my new figure ACW

[mister greg]

scale 54mm, southman CS :

 

[Sambaman]

Nicely done! Like the flag!

Jay H.
OKC

 

[eissteban]

salut greg
il est agréable de voir d'excellents sculpteurs Français sur Planet
J'ai regardé tes précédentes réalisations ... Vraiment magnifique.
Pitite question, sais-tu comment je pourrai trouver (ou réaliser) des fusils chassepot en masse ?
J'ai déjà ceux d'ICM mais j'en ai besoin de plus pour un diorama.

D'avance merci et encore bravo pour le travail accompli ... et à venir

Seb.

 

[mister greg]

merci les gars pour les encouragements,

Seb : mon adresse e-mail [email protected]

écris moi en privé pour les chassepot j'ai un filon

 

[megroot]

great sculpted figure.
Hope to see it painted very soon.

marc

 

[Kandor8]

Very nice! Like the attitude.
Best!
Ric

 

[garyjd]

Very nicely sculpted. Colorbearers did not carry weapons, as their main responsibility was carrying the colors. The men assigned to the color guard would be entrusted with protecting the color Sergeant as well as the colors. I'm curious as to the references for the jacket/coat he is wearing. It is cut like a sack coat but has the button configuration of a shell jacket. Though maybe not as common as a jacket or frock your Confederate could be wearing a sack coat with a 4-5 button front. At first I thought the figure was a Union Colorbearer until reading the title more closely.~Gary

 

[Anders Heintz]

Nice sculpt! I especially like the relaxed pose and the positioning of the head.

Gary,

Do you have solid reference that no color bearers ever wore a side arm? Seems reasonable for a guy in battle to atleast pack a side arm, and is perfectly logical. Even if they were not issued a weapon it would not have been hard to aquire one after a battle. Then again, I may very well be wrong and no one ever carried a side arm, but I'd like to know the source for such a statement.

 

[Djoubri M]

Beau travail.

 

[vergilius]

very beautiful

 

[georges64]

Magnifique,aura t'on le plaisir de la trouver dans le commerce ?
georges

 

[garyjd]

Gary,

Do you have solid reference that no color bearers ever wore a side arm? Seems reasonable for a guy in battle to atleast pack a side arm, and is perfectly logical. Even if they were not issued a weapon it would not have been hard to aquire one after a battle. Then again, I may very well be wrong and no one ever carried a side arm, but I'd like to know the source for such a statement.

Anders,

Given the job of a color bearer, the color guard itself was given the job of protecting the flag and the man carrying it, and thus were armed. Color guards typically were NOT to fire their weapons unless the colors were "especially threatened". Unit flags were the focal point of a unit, be it leading an assault or trying to rally a broken unit. Aside from photographic evidence that shows color guards armed except the color sergeant. There are a number of accounts of color sergeants being killed that were well within range to use a pistol (providing they had one). Color Sergeant Ben Crippen of the 143rd Pennsylvania who was killed at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863 is a good example. Crippen turned several times to face the oncoming Confederates shaking his fist while carrying a state flag daring them to take it. Now if you had a pistol would that not make for a better weapon than just shaking your fist? Though it seems logical to have something to protect yourself with, you now really give the color bearer a secondary job as an armed soldier. I would think this takes away from the job at hand, hence the number of accounts where a color bearer is grappling with the enemy to save his flag when the opposing side got that close. I would think it easier to snatch a flag being held by one hand while the other blazes away with a pistol as opposed to a person hanging on for dear life with two. Let's say that there were a number (a small one) of color bearers that were armed. Let's then see the documentation on those regiments where the bearer was armed. I would say a sculptor would have a harder task supporting their representation as opposed to an unarmed bearer. If I were to find or see period info that says Lucius Montague III carried a Colt revolver for the 2 hours he was a color bearer with the 435th Virginia infantry at the Battle of Wal-Mart field, then there it is. It's doubtful I would buy the "he found it on the field" theory, especially if it is meant to depict a specific unit where the bearer did not carry a weapon. Taking the "what if" route starts to sound too much like "fantasy history". I did this without going too much into the books, so If you want pictures or more eyewitness accounts I'll dig more stuff up. I do not expect folks to agree with my view on the subject, it is just the conclusion I've arrived at after studying the subject.~Gary

 

[quang]

Hello Gary,

Thank you for a fascinating account of the role of color bearers (and colour sergeants) on the battlefield.

