A Militiaman and His Mississippi Rifle
A thin-bearded volunteer poses with all the trappings of a militiaman. He is a private—don’t be tricked by the officer’s shoulder straps on his uniform, which are purely decorative. His
Tag: rifle
A Sharp’s Sharpshooter
A member of the 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters shows off his recently issued Sharp’s rifle as he stands before a camp photographer at Falmouth, Va., in June or July 1862. The
Armed to the Teeth? The Use of Prop Weapons in Civil War Studio Photography
By Katelyn Brown Few people would dispute the accepted fact that battlefield photographers of the Civil War sometimes included props—even human beings—in their photographs. Alexander Gardner famously moved corpses in