[Union Private with Musket and Pistol]
Almost all portraits of Civil War soldiers, Union and Confederate, show the sitters with one or more weapons: a musket with or without a fixed bayonet, a sword, a pistol or two, a bowie knife. Evidence suggests that given a choice, most soldiers preferred presenting themselves armed with more than one weapon—an opportunity many studios were more than willing to accommodate with a ready supply of props.
Artwork Details
- Title: [Union Private with Musket and Pistol]
- Artist: Unknown (American)
- Date: 1861–65
- Medium: Tintype with applied color
- Dimensions: Plate: 8.9 x 6.4 cm (3 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.)
Case: 9.5 × 8.5 cm (3 3/4 × 3 3/8 in.) - Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Fund, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2012
- Object Number: 2012.76
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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