[Union Private with Musket and Pistol]
Not on view
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.
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