Hi Alix,
Neat find, but it might not be Grant. Though 19th C. artists aren't
particularly notable for emphasis on verisimilitude, this doesn't
really look that much like Grant, outside of the beard. Also, from the
picture it looks like he might have an eagle in the shoulder strap (at
least, on his right side), which would suggest he is a colonel, not a
general, and therefore probably not Grant. The fragmentary button
pattern on his jacket looks like it might be evenly spaced, like a
colonel's buttons would be, not clustered as a general officer's would
be.
Carl
On Wed, Jan 13, 2016 at 3:58 PM, Alix Martin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi All,
> Here is a photo
> <https://www.dropbox.com/s/0naqt1vurnllciv/2016-01-13%2015.20.42.jpg?dl=0>
> of a small mug fragment we uncovered during this past summer's excavations
> at a circa 1800 house, at Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH. The
> house's longest stretch of occupation was by an Irish immigrant family who
> moved in as tenants in the mid-1800s, and later purchased the house in the
> 1870s, remaining there until the matriarch died in 1909. This sherd was
> uncovered from fill right below the front entry stairs that included
> everything from 20th c. screws to 18th c. ceramics, but obviously dates
> itself to sometime after the Civil War. My lab volunteers have been
> combing Google images for look-a-like soldiers -- so far there are two bets
> on Ulysses S. Grant based on the stars on the shoulder marks. Any ideas on
> who and when this represents? Was there a 19th c. set of commemorative
> Union soldier mugs out there?
> Thank you! Nice to see some of you last week at SHA!
> Best,
> Alix
>
>
> Alexandra Martin, M.A., RPA
> Archaeologist, Strawbery Banke Museum
> Lecturer, University of New Hampshire
> PhD Candidate, The College of William & Mary
> http://digsstrawberybanke.blogspot.com/
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