Washington Littlefield Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 59 in Austin. He's treasurer and joins camp members for parades and grave marking ceremonies. He wore his Confederate uniform when he returned to Gettysburg and John Fuss took him again to Devil's Den where his ancestor was wounded.
The Herringtons are coming east again in September and will take relatives from Massachusetts to see the rifle and new display at Gettysburg. They'll meet John Fuss and Paul Shevchuck, revisit Devil's Den, and take plenty of video since many relatives, including Aunt Artie Fay, won't be able to travel to Gettysburg.
Battlefield guide Fuss says, "This is one of the most interesting episodes I've been involved in" in his 12 years of guiding. He gave 59 tours to descendants last year and has had more than 30 tours this year with people who had an ancestor or association to the battle. He doesn't count the many who mistakenly believe they're related to Robert E. Lee, the Gettysburg figure with the most "descendants."
Henry Clay Powell survived three Civil War wounds and died in 1892 of pneumonia at the age of 50. He and his wife and a wagon full of their 10 children had gone to Oklahoma for the land rush. She died of pneumonia 10 days after her husband and their children were farmed out, not seeing each other again for decades. One of them was Aunt Arty May's father....
Sixteen-year-old John H. Rosensteel found a 36-pound rifle with a telescopic sight on July 5, 1863, at Devil's Den. A small brass plate on the stock was inscribed "HCP 1862." Rosensteel went on to amass thousands of relics that are the core of the national military park's collection and this rifle, his first artifact, is displayed at the visitor center. For years the sign with the rifle noted that its owner was not known.
In the meantime Raymond H. Herrington of Austin, Texas, had an interest in the Civil War. He visited the Gettysburg battlefield during a trip east to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. "I didn't know I had any relatives or anything and went to the museum a little bit," he recalls.
Then his aunt, Artie Fay Powell McDonald, now 88 and living in California, sent information that led Herrington back to Gettysburg. She's the family genealogist, doing it the old-fashioned way, going through hard copies, not the Internet, Herrington says. She sent information that Herrington's great-grandfather, 20-year-old Henry Clay Powell, served in Co. K, 1st Texas Infantry, at Gettysburg and he was wounded on July 2, 1863.
During a trip last summer to see the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, Herrington and his wife Zelda returned to Gettysburg. As they waited for a tour with a licensed battlefield guide they visited the visitor center exhibits.
When guide John Fuss began the tour he asked, as he always does, if Herrington was a descendant or had a special interest. Learning about Herrington's connection to the 1st Texas, Fuss says he talked a little more about the unit's action at Devil's Den and "it led to 'there's a sharpshooters rifle here with HCP on it.'"
Herrington had seen the rifle and the two men began to think the impossible - that rifle owner HCP was Herrington's great-grandfather.
By the time Herrington returned home information had been forwarded by Fuss and soon park museum specialist Paul Shevchuck was researching the possibility.
Herrington's great-grandfather was wounded in the head, which made sense if he were a sharpshooter. The rifle, which was made in Keene, N.H., was not government issue, and it had the brass plate with initials, two indications that it was someone's personal weapon. The gun's owner would not have left it on the battlefield unless he were wounded or killed.
These leads didn't prove that HCP was Henry Clay Powell. In fact Shevchuck found several HCPs in Texas and Arkansas rosters of units that were in Devil's Den. Then it came down to Texans H.C. Powell and H.C. Patrick.
Which man was the Gettysburg sharpshooter?
Herrington, a retired state auditor, put his digging skills to work. He found H.C. Patrick in the Texas archives. Patrick was ruled out as the Gettysburg sharpshooter - he had lost an arm the year before at Antietam.
Gettysburg's HCP was Henry Clay Powell.
In recognition of the new information the park changed the display this past June. Visitors can see the rifle on the left as they enter the exhibit gallery.
Herrington and his wife Zelda returned Gettysburg on July 28 to see the display and take pictures. He held his great-grandfather's heavy rifle, "the thrill of my life." Herrington says the park did a "wonderful job" with the display.
After he learned he was a Confederate descendant Herrington joined George Washington Littlefield Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 59 in Austin. He's treasurer and joins camp members for parades and grave marking ceremonies. He wore his Confederate uniform when he returned to Gettysburg and John Fuss took him again to Devil's Den where his ancestor was wounded.
