Offered here is a rare Civil War period image of a Union First Sergeant, with a Volcanic Pocket Pistol stuffed in his uniform belt. The image appears to have been taken in an ersatz field photo studio with a plain, rumpled canvas backdrop behind him. The solider appears to be wearing a short jacket, possibly state issued, rather than the more commonly encountered standard issue Federal Sack Coat or Frock Coat. The sleeves of the jacket clearly show the three applied chevrons and lozenge that indicate the rank of company 1^st Sergeant. He wears the traditional Pattern 1858 Forage Cap with the enameled leather chin strap with brass buckle clearly visible above the brim. The sergeant is also wearing an NCO baldric with a gold tinted breast plate and the NCO sword scabbard suspended from it. He holds his NCO sword in his right hand at the equivalent of “shoulder arms”. The sword is easily identifiable as a US Model 1840 Non-Commissioned Officer’s sword, rather than the very similar US Model 1840 Musician’s Sword, because both the oval guard and counterguard are visible at the front of the hilt. The nattily dressed sergeant has a white shirt under his uniform jacket and a large cravat tied at this throat. The most interesting item in the photo is the Volcanic Pistol stuffed in the sergeant’s belt. Based upon a size comparison of the sword’s hilt to the pistol, the pistol is probably between 9” and 10” in overall length. Based on that estimated overall length and the comparison of the likely 4” barrel to the frame size of the gun, it is almost certainly a New Haven Arms Company Volcanic Model No 1 Pocket Pistol.

Images of Civil War soldiers armed with Volcanic pistols are scarce enough that this exact image was chosen as the primary image for the first page of the chapter about the military use of Volcanic firearms during the Civil War in Lewis & Rutter’s book Volcanic Firearms. The image appears on page 105 of that book. The image was formerly in the collection of noted 19^th century firearms and firearms image collector Frank Graves.

The image is a 6^th plate tintype that is in about GOOD overall condition and is contained in a well-worn papier mache case that measures 3.67” tall by 3.19” wide. The image is mounted in the conventional manner with a gilt foil matte, glass protective cover and foil border that holds the components together. The case has faded and worn orange-red velvet pillow in the cases cover and trim of the same color. As noted, the case is well worn with a moderate amount of scuffed damage and finish loss on the exterior. The image shows moderate wear, some flaked and worn loss, a few freckles of oxidation and sadly overall indicators that the image was not always cared for in or stored as it should have been. Despite these condition issues and the wear and loss to some of the emulsion, the image and its content remain clearly visible, most especially the Volcanic pistol, the NCO sword and the 1^st sergeant’s chevrons on the jacket.

If you collect rare armed images from the Civil War, particularly published ones, this would be a great addition to your image collection. It would also be wonderful to display with a Volcanic Pocket Pistol. Period images of soldiers with Volcanic firearms are extremely rare, so don’t miss your chance to add this image to your collection.