Research Arsenal

01/26/2026

Kimball Pearsons was born in Collins, New York, on October 11, 1831, to Amos and Mary (Bartlett) Pearsons. Amos died in 1850 and Mary died in 1859. Kimball Pearsons married Elizabeth “Betsey” Harris on July 4, 1861. Sadly, Betsey Harris died not long afterward of tuberculosis on June 1, 1862. Her death and Kimball Pearsons’ grief led him to enlisting in the 10th New York Cavalry shortly afterward on August 28, 1862.

Serving alongside Kimball Pearsons in Company L of the 10th New York Cavalry was his close friend Joseph