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
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
This small leather wallet is typical of the kind carried by Civil War soldiers, found with two period newspaper clippings inside. – Maryland Historical Society
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
During the Pratt Street Riot, Baltimore City police used revolvers like this one, which descended in the Reeder family of Maryland. – Maryland Historical Society
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
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
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
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a national veterans’ organization formed immediately after the Civil War. – Maryland Historical Society
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
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
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
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