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Category Archives: Material Culture
Why “Stuff” A Horse?
I’ve been reading the book entitled Confederate Exceptionalism by Nicole Maurantonio, and it has a chapter about “relics” connected to Stonewall Jackson. The prime “relic” discussed in the chapter is Little Sorrel’s taxidermy hide which the author clearly did not … Continue reading
A Soldier and His Housewife
We’ve all seen them behind plexiglass in countless museums. Strips of fabric sewn together, complete with pockets and flaps to hold sewing notions like spools of thread, needles, and spare buttons. Housewives, as they were called, were as varied and … Continue reading
Posted in Common Soldier, Material Culture
Tagged 1st Alabama Heavy Artillery Battalion, 2nd North Carolina, 43rd Mississippi, Atlanta History Museum, Captain Columbus Sykes, Darning, Fort Morgan, Housewife, I.H. Bennett, Major James T. Gee, Material Culture, Mending, Museum artifacts, sewing, soldier life, Texas Civil War Museum, University of West Florida Historic Trust
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ECW Weekender: Fashion Archives & Museum of Shippensburg University
Located about 10 miles north of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Shippensburg University boasts a Fashion Archive and Museum with a fine collection of historical garments. The collection contains approximately 15,000 items worn or used by men, women, and children and ranging from … Continue reading
Unpublished: The Pension Files: Unveiling the Humanity of the Civil War Soldier
ECW welcomes back guest author Douglas Ullman, Jr. As the North reeled from McClellan’s reverse in the Seven Days’ battles in July 1862, the United States Congress signed into a law an act that would have far reaching impacts for … Continue reading
Beast Butler in the Chamber Pot
You’ve heard the tales of Maj. Gen. Benjamin “Beast” Butler in New Orleans, so reviled that they put his likeness in chamber pot. I finally had the chance to see one for myself today: Beast Butler at the bottom of … Continue reading
Symposium Spotlight: What If… The Army Medical Museum and Medical Professionalism
With less than three months remaining until our symposium, several of our authors will further explore topics relating to their ‘What If’ theme. Today, Jon Tracey further explores Civil War medicine at the Army Medical Museum… Civil War medicine brings … Continue reading
Appomattox Revisited in the Washington Territory
ECW welcomes back guest author Richard Heisler The day after General Ulysses S. Grant accepted the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia; a second meeting was held to finalize the details of the surrender. Known as the Commissioner’s meeting, … Continue reading
A Taste of Vicksburg – The Story of the Jam Jar
Tucked away in the collection’s storage at the University of West Florida’s Historic Trust is a simple artifact with a greater history than meets the eye. A brown stoneware jar, about eight inches tall and four inches in diameter, its … Continue reading
Posted in Common Soldier, Material Culture, Regiments, Sieges, Western Theater
Tagged 23rd Wisconsin, Arkansas Post, Blueberry Jam, Civil War Bread, Civil War Cooking, Civil War Jam, Frederick Beaver, University of West Florida Historic Trust, Vicksburg, Vicksburg Campaign, Wisconsin Volunteers
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A Souvenir of the First Death
The Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison, Wisconsin preserves, interprets, and affirms the role of Wisconsin Veterans in all wars from 1861 to the present. Founded in 1901 as the GAR Memorial Hall in the Wisconsin State Capitol, the Veterans Museum … Continue reading
Hurrah for Homespun!
Poetry and songs that came out of the Civil War, entertaining as they are, served as a useful vehicle for rhetoric that supported their respective sides. Songs like “Bonnie Blue Flag”, “Marching Through Georgia”, “Dixie”, and “Battle Cry of Freedom” … Continue reading
