By 1st Sgt. Koepp
For my birthday last week, Mrs. 1st Sgt really nailed it by tracking down a Maine antique dealer and getting me these wonderful items as gifts. I attempted to take as high a resolution scan as I could should anyone want to reproduce them for their impression. These fun pieces of history also came from the seller with detailed histories explaining the items.
The hand endorsed Sanford, Maine bank note depicts the well known textile industry around the area. That industry certainly played an important role in the war effort Due to inflation, bank notes were often seen as more reliable and could have been found in a soldier's pocket on the front lines. A soldier could redeem them at the bank, say, if they went home for furlough. The note measures 6 3/4" x 1 13/16".
The next image, the pasteboard box measures 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" x 1 1/16". It's wrapped in white paper with what looks like a textured surface with red borders. J.A. Merrill was Portland's largest military and society goods dealer The label measures 2 1/8" wide by 1 9/16".
The final item is something I really enjoyed learning about. It is a bounty loan coupon from Parsonfield. The recruiting quotas and the draft in Maine caused great strains as much of it's economy needed able bodied men to cut trees, fish, and farm. To help town leaders meet the burdensome recruiting quotas, towns would often raise funds to host their own enlistment bounties to encourage people to join the army. For the many towns strapped for cash they would get loans from banks to issue bonds. A soldier could get his bounty coupon and cash it in when it matured. This example matured in 1866 which would mean it was issued in 1864. This delicate piece of history measures 2 3/4" x 1 1/8".
If you portray a soldier from a Maine unit like Company D, it wouldn't be surprising to have any one of these items on you. I plan on displaying the originals with the rest of my antiques collection but certainly plan on recreating them for use in reenacting. These simple but wonderful items are great reminders to us researchers to expand our study for soldier artifacts back to the hometowns. Soldiers took items from home with them and regularly received care packages from friends and loved ones. Personal and local items like these I feel are underrepresented in the hobby where too many people fixate only on issued military equipment. I hope these help to inspire your future research. If you do plan on recreating these and have further questions, let us know on Facebook.
For my birthday last week, Mrs. 1st Sgt really nailed it by tracking down a Maine antique dealer and getting me these wonderful items as gifts. I attempted to take as high a resolution scan as I could should anyone want to reproduce them for their impression. These fun pieces of history also came from the seller with detailed histories explaining the items.
The hand endorsed Sanford, Maine bank note depicts the well known textile industry around the area. That industry certainly played an important role in the war effort Due to inflation, bank notes were often seen as more reliable and could have been found in a soldier's pocket on the front lines. A soldier could redeem them at the bank, say, if they went home for furlough. The note measures 6 3/4" x 1 13/16".
The next image, the pasteboard box measures 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" x 1 1/16". It's wrapped in white paper with what looks like a textured surface with red borders. J.A. Merrill was Portland's largest military and society goods dealer The label measures 2 1/8" wide by 1 9/16".
The final item is something I really enjoyed learning about. It is a bounty loan coupon from Parsonfield. The recruiting quotas and the draft in Maine caused great strains as much of it's economy needed able bodied men to cut trees, fish, and farm. To help town leaders meet the burdensome recruiting quotas, towns would often raise funds to host their own enlistment bounties to encourage people to join the army. For the many towns strapped for cash they would get loans from banks to issue bonds. A soldier could get his bounty coupon and cash it in when it matured. This example matured in 1866 which would mean it was issued in 1864. This delicate piece of history measures 2 3/4" x 1 1/8".
If you portray a soldier from a Maine unit like Company D, it wouldn't be surprising to have any one of these items on you. I plan on displaying the originals with the rest of my antiques collection but certainly plan on recreating them for use in reenacting. These simple but wonderful items are great reminders to us researchers to expand our study for soldier artifacts back to the hometowns. Soldiers took items from home with them and regularly received care packages from friends and loved ones. Personal and local items like these I feel are underrepresented in the hobby where too many people fixate only on issued military equipment. I hope these help to inspire your future research. If you do plan on recreating these and have further questions, let us know on Facebook.
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