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Nice idea, but the accoutrements are not 100% accurate. The box drawings are actually more-accurate than the figures.
In the case of the "End of War" pair, the Reb is carrying what looks like a wooden Gardner canteen (acceptable), while the Union soldier ALSO has a wooden canteen (totally inaccurate). The Union soldier's cartridge box is early war English issue, not acceptable for 1865 (the correct box appears in the drawing from what I can see). The Johnny Reb has an English box as well, which is POSSIBLE but highly unlikely. The Union soldier's cap box is accurate in the drawing, but inaccurate in the casting.
"A Quick Rest" has the soldier leaning on a 2-band rifle, which were rare among the rank & file. The Union out-produced the South in long arms from a string of arsenals such as Springfield, MA (whose museum is outstanding for anyone interested in Civil War-era guns). His knapsack is a Mexican War hard pack, again, inaccurate for anything but very Early War.
I did almost 20 years of Civil War reenacting on both sides as both an infantry snuffy, an NCO and an officer, but can't comment on the Union cavalry accoutrements.
Thanks, Bill!
Dedicated figure-modelers shouldn't have much trouble in correcting what you've pointed out. If we wanted to split hairs, some Union and Confederate soldiers went to war with their own "home-supplied" accoutrements, especially in the volunteer units. I'm not arguing what you've said; MB has chosen to "model" a couple of these figures as belonging to specific Union units, so I think that your observations are about 99.99% correct! Congrats on being a real "Eagle-eye"!!!
The illustration versus the sculpt is strange. The Yank tunic in the sculpture seems too short for a sack coat but too long for a shell jacket. Actually looks like a chasseur jacket as worn by certain zouave regiments late in the war. The illustration has boots, the sculpture has leggings like a zouave? That would also explain the strange equipment as some regiments maintained their own individual sources of supply?
As for the Reb all bets are off.
I just have a pile of books and the Yank looks like a plate of a private from a zouave regiment.
Hi, Steve & Everyone Else!
To add to what Steve and Bill have already mentioned, consider this:
While it's true that Billy Yanks were better-supplied than Johnny Rebs, I mentioned earlier that there were Union Volunteer Units (Regiments) that supplied their own accoutrements, and I should have mentioned that some of these Volunteer Regiments supplied their own Uniforms, sometimes even at the Regiments' Commander's own expense. There were times when the men of BOTH Union and Rebel armies were forced into long, protracted campaigns which took a mighty toll in not only their Uniforms, but their shoes, weapons and EVERYTHING ELSE that one could think of. Soldiers from BOTH sides scavenged among their enemies' and their OWN dead and wounded, just to survive. And then, there was looting the surrounding civilian populace. There were even Rebel Units that fought garbed in "Union Blue" and Union Units that fought in "Rebel Gray", not to be confused with the Rebels' "Butternut Gray", which wasn't GRAY at all. WHO KNOWS WHAT MAY have transpired which wasn't recorded for posterity..?
Zouave articles of clothing? Of COURSE they were worn, even if the "Snuffies" weren't Zouaves! All manner of headgear was worn as well- How many different styles and designs of ACW Kepis were there, even within Squad-sized units of BOTH sides? Wow many "Slouch" hats, Derbies/Bowlers, straw Boaters or Skimmers, hard Kossuth Hats or even cut-up womens' Bonnets. Trousers? The possibilities are nearly endless when one considers the hardships that ACW Soldiers had to endure while on campaign. Leggings were also worn on both sides, whether they were the "lace-up" or the "button-up" kind. Shoes wore out so quickly that Commanders on both sides complained to their superiors and Quartermaster-Generals in Washington and in Richmond on an almost daily basis... The short answer is, "We'll Never Know WHAT EXACTLY the Men of the American Civil War Wore At Any Given Time", except when these details were meticulously recorded. Naturally, there is photographic, hand-drawn and painted evidence, but the latter two were created "on-the-spot", and more accurately, "from memory". And of course, there are actual surviving articles of clothing, weapons, accoutrements, printed and written documentation to go by. Even as recently as TODAY, Soldiers around the world STILL manage to show even the slightest bits of individuality in their dress and equipments...
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I'm ready and willing to "correct" any outright falsifications or mistakes when it concerns my modeling needs. I'm lucky enough to have gained the experience in being able to do so. Making any changes or corrections on these figures will pose NO problems for yours truly...