I tried to tackle such a subject once but had to shelve it because I never found anything as clear and definitive as your post. Now I know where to turn to should I want to resume my project.

Quang

 

[Manfred]

Tres bien mister greg !

 

[mister greg]

thank you at all!

and thank you Gary for your good history. you know I carved the revolver for "the balance", but I didn't kwnow that the bearer didn't armed.

for the jacket, it's my imagination between jacket and Shell jacket because I think that many soldiers of the south got dressed with clothing which they found (during the war and not at the beginning)?

sorry for my bad english

Greg

 

[garyjd]

thank you at all!

and thank you Gary for your good history. you know I carved the revolver for "the balance", but I didn't kwnow that the bearer didn't armed.

for the jacket, it's my imagination between jacket and Shell jacket because I think that many soldiers of the south got dressed with clothing which they found (during the war and not at the beginning)?

sorry for my bad english

Greg

Greg, Your choice of a jacket and the reason goes back to the "ragged rebel" myth we all read about. Sure there were times when soldiers were wanting for various articles of clothing or clothing was patched. From my reading it appears soldiers in the Eastern theater of the war may have fared better than those in the West. It was not the lack of clothing that would leave soldiers without clothing, rather a lack of being able to transport these items that were in fairly large supply at times to the men that needed them. If you choose to use your immagination in the creation of a figure be prepared to be asked questions when people see a uniform or item that looks questionable. As for giving your bearer a pistol, that is up to you. The manuals do not mention weapons being carried by the colorbearer. My opinion is based on period photographs and eyewitness accounts. Though Civil War references may be hard to come by in Europe, they are plentiful here. If in the future you have any questions or need information or pictures on something I'd be more than happy to help you out. If I cannot find the answer I have a few sources where I could more than likely find it at.~Gary

 

[Dan Morton]

Just to carry this thread a little farther...It might be a good idea to identify a group of uniform, equipment and weapons (for want of a better word) "experts", so that those in need of info might know who to ask beforehand.

I know zip about the ACW, Revolutionary War, etc., etc., but I know a bit about the Great War and would be willing to help out in that area. And have done so in the past, hopefully not misleading too much. So far I have an image and text database of about 1.5 Gb all devoted to the First War & cross-indexed by uniforms, equipment, weapons, nation, illustrations, photos, etc. And I'm adding to it all the time.

Just a suggestion,

All the best,
Dan

 

[garyjd]

Just to carry this thread a little farther...It might be a good idea to identify a group of uniform, equipment and weapons (for want of a better word) "experts", so that those in need of info might know who to ask beforehand.

Dan

Dan, Though I'm far from an authority on the areas I have an interest in I've always been willing to share what information I have with others. I think it's a great idea. There are a number of Pf members that have interests that lie in only one or two periods and are quite knowledgable. I'm in if such a tool could be offered here.~Gary

 

[Jason W.]

I found him!

If I were to find or see period info that says Lucius Montague III carried a Colt revolver for the 2 hours he was a color bearer with the 435th Virginia infantry at the Battle of Wal-Mart field, then there it is.

I was at that battle. "A great and terrible day". I recall my pard, private John Candy, came upon a rebel color bearer in the open wielding a pistol and yelling wildly, "Lets go git those blue bellies!" Needless to say, lacking in intestinal fortitude, John beat a hasty retreat back to our lines.

Meet Lucius Montague III (1820-?). Color Bearer. 435th Virginia

 

[Dan Morton]

:0!!!!!! The Battle at Wal-Mart. References differ on the outcome, but everybody got a good buy and sampled some snack foods from nice ladies in aisles 9 and 14.

Gordy - Can you oblige us and set up a subfile in References? I'm open to suggestions about what it should look like. Gary and Jason W as sources for the ACW. I think my Yorkshire naval compadre Roger Newsome would be another good source on the Great War.

All the best,
Dan