Research Arsenal

10/02/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week we asked you to take a guess at what was in the crates behind the captain in the photograph. The answer is hardtack! Captain J.W. Forsyth, Provost Marshall even sitting on a crate of "Army Bread" in the photo.

Photo: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/5101

10/01/2026

Digitizing your collection is something that I have recommended in several past posts, and for most cases, that is a pretty straightforward thing to do. Photograph your objects and scan your photographs. But diaries and other bound archive material can be a bit more difficult. This quick guide using an overhead scanner may give you some helpful tips to digitize diaries and other bound books without damaging them.

Whenever you’re digitizing something, making sure that the original item is not damaged in the process is the most important goal. Scanning bound books can be damaging when using a flatbed scanner. Opening the book wide, placing it facedown on the glass, and then closing a lid and pressing that down creates stress on the binding. For old books, that stress can be especially catastrophic and you may end up with a split binding, separated pages, or even tearing. To combat this, I recommend using an overhead scanner.

I recommend using an overhead scanner whenever digitizing diaries or any other bound material. The CZUR scanner line is excellent for this.

09/30/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, what do you think are in the crates behind the captain here? Post your guesses below and check back Friday for the answer!

09/28/2026

Joseph Patterson was born in December, 1847 to Robert Patterson and Elizabeth (Gilles) Patterson. He was not yet 14 years old when he enlisted as a drummer in Company I, 90th Pennsylvania Infantry on September 24, 1861. His extreme youth offers a unique perspective on the war and military life.

The letters in our collection begin in May, 1862, when Joseph Patterson and the 90th Pennsylvania Infantry were stationed near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Joseph Patterson started his letter with an admonishment to his parents for sending him things by way of a lieutenant without telling him the lieutenant’s name or regiment.

“But you say you sent a pair of gaiters by a lieutenant. I have not seen lieutenant, letter or gaiters yet. I don’t think I will ever see them. I think it is dumb in you sending them by him. You did not tell me who he is nor where to go look for him nor what regiment he is in.”

Joseph Patterson mentioned that he met with another cousin, Bill, also serving in the Union Army.

“I seen cousin Bill a couple a days ago and you would not know [him]—he looked as old as Uncle did when he was out there. I did not know him. He says he could make more home now that where he is. Aunt died last fall or spring, I don’t know which, and he could live better now than that time. He is well now and sends his love and respects to you. He is going to Philadelphia if they get discharged in Harrisburg.”

Towards the end of the letter, Joseph Patterson revealed that he had evidently caused some trouble at home before enlisting in the army.

“Now Father, if I don’t never return home, one out of family is not any loss. I was always a bad boy [at] home, but I have changed now. I look and feel more of a man now. I am able to take care of myself [even] if I don’t have anybody to take care of me.”

He also implored his parents not to believe any rumors about him and swore he would never desert the regiment.

Read the rest on the blog!

Joseph Patterson was born in December, 1847 to Robert Patterson and Elizabeth (Gilles) Patterson. He was not yet 14 years old when he enlisted as a drummer in

09/25/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week we asked you to identify an object from it's description in the 1865 Quartermaster's Manual. The answer is a Sibley tent pole!

Here is the description:
"Sibley, tent pole— of white pine wood, 9 feet long, 3 inches in diameter, at a distance of 3 feet from the lower end, tapering to 2 1/4 inches at top, and 2 1/2 inches at bottom; spindle, or gudgeon, of 11-16 inch round galvanized iron, 6 inches long, pointed at one end, securely inserted in top of pole, around which is fastened, with 4 screws, a galvanized iron band, of 1/8 inch iron, 2 1/4 inches diameter and 2 inches wide."

Photo: Fort Richardson-1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery with Sibley tents on the left. https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/69360

Quartermaster's Manual: https://app.researcharsenal.com/quartermaster-manuals/153

09/24/2026

The Research Arsenal is proud to be digitizing and adding historical records of Civil War regiments held at the National Archives to our online database so that researchers and historians can access material that previously required a trip to Washington D.C. The 1st New York Light Artillery is one of the many regiments that has been added to our database.

The Research Arsenal is proud to hold 1,296 digital scans of the 1st New York Light Artillery’s regimental history on its database. These consist of 1,250 pages of material from the National Archives Records Group 94 files. This comprises Descriptive books, Morning Reports, and Order books.

The Research Arsenal has added over 1,200 pages of material from the National Archives of the 1st New York Light Artillery regiment

09/23/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, can you identify this item from the 1865 Quartermaster's Manual?

"of white pine wood, 9 feet long, 3 inches in diameter, at a distance of 3 feet from the lower end, tapering to 2 1/4 inches at top, and 2 1/2 inches at bottom; spindle, or gudgeon, of 11-16 inch round galvanized iron, 6 inches long, pointed at one end, securely inserted in top, around which is fastened, with 4 screws, a galvanized iron band, of 1/8 inch iron, 2 1/4 inches diameter and 2 inches wide."

Post your guesses below and check back Friday for the answer!

09/21/2026

Mahlon Thatcher was born in 1821 to John and Charlotte Thatcher of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. He later moved to Boston and worked as a salesman. In 1850 he married Julia Wallace and the couple had three children together before Mahlon enlisted in the Union army on June 26, 1862.

Though Mahlon Thatcher enlisted in late June, 1862, his path to the 40th Massachusetts Infantry was a complicated one. He first enlisted in the 32nd Massachusetts Infantry, was then transferred to the 35th Massachusetts, and then when the captain of his company in the 35th Massachusetts failed to get a commission, he was transferred again to Company B of the 40th Massachusetts Infantry. Fearing that the many transfers might lead to trouble with receiving his pay if something happened to him, Mahlon detailed the sequence in a letter to his wife written around September, 1862.

“Dear Julia, I wrote this to you so if it should be my sad fate to fall in the coming battles, you might know how much was coming to you from the government. I suppose you know that I enlisted and was mustered into the service of the United States on the twenty-sixth day of June, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two by Captain John M. M. Goodhue, then the mustering-in officer of Boston. I enlisted for the Thirty-second regiment under Lieutenant Nat Wales who was afterwards promoted to Adjutant of the Thirty-fifth Regiment. So if there should be any trouble of getting my money, you can show them this letter. I was transferred to the Thirty-fifth Regiment by the order of Colonel H. Day, the military commandant of Massachusetts and the captain that I was transferred to did not get his commission. I was transferred to the Fortieth under Captain D[aniel] H. Johnson’s Company B.”

Read more on the blog.

Mahlon Thatcher was born in 1821 to John and Charlotte Thatcher of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. He later moved to Boston and worked as a salesman. In 1850 he

09/18/2026

For our What's it Wednesday post this week, we asked you to identify the location this photograph was taken and what the occasion was. This is a photo of the Grand Review parade on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC in May of 1865. The U.S. Capitol building is visible in the background.

Photo: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/4720

09/17/2026

Although the National WWII Museum is a bit further forward in time than Civil War collectors, the concept of preserving uniforms, fi****ms, photographs, and paper, is much the same. Their website is a fantastic resource for the private collector, so I thought it would be helpful to distill some of their key collection preservation tips down for Civil War collectors.

The National WWII Museum champions the principle “Do No Harm”, offering clear, practical guidance to help preserve such treasures for future generations. You’ll recognize the “Do no harm” motto as something I have repeated in previous posts—do not do anything to your collection that is not reversible! Put down those ballpoint pens! (If you know, you know…)

I have distilled some of the the National WWII Museum's key collection preservation tips down for Civil War collectors. From uniforms to fi****ms, and more.