The Herringtons are coming east again in September and will take relatives from Massachusetts to see the rifle and new display at Gettysburg. They'll meet John Fuss and Paul Shevchuck, revisit Devil's Den, and take plenty of video since many relatives, including Aunt Artie Fay, won't be able to travel to Gettysburg.
Battlefield guide Fuss says, "This is one of the most interesting episodes I've been involved in" in his 12 years of guiding. He gave 59 tours to descendants last year and has had more than 30 tours this year with people who had an ancestor or association to the battle. He doesn't count the many who mistakenly believe they're related to Robert E. Lee, the Gettysburg figure with the most "descendants."
Henry Clay Powell survived three Civil War wounds and died in 1892 of pneumonia at the age of 50. He and his wife and a wagon full of their 10 children had gone to Oklahoma for the land rush. She died of pneumonia 10 days after her husband and their children were farmed out, not seeing each other again for decades. One of them was Aunt Arty May's father....
CPL. ABNER COLBY, CO. G., USSS uniformed in his ubiquitous green frock coat kneeling with an early civilian target rifle with telescopic sight adopted for use by Berdan’s famous Sharpshooters. Scratched on the silver backing plate is, “A.D. Colby/Co G./N.H./U.S.S.S.”
In June 1862 the civilian weapons were replaced by the .52 caliber M1859 Sharps Rifle specially altered with a double-set trigger making this Sharpshooter image fairly early. Abner Colby enlisted as a private in the New Hampshire Company (G) of the 2nd USSS in October 1861 and was later promoted to sergeant having been present at all of the major battles fought by the famous Sharpshooters including Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.
Sergeant Colby was captured on May 7, 1864 during the battle of the Wilderness and spent the next ten months in various Confederate prisons camps among them the notorious Andersonville. In 1878 Colby applied for an invalid pension and wrote in his affidavit:
“While my company was engaged in the battle of the Wilderness, Va. on the 6th day of May 1864. I was taken prisoner by the enemy while I was accompanying an aide of Gen. Birney, who was carrying an order. I had always been in good health up to this time. After being taken prisoner I was taken to Gordonsville, Va. where I remained about a week. I was then in prison at Lynchburg, Va. about a week. I was then sent to Andersonville, Ga. where I remained about four months. I was then taken to Florence, S.C. where I remained about five and a half months. I was then paroled I think about February 1865, after having been a prisoner ten months nearly. After I had been at said Anderonsville about two months I was taken with chronic diarrhea....”
Colby goes on to state in detail what occurred at Andersonville and Florence and how the captivity had ruined his heath 13 years later.
In March 1865 Colby returned to his company which had been transferred to the 5th New Hampshire Infantry the previous month. Sergeant Colby was discharged at Concord, N.H. on June 21, 1865 and lived the rest of his life in Newton Center, Massachusetts. In 1886 (A.G.O. Nov. 19, 1886) Colby’s service record was formally amended to reflect his promotion to 1st lieutenant (from June 11, 1864), and captain (from January 16, 1865). Officially then, Colby mustered out of the sharpshooters as captain on June 21, 1865. The old soldier answered the final roll call on June 6, 1900.
Rest in peace....
Pleasant Riggs Crump (December 23, 1847 – December 31, 1951) is the last verifiable veteran who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War....
Alabama's Last Surviving Confederate Soldier
Taps sounded Monday night, 31 December 1951, for Colonel Pleasant Riggs Crump. Just as the old year was breathing its last, so did Colonel Crump. Nearly 86 years had passed since the guns of war were stilled. The last of Alabama's gray-clad warriors who battled valiantly under the Stars and Bars in the War between the States had quietly gone to the last great Camping Grounds, joining many thousands of his gallant comrades in gray, in the Valhalla of heros where they will be together for all eternity. Colonel Crump died in Lincoln, Alabama, a town oddly enough bearing the same name of the Commander-in-Chief of the United Forces against whom he had fought.
Colonel Crump, 104 years old on 23 December, was an eye-witness to the surrender of General Robert E. Lee's forces to General U. S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. Friends and neighbors of the old soldier and members of Talladega's Civitan Club helped him celebrate around a birthday cake decorated with 104 candles. He was made an honorary member of the Civitan Club.
Crump was born 23 December 1847 in Crawford's Cove, near Ashville, St. Clair County, Alabama. The year he was born, James K. Polk was President of the USA, and Indians were on the warpath in sections of the country.
Sometime during his second century, he received the Honorary Title of "Colonel" from President Harry Truman.
In 1863, just when the hopes of Confederate armies were waning, one of his young neighbors, who had been fighting in the 10th Alabama Regiment in the Virginia Campaign, came home on leave. Crump decided to enlist and took off at the age of 16 with his neighbor boy for Petersburg and joined the forces of Northern Virginia.
He fought through many of the Virginia battles and saw the end of the Confederacy at Appomattox .
Forty-eight years after, Colonel Crump recalled how he was just across the road from the McLean House that Sunday, and how, later, he took his little part in the awful drama of the Stacking of the Arms. He would become its last surviving soldier-witness from Alabama.
Ex-private Crump returned to St. Clair County, and when he was 22 he married Mary Hall of Lincoln. He settled on 38 acres of land given to him by his father-in-law. His farm was just over the St. Clair County line from Lincoln. He lived there, in the house he built, for 78 years until his death.
He and Mary had five children and were a family until she died in 1901, fifty years to the day before her husband died. In 1905 he "took" Ella Wall s of Childersburg. Their home lasted 36 years until her summons came in July 1942.
Colonel Crump left behind only 20 Civil War Veterans who had borne the battles in this long-ago: twelve Rebs and eight Yanks. It had been a goodly distance from Appomattox and, for Pleasant Crump, one well worth traveling. Perhaps it gave him a certain spiritual uplifting in being one of the few boys in gray to share their astounding final Confederate Victory in number over the existing Union Army.
The United Confederate Veterans awarded him the honorary title of colonel. In 1950, he met with 98-year-old Gen. James Moore, who was then recognized to be the only other remaining veteran of Alabama. They are shown together in this photo:
Crump died having just turned 104 on December 31, 1951 and is buried in Hall Cemetery, Lincoln.
Alabama's Last Surviving Confederate Soldier
Taps sounded Monday night, 31 December 1951, for Colonel Pleasant Riggs Crump. Just as the old year was breathing its last, so did Colonel Crump. Nearly 86 years had passed since the guns of war were stilled. The last of Alabama's gray-clad warriors who battled valiantly under the Stars and Bars in the War between the States had quietly gone to the last great Camping Grounds, joining many thousands of his gallant comrades in gray, in the Valhalla of heros where they will be together for all eternity. Colonel Crump died in Lincoln, Alabama, a town oddly enough bearing the same name of the Commander-in-Chief of the United Forces against whom he had fought.
Colonel Crump, 104 years old on 23 December, was an eye-witness to the surrender of General Robert E. Lee's forces to General U. S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. Friends and neighbors of the old soldier and members of Talladega's Civitan Club helped him celebrate around a birthday cake decorated with 104 candles. He was made an honorary member of the Civitan Club.
Crump was born 23 December 1847 in Crawford's Cove, near Ashville, St. Clair County, Alabama. The year he was born, James K. Polk was President of the USA, and Indians were on the warpath in sections of the country.
Sometime during his second century, he received the Honorary Title of "Colonel" from President Harry Truman.
In 1863, just when the hopes of Confederate armies were waning, one of his young neighbors, who had been fighting in the 10th Alabama Regiment in the Virginia Campaign, came home on leave. Crump decided to enlist and took off at the age of 16 with his neighbor boy for Petersburg and joined the forces of Northern Virginia.
He fought through many of the Virginia battles and saw the end of the Confederacy at Appomattox .
Forty-eight years after, Colonel Crump recalled how he was just across the road from the McLean House that Sunday, and how, later, he took his little part in the awful drama of the Stacking of the Arms. He would become its last surviving soldier-witness from Alabama.
Ex-private Crump returned to St. Clair County, and when he was 22 he married Mary Hall of Lincoln. He settled on 38 acres of land given to him by his father-in-law. His farm was just over the St. Clair County line from Lincoln. He lived there, in the house he built, for 78 years until his death.
He and Mary had five children and were a family until she died in 1901, fifty years to the day before her husband died. In 1905 he "took" Ella Wall s of Childersburg. Their home lasted 36 years until her summons came in July 1942.
Colonel Crump left behind only 20 Civil War Veterans who had borne the battles in this long-ago: twelve Rebs and eight Yanks. It had been a goodly distance from Appomattox and, for Pleasant Crump, one well worth traveling. Perhaps it gave him a certain spiritual uplifting in being one of the few boys in gray to share their astounding final Confederate Victory in number over the existing Union Army.
The United Confederate Veterans awarded him the honorary title of colonel. In 1950, he met with 98-year-old Gen. James Moore, who was then recognized to be the only other remaining veteran of Alabama. They are shown together in this photo:
Crump died having just turned 104 on December 31, 1951 and is buried in Hall Cemetery, Lincoln.
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You have to remember that in the pioneering days of photography, the film used was only sensitive to blue light. Orthochromatic film came about in the late 19th century and panchromatic film didn't come about until the early 20th century.
The film being only sensitive to blue light meant that blue items looked light colored and red items looked almost black.
Take this into account when making assumptions about colors based on shades of grey.
Staging photos was a practical necessity in the days of wet plate photography when a photographer needed a horse drawn wagon to haul the equipment needed to take a photo.
The film being only sensitive to blue light meant that blue items looked light colored and red items looked almost black.
Take this into account when making assumptions about colors based on shades of grey.
Staging photos was a practical necessity in the days of wet plate photography when a photographer needed a horse drawn wagon to haul the equipment needed to take a photo.
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My most recent venture into civil war era fanaticism is to have Mike construct a gunbelt and holsters that would be 'correct' for an ex-civil war veteran on the plains following the war. Since inception, the rig has grown to accommodate dual cap boxes (for both 1862 Colts) and even the frogs for a saber.
Not to mention all the fired bullets and period coins...
Not to mention all the fired bullets and period coins...
bushmaster65
New member
10851,
That was an outstanding read about HCP.
I've never been able to understand the logic of the tactics back then.
Line abreast through open fields...
My historical passion has always been WWll so I don't know much about the
Civil war. So I was wondering, Were snipers/sharpshooters assigned by their CO's to fixed positions or were they "on their own"?
It just seems to me that no matter what era, a reasonable man would know that once they find your "hide", your time on this earth would be adjusted accordingly.
Also,
what do you CW aficionados recommend for intro reading for this subject?
I try to study from the political to the tactical.
That was an outstanding read about HCP.
I've never been able to understand the logic of the tactics back then.
Line abreast through open fields...
My historical passion has always been WWll so I don't know much about the
Civil war. So I was wondering, Were snipers/sharpshooters assigned by their CO's to fixed positions or were they "on their own"?
It just seems to me that no matter what era, a reasonable man would know that once they find your "hide", your time on this earth would be adjusted accordingly.
Also,
what do you CW aficionados recommend for intro reading for this subject?
I try to study from the political to the tactical.
Bushmaster,
From my studies, I have arrived at the following conclusions.
Snipers and Scouts were indeed employed as members of the regular army. However, Guerilla tactics were, at the time, considered uncivilized and un-gentleman like conduct.
Keep in mind that during the Revolutionary war a British sniper decided not to take the shot that would have killed George Washington because a shot to the back was considered cowardly at the time. The ‘skirmish line’ tactics were bred out of the revolutionary war.
Keep in mind Confederate sniper Charles Grace’s famous shot at Spotsylvania,
which killed Union General Sedgewick at nearly 1,000 yards, is officially recorded as the actions of a member of the army during the conflict.
Many ‘Partisan Rangers’ operated on their own and were not official members of the military. Quantrill’s Raiders and Confederate Sympathizer Sniper Jack Hinson (mentioned above) would fit into this category.
From my studies, I have arrived at the following conclusions.
Snipers and Scouts were indeed employed as members of the regular army. However, Guerilla tactics were, at the time, considered uncivilized and un-gentleman like conduct.
Keep in mind that during the Revolutionary war a British sniper decided not to take the shot that would have killed George Washington because a shot to the back was considered cowardly at the time. The ‘skirmish line’ tactics were bred out of the revolutionary war.
Keep in mind Confederate sniper Charles Grace’s famous shot at Spotsylvania,
which killed Union General Sedgewick at nearly 1,000 yards, is officially recorded as the actions of a member of the army during the conflict.
Many ‘Partisan Rangers’ operated on their own and were not official members of the military. Quantrill’s Raiders and Confederate Sympathizer Sniper Jack Hinson (mentioned above) would fit into this category.