The Artillery Driver

Part Two, The Persona

By: Dave Fox, Driver Ferguson's Battery

Note: This article first appeared in the Camp Chase Gazette, March of 1997.

Federal Artillery Driver from the book " Hardtack and Coffee "

   A company of City New Orleans Washington Artillery carried eighteen drivers on its muster roll in May, 1861. Throughout the Confederate armies thousands of men served in this capacity, yet, except for a very few photographs and more numerous spirited drawings, paintings and lithographs, the artillery driver of the American Civil War is an invisible man today, rarely an object of post war comment in scholarly works nor current Reenactors' impressions. 

   More's the pity! As pointed out in Part I of this essay, the artillery driver's role was critical to American field artillery of the 1860's, his specialty demanding, and his combat feats often exploring the limits of human valor. Coupled with the obvious requirement of sensitivity to the needs of the animals in his charge, the driver's impression should appeal to "New Age artillery persons"

I. Uniforms 

    Dress of the driver needs differ little from that of any other artillery re-creator, Union or Confederate. There was no distinctive driver's uniform. As a mounted trooper, one might opt for boots although many mounted personnel of the 1860's favored the lace-up brogan, which may surprise some. Usually over-the calf length boots were almost universally worn under the trouser legs . In the Federal service and, to a lesser degree, in the Confederate army, the driver's issue trousers boasted an additional layer of cloth re-enforcing the seat and inside of the legs. Individual soldiers sometimes "organized" their own trouser reinforcement by adding this feature to dismounted trousers; a favorite material was white tent canvas which gave the wearer both. protection and that distinctive look horse soldiers have ever cultivated. Oft times the trousers had a strap running under the instep to keep the pants legs down over the footwear. It is likely leather gauntlets were widely worn by drivers . Handling the reins and harness would be hard on hands and cold weather could render them insensitive if not protected.

II. Accoutrements

 A). The Whip.  My 1863 Charleston edition of the Confederate States Army Ordnance Manual described the artillery driver's whip in the same language as my 1861 U.S. Army ordnance manual, to wit:  1" Stock (rawhide) about 30 inches long. The raw hide is first covered with India-rubber cloth; 1 leather cover, sewed over the India-rubber covering, with a loop in the end well secured; 1 lash (thread) tied to the leather cover; 1 loop for the hand, nailed to the butt of whip with 2 tacks. This whip is obviously one of the distinctive accoutrements of the driver, is easily replicated, but is usually neglected in a Reenactor's persona. It is regularly seen in Civil War art and, at least once, in photography. An original driver's whip in my assortment of junk conforms to the reins and harness would be hard on regulations generally, but is too deteriorated to use at reenactments; so to replicate this driver's tool, used to encourage his team when rapid or difficult hauling was needful for the greater good, I invested a full $8. At Hendersonville's Apple Festival a booth sold seven foot black braided leather whips for $4.50 as novelty items sought, no doubt, by young boys with which to belabor their little sisters. Any tourist trap seems to sport like whips.  A single black spur strap (3.50) was cut in two and screwed securely to the whip pummel to form the wrist strap, the strap's buckle providing adjustment. Trimmed to "about" thirty inches in length, this piece furnishes low cost, high visibility eyewash. 

B). The Sabre Belt. In a perfect world, drivers, as mounted combat troopers, would be issued and wear sabre belts. In the Federal service, this was an M-1851 sabre belt of black buff bridle leather with the rectangular brass eagle plate and silver wreath. Strictly regulation U. S. Artillery sabre belts differed slightly from the U. S. Dragoon and Cavalry models in that there was no provision for the over-the-shoulder support strap. Confederate manufacture sabre belts were often of russet leather and quite frequently used the round spoon-and-wreath plate rather like an earlier U.S. Artillery pattern, but sporting a State devise or raised "CS" in the plate's center. These belts are readily available from sutlers. The granddad of selections, however, is from The Cavalry Shop, P. 0.Box 12122,Richmond VA 23241 $3.00 for their extensive belt plate catalogue, $2.00 for their general catalogue which contains quality leather, gear, and belts.  

