tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post4184585216474667783..comments2024-02-21T08:35:35.568-05:00Comments on Spotsylvania Civil War Blog: NPR Story Made Critical Error In Quest To Identify Soldier John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-60200786685649041492012-04-12T16:01:03.391-04:002012-04-12T16:01:03.391-04:00Good catch. I should have caught it but was reall...Good catch. I should have caught it but was really focusing on the soldier's height and the possibilty that this was his weapon. We will never be 100% sure unless we can find an image to compare it to. The fact that he is in a tent or outside a tent suggests that he is in the field rather than downtown D.C. in a studio. His rifle-musket has a sling which is a good sign it is not a prop used by the photographer. The fact that they were isssued M1855 rifle-muskets is also a plus. Ine last observation is his bayonet scabbard lacks a bayonet. We have seen prop guns with bayonets fixed and the soldier with a bayonet in his scabbard. Again we may never know...but at least one soldier got mentioned 150 years after his service. With a little help and luck perhaps we can determine his true identity. I think the young reporter did a great job.Sam Small/The Horse Soldiernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-55099976567716210622012-04-12T14:54:24.987-04:002012-04-12T14:54:24.987-04:00In response to TMcIntire: The accoutrments appear ...In response to TMcIntire: The accoutrments appear correct because, knowing the mirroring effect of the process, the soldier was advised to reposition them on his belt to minimize the effect. As for the weapon, there is no getting around the fact it is mirrored, the tell tale sign being the lock plate on the wrong side of the stock. <br />Thank you for your interest and comment.<br /><br />John CummingsJohn Cummingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-11743022158470144882012-04-12T08:48:34.476-04:002012-04-12T08:48:34.476-04:00Either way, no evidence that it's his rifle.Either way, no evidence that it's his rifle.charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14838040461089446164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-41398783302742807982012-04-11T14:30:05.283-04:002012-04-11T14:30:05.283-04:00Good catch, John.
It doesn't seem like it wil...Good catch, John.<br /><br />It doesn't seem like it will be that hard to start narrowing that list down again by height. 5'8" is around average height during the war, if memory serves. He's significantly shorter. That should help cut down the field significantly. Still, that will necessitate a trip to NARA for someone, as New York CSRs aren't in Fold3 and the physical descriptions at muster aren't in CivilWarData. It's doable, it'll just take NPR doing some more leg work.<br /><br />Have you contacted them yet, John? Might get you some good press on the air. They're good with running corrections.<br /><br />@TMcIntire - It's the photographer's trick to make it look real without the mirror. You move the cap pouch and scabbard to opposite sides, sling a haversack over the other shoulder, pin the hat on the other side. The lockplate is the tell, though. They didn't have a fake, reversed gun to pose with.John Rudyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05613203957933442701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-65879413928473177962012-04-11T12:52:10.007-04:002012-04-11T12:52:10.007-04:00Good work again, John. Surprising that they missed...Good work again, John. Surprising that they missed it; the musket lockplate appearing to be on the left side of the piece, rather than the right side, where it always is, tells you that the image is "reversed." I remember the first time I saw this in a wetplate photo, it was probably one of me, made by Claude Levet.Rick Hookernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-90542096024051487312012-04-11T12:19:12.425-04:002012-04-11T12:19:12.425-04:00NPR should have called you first, JohnNPR should have called you first, JohnPat Sullivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17366914112183317711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-28129795330339995892012-04-11T12:13:15.542-04:002012-04-11T12:13:15.542-04:00This is puzzling because in the original, his acco...This is puzzling because in the original, his accoutrements ARE on the correct side. The cap pouch always goes on the right. Perhaps the original was not reversed as you say--some tintypes were engineered to give the correct image. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tintype under "Advantages of the Tintype."TMcIntirenoreply@blogger.com