Home June 2011 News & Community Articles of War

News & Community

Articles of War

The Maryland Historical Society's documents, weapons, and personal items offer a glimpse of the Civil War the way Marylanders lived it.

By Photography by David Colwell | June 2011

CivilDrum — This drum was owned by James W. Sank, one of many young drummer boys who marched beside the ranks and often faced the most brutal fire. – Maryland Historical Society

CivilWallet — This small leather wallet is typical of the kind carried by Civil War soldiers, found with two period newspaper clippings inside. – Maryland Historical Society

CivilBadge — This badge was owned by a member of the Isaac R. Trimble Camp, a Confederate veterans group named after one of Baltimore’s most revered rebels. – Maryland Historical Society

CivilGun — During the Pratt Street Riot, Baltimore City police used revolvers like this one, which descended in the Reeder family of Maryland. – Maryland Historical Society

Jacket — Artillery jacket worn my Richard Snowden Andrews, who was severely wounded by a shell fragment at the Battle of Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862. – Maryland Historical Society

CivilFlag — The document reads, “On November 23, 1864, Georgia Richards, a 24 year-old housekeeper in South Hampton, Virginia, took and subscribed to the Oath . . . required by General Orders 49 and 31 for loyal citizens of the United States . . .” Her pledge to the Union was framed with a Confederate flag, demonstrating that she took the oath only to avoid imprisonment. – Maryland Historical Society

Chair — A plaque on the worn, repaired seat of this simple Victorian folding chair reads: “Camp Chair Of Robert E. Lee Used At The Field Headquarters Second Battle Of Manassas War Between The States.” – Maryland Historical Society

CivilHat — The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a national veterans’ organization formed immediately after the Civil War. – Maryland Historical Society

CivilCanteen — After the war, Philip Eckel Layman, who served in Company A of the 5th Maryland Infantry Regiment, decorated his canteen with the American flag. – Maryland Historical Society

CivilBroadside — Broadsides like this one—printed on April 21, 1861, two days after the Pratt Street Riot—were tacked to buildings and hung in windows and spread word quickly and efficiently. – Maryland Historical Society

CivilRosary — Soldiers found ways to wile away the time during their imprisonment at Point Lookout, like carving this rosary for their loved ones. – Maryland Historical Society