C). The Spurs.  For Reenactors, two styles of spur are available in replica: a close copy of the Federal issue, in general use until 1911, and the "Richmond Spur," the product of Tredegar as well as Fayetteville, Macon, and perhaps other depots; apparently a regular Confederate model. The Federal style, worn of course by both sides, runs about $20.00 and is found carried in stock by sutlers such as "Levi Ledbetter" (Frank Lanning, 704-485-4746 after 7 P.M.). The Richmond Spur is likewise available from the Cavalry Shop, is visually the more striking of the two styles, and runs about $35.00. Spur straps come from the same sources and run about $8.00 a pair. 

D). The Haversack, canteen, or blanket roll. The driver was supposed to have access to a leather tube called a valise which was strapped to the off horse saddle. In this detachable storage device he was to store personal effects; precious few personal effects because there was little room. I've never noticed a war-time illustration of artillery horses festooned with the driver's haversack, blanket roll or canteen (I have seen circa WWI photos of canteens slung from gun horses, however), items the driver may then have worn on his person or to some degree stored in the battery wagon, limber box or wherever, although they are of a nature the driver would have preferred to have near at hand. 

E). The Leg guard. This is what sets the driver apart from the common herd. It stimulates conversation with civilians and other Reenactors alike; a visually impressive object unique to the postillion impression and little understood. The leather and iron leg guard remained unchanged for more than 100 years beginning in the 1830's. It is my opinion all original leg guards are pre-1866 manufacture, the Army merely drawing down This replica is superb. The heaviest weight of leather, excellent strapping with proper Japanned black buckles, proper iron guard plate all impeccably assembled, sewed and riveted. This reproduction is so good it would doubtless have passed Army quartermaster inspection in the finicky, picky period just prior to the War. Great quality for the dollar. Only problem: wash the dye off the inside else it will stain your pant leg. For $55.00, this item is a true bargain.

III. Weapons

A). Shoulder weapons. Except for dismounted service, it is highly unlikely any significant number of drivers slung a carbine, musketoon, rifle or musket while on the job in the 1860's. 

B).  The Sabre. The M- 1840 artillery sabre was in service twenty years before the War (and forty years thereafter) and was available from prewar stocks and wartime manufacture. I have a fairly faithful rebel made copy of the M1840, thus it was considered important enough to devote scarce Southern resources to manufacture. The throw-away argument that the M1840 was discarded generally the first days of the of the War appears only partially true: Troiani's recent illustration of an 1862 Louisiana Washington Artillery man shows the sabre being worn. In addition, drivers are illustrated wearing the M-1840 sabre throughout the war. It seems, at least for a driver's impression, a valid accoutrement. Numerous sources offer replica M- 1840 artillery sabres the cheapest I've seen is an $85.00 number from Upper Mississippi Valley Mercantile Company, 1505 West 17th Street, Davenport, Iowa 52804. 

C). Handguns.  Although the general knowledge holding that enlisted artillery men were ordered to turn-in their hand weapons in 1862 is true, it is only partially so: these orders seem to have been limited to the Army of Northern Virginia and even then it didn't appear to apply to drivers. For drivers suffice to say a pistol or revolver was a necessary tool. Just as the mahout carried a mallet to drive a stake into the brain of a war elephant gone berserk, so the driver had to be prepared to dispatch a crazed or wounded artillery horse which, in its distress, fouled its other team members and, thrashing, injured them in turn. Cutting the throat of such an excited animal would, even if feasible, have left long seconds of continued thrashing while the doomed beast pumped gallons of life's blood out of the wound, the odor of which alone would have crazed the other horses. Thus, from page 99 of Downey's The Guns of Gettysburg relating to an incident in the July 2, 1863 of the battered Richmond Howitzers: "Cannoneers with pistols were crawling around through the wreck (of the battery) shooting the struggling horses to save the lives of the wounded men". 

D). The Knives. Another tool particularly useful in an emergency to the driver would be a knife. Many soldiers carried clasp knives, but it took two hands to get one open and the short blade was not able to chop or slash through heavy harness leather to cut a horse free as the easily one-handed belt or "side" knife beloved by Confederate troops. 

In conclusion, I commend to you the artillery driver for your better understanding and, perhaps, consideration as a reenactment persona. This little essay constitutes by far the longest work I've personally seen on the subject, leaving a worthy, neglected area for study in an otherwise crowded re-creators' field.