Why didn’t people smile in those old CW-era photos? Robinson Meyer gives some reasons, I can add a few more. First, it was a serious age. Young men grew beards to look older as soon as they could, quite unlike today when we have men in their 50s who try to look and act like teenagers. Then too, dental hygiene left something to be desired and a lot of people used tobacco (which stained the teeth) and looked better with their mouths closed.
John Plaster takes a look at the use of the rifle in the American Revolution (PDF file).
Gregory D. Bereiter takes an in-depth look at Captain Johann Ewald’s Hessian Jägers in the American Revolution. Although you don’t hear much about them, the German jägers were riflemen who fought for the British and who gave a very good account of themselves against the American riflemen. Ewald’s diary is a great primary source. (PDF file)
UPDATE: Couple of excellent articles by Timothy J. Orr about sharpshooters at Gettysburg.
One is a more general article about the role of sharpshooters on July 3, the other covers the role of the 2nd U.S.S.S. in its critical role of covering the Union left flank on July 2. Both well worth reading (PDF files).
UPDATE II: A local professor here at UNCA thinks he’s found a new photo of Lincoln at Gettysburg. More on the controversy at Smithsonian.
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