Tompion: a plug pushed into the muzzle of a rifle to keep out dirt and water. This example, probably for an English-made Enfield model of 1853, made of brass and cork, was sold by the Horse Soldier in Gettysburg. The… continue reading

17 year old farm boy Thomas E Sims enlisted as a Private in the Orange Guards – Company G of the 27th North Carolina Infantry – in March 1862. Which is probably when this photograph was taken. He survived the… continue reading

In 1882 one-legged Sharpsburg veteran Willie Thomas Patterson was appointed Bursar of the University of North Carolina, and served in that post for most of the rest of his life, to 1909. He was raised the 5th of 7 children… continue reading

Samuel Hodgman was First Lieutenant of Company I of the 7th Michigan Infantry at Antietam on 17 September 1862. He was wounded in both legs there and spent more than two months in hospitals recovering. He wrote his father Moses… continue reading

This stunning work is by William Sadler II (c. 1782—1839). His father, an English portrait painter and engraver, brought him to Ireland as a boy. William’s son Rupert (c. 1810-1892), also an artist, took his family to America from Ireland in… continue reading

Private James Davis of the famed Irish Brigade was wounded at Antietam on 17 September 1862. His leg was amputated by his regimental surgeon the next day. This photograph is in the National Museum of Health and Medicine’s Otis Historical… continue reading