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Rare “US” marked Civil War boots: Typical 1860s boots made with side seams and one piece fronts. The fronts are augmented with a grafted extension that reaches the knee and makes the front higher than the rear. This is the style used by mounted men in the cavalry and artillery. Has classic square toes, pegged soles, and nailed heels. Leather pulls sewn on each side of uppers, brown in tone from a different tanning process.
via Dave Taylor’s Civil War Antiques
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The Thrills of War
…. highlights from a recent design research field trip I took to the Museum of the Confederacy here in good old Richmond, Virginia.
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Smoke Rings and the Solid Old Man
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close-up detail of shoe variations on dead confederate soldiers
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The Thrills of War, The Homespun Uniform, 1861
- an ambitiously armed early war confederate volunteer wearing an very unusual battleshirt with a high crowned- conically shaped- bee-hive style hat
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Avenge Ellsworth’s Death!
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Most Rare Civil War Union Navy Enlisted Man’s Summer Weight Uniform of Moses Post of the USS Resolute, 1862 - 1865. Moses Post, born in New York City, enlisted in the U. S. Navy at the Washington Navy Yard on June 13, 1862, serving at that station until ordered aboard the USS Resolute on August 5, serving aboard that vessel for the remainder of the war, until his discharge on May 15, 1865. At the time he enlisted, Post was eighteen years old and listed as a “Landsman”, although he later listed his trade as cooper.
This uniform was passed down through Post’s family until sold to a well known Civil War dealer in 1995 by his grand daughter, then 88 years old, and from that time to the present were treasured pieces in the celebrated maritime collection of the late Welles Henderson. Both the jumper and the trousers are fabricated of white plain weave linen and hand sewn throughout. The waistband and broadfall of the trousers are piped or “feathered’ with blue cotton, while the cuffs and broad collar of the frock/jumper are faced with blue silk, decoratively top stitched with white silk thread or twist, and trimmed at the corners with embroidered white stars of the same twist. The trousers utilize white four hole porcelain buttons, with draw strings at the back and sides along with the classic ‘flap’ front. Wonderful condition overall, just some minor scattered stains and signs of light honest wear.
The USS Resolute was a wooden screw tug, built in Keyport, New Jersey and purchased by the U. S. Navy on 7 May 1861. She was commissioned five days later and became part of the Potomac Flotilla, seeing her first action on May 29th against the Confederate shore batteries at Aquia Creek, Va. The Resolute remained in action, both in actions against shore emplacements, and the capture or destruction of numerous Confederate vessels throughout the war, until decommissioned at war’s end.
The uniform is accompanied by a considerable amount of supporting paperwork including a notarized affidavit attesting to its ownership by Post. One of the finest enlisted Civil War U. S. Navy uniforms we’ve ever offered, with an absolutely superb history -
CIRCA 1860’s U. S. CIVIL WAR FOLK ART PAINTED WOOD CARVING OF A ZOUAVE SOLDIER
available now on Ebay… -
Hats and Headwear, 1863
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Dirty Boots circa 1865, an artifact from the People’s History of Costume brought to you by the Cowboy Prince Himself
I am a folk artist creating and living what I call “atmospheric, time travel art”, a folk art living history revival in which I put into the action the words of Thoreau when he beautifully proclaimed ….
““We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us even in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavour. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.”
― Henry David Thoreau
I swear, Isnt that incredible? I shook when I first read it, and then smiled realizing exactly what living art would look like. For me I want my art to be something that isnt turned off or on; put simply just on a canvas or stitched into a shirt- No I want to live my art. When I walk down the street, or grocery shop, tailor, communicate with fellows, everything, all aspects of my life… From my 19th century everyday influenced dressing style, to my dirty wild hair, to my rustic Cracker Barrel aesthetic house, to my individual art projects and yet even more importantly from my everyday interactions with people, my choices, my handshakes, my sense of morality, and overall and most signficantly my intentionality.
Moreover I want to live well.
My faith as a Transcendentalist and artist has unfurled a whole new world before my eyes, in which I am invited and inspired and cant help but live outloud, engaged, wildly, boldly, intentionally and very colorfully.
Nicknamed the “Cowboy Prince” , my childhood was spent in coonskin caps and cowboy boots, getting into all sorts of adventures climbing trees and hiding in bushes, baking cookies, and making costumes out of my sisters clothing. I always wanted to live in a different time period, and dappled with a ten year addiction to Civil War reenacting, excessive book reading, tap dancing and yet still cannot shake my passion for all things past. I figured I might as well embrace it fully.
The greatest thing that happened to me as I got older was learning how to sew, and with that initial introduction to art, it later led to other gateway mediums such as painting, quilting and sculpture. I am now embarking on a most glorious journey in search of my own El Dorado. I am currently an apprentice costume designer, pattern maker, and tailor and am working hard to become a designer for films and eventually open my own tailor shop “Custer’s Last Waistband”.
This online periodical I have set up is an attempt at categorizing and most importantly sharing the nostalgic yearnings of my heart with a larger audience. These grainy images and artifacts are what truly turn me on. It is a way for me as an adult to maintain my sense of childhood wonder- which I feel is truly important for successful contentment- and furthermore cultivate it into the very atmosphere in which I dwell.
Well welcome y’all, set yourself down and rest a while- Lord knows! I got biscuits in the oven, while we remember and re-envision our world.
Welcome to the Cowboy Prince Castille
Ride Boldly Ride,
-Charlie C. Umhau
*for my own work, check out:
www.charliecumhau.com
