Dedicated to the memory
of Sgt. T.
Damson, Co.
C, 1st Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi Regt., C.S.A.
Though it was not the reason every Southerner joined the fight in
the Civil War, slavery had been a cause for north/south friction since
before the founding of the United States. The Southern-block of
Colonies walked out of the Continental Congress, en masse, rather than
have slavery even mentioned in the Declaration of Independence. Many
may tell you that "States' Rights" were the leading reason for the
rebellion. This is like claiming a flood is caused by the levee being
too low.
Regardless of the facts and using the cover of "States' Rights",
the Southern Aristocracy whipped a sectionalistic version of
Nationalism to a high peak. To preserve their cash flow, their
leisurely way of life, and to continue the subjugation of an entire
people; the wealthy and powerful convinced their neighbors that the
North, embodied in Abraham Lincoln, would rob them of their freedom of
self-determination.
In 1861, war finally erupted with the shelling
of the Federal post in the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina.
Newspaper headlines confirmed what many had expected for years.
The Confederate States Army was a combination of well-trained,
professional soldiers; experienced militiamen; lusty adventurers;
patriotic farmers, and bored ne'er-do-wells. Their rag-tag image was
actually misleading.
The CS Army regularly issued equipment and uniform replacements, but
due
to many reasons (not the least that many simply preferred the homespun
cloth from their families) items were traded or sold almost
immediately.
Although, nearer the close of the war, economic pressures and inflation
were causing many shortages.
The insignia illustrated are mainly from the '1861 Army Dress
Regulations'. Many noncoms and officers wore no insignia so as not to
be recognizable in battle. Some noncoms simply drew their chevrons onto
their sleeves
or wore black or brown regardless of branch color.
