The Beard of Joe Revere

We’ve had some pretty heavy-duty discussions on the blog lately, so, in the immortal words of Monty Python: “And now for something completely different.”

Civil War beards seem to provide endless entertainment, but in all my years of hearing people talk about the era’s most outlandish facial hair, I can’t recall anyone ever calling out Union Brig. Gen. Joseph Warren Revere.

Look at that beard!

Revere was the grandson of the Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere. A career army officer, he’s best known for a blunder under fire at Chancellorsville. In the fever pitch of battle on the morning of May 3, Revere, without orders, pulled his men out of line and marched them three lines to the rear to “reform.” He claimed they were low on ammunition and in disarray. The hole got plugged, but soon thereafter, Hooker’s entire army collapsed.

A court-martial convicted Revere for leaving his post. Lincoln overturned the conviction but simultaneously accepted Revere’s resignation. Revere did later get an honorary Congressional promotion to brevet major general.

Revere looks all buttons-a-bursting in his photo, but look at that beard. The triple-point look, really? He might as well braid some beads into those points and go for the Blackbeard look.

https://youtu.be/Zk-kQSz-Qv0