The complete issue
Vol. XXII, No. 3
(48 pages)
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Inside
Cover image
A photograph from the John Sickles collection is described as “an unusually odd-appearing trooper from Illinois” posed with a Sharps carbine across his lap and holding a Remington revolver.
Table of Contents (p. 1)
Mail Call (p. 2)
A reader discovers a backdrop mystery and asks for help in solving it. Also, reader Sal Alberti recognized the naval officer pictured on the cover of the last issue as Charles H. Swasey, who served as a lieutenant on the Hartford, Tennessee and Sciota. While a member of the crew of the latter ship, he was killed on Oct. 4, 1862, during operations below Donaldsonville, La.
The Auction Block (pp. 4-5)
A sampling of sales from the popular auction site eBay is included.
Passing in Review (pp. 6-7)
Three publications are reviewed, including Beneath the Stainless Banner (Burd Street Press) by T. Thomas Campbell, Civil War Small Arms of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (Andrew Mobray Inc.) by John D. McAulay and Civil War Hostages: Hostage Taking in the Civil War (White Mane Books) by Webb Garrison.
The Venerable Sharps Carbine by John Sickles (pp. 8-12)
A description of the popular weapon and a list of regiments who possessed them is illustrated with a dozen images. Identified soldiers include Isaac C. Davis of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry and James J. McCloud of the 1st Minnesota Mounted Rangers.
Darius N. Couch: The Overlooked General by Paul R. Johnson, M.D. F.A.C.S. (pp. 13-20)
According to the author, “Darius Nash Couch, the man who might have fought Lee at Gettysburg, had bad luck with health and politics or he may have been one of America’s best-known generals.” The narrative details his ups and downs as a commander, and is illustrated with eight portraits of Couch at various points in his military career, from a West Point cadet to two postwar views.
James Risque Hutter’s Really Bad Day (pp. 21-22)
The story of Capt. Hutter, the commander of Company H of the 11th Virginia Infantry, begins on the morning of July 3, 1863, with expectations of a relatively peaceful day. But his division, led by Maj. Gen. George Pickett, would soon participate in the horrific charge that bears his name. Hutter was captured during the engagement. He was eventually released and captured again during the Virginia Battle of Five Forks before Gen. Lee surrendered his army at Appomattox. He lived until 1923. The story is illustrated with his wartime portrait.
Views of the Vermont Militia, 1880-1898 by Kean E. Wilcox (pp. 23-26)
The author pays tribute to two articles about National Guard uniforms that appeared in the January/February 1986 issue of Military Images. Then he introduces eight representative images from his own collection featured here. One soldier is identified, and he is Sgt. E.L. Allen of Company A, 1st Vermont Infantry.
The Unlucky Officers of the U.S.S. Kearsarge by Martin H. Oogjen III (pp. 27-28)
Vignettes and wartime images reveal the trials and tribulations of four men who served aboard the famed Union warship. They include Lt. Cmdr. James S. Thornton, 3rd Asst. Eng. Henry McConnell, Gunner Franklin A. Graham and Boatswain James C. Walton.
Three Came Home by Marcus McLemore (pp. 29-31)
The author notes, “These three Union officers went to war, were successful in the field, and returned home to different fates. It just proves that John Lennon was right when he said that life is what happened while you’re making different plans.” He goes on the share the lives and fates of E.H. Bohm of the 7th Ohio Infantry, Harry M. McAbee of the 4th Ohio Infantry and later Surgeon-in-Chief on the staff of Maj. Gen. Reynolds and Washington Durbrow of the 9th New York State Militia and 40th New York Infantry.
Uniforms & History by Michael J. McAfee (pp. 32-33)
In “The Uniform Coat of 1858,” McAfee details the ubiquitous worn by Union soldiers throughout the Civil War. The text is illustrated by a unique pair of cartes de visite of Sgt. Maj. Frederick William Gerber, U.S. Corps of Engineers. Gerber is shown from the front in one and the back in the other.
Stragglers (pp. 34-38)
Featured images include an 1867 portrait of the men of Company K, 1st U.S. Artillery, with Capt. William M. Graham, 1st Lt. Ballard S. Humphreys, Guidon Bearer John B. Charlton, 2nd Lt. Charles King and 1st Lt. John Driscoll. Also included are portraits of Confederate navy 1st Lt. Ivey Foreman, Samuel Reel of the 148th Pennsylvania Infantry and Pvt. Peter Rupp of the 183rd Ohio Infantry.
Index to Civil War Regiments (pp. 39-45)
Sutler’s Row (pp. 46-47)
The Last Shot (p. 48)
A carte de visite from the Arthur P. O’Leary III collection pictures a wounded soldier. A surgeon leans over the man’s injured arm with a probe or scalpel to incise of probe the wound. The image came out of an album that includes photos of apparently the same Union medical officer who appears to have been from Massachusetts, was in the Army of the Potomac, and served during the early part of the war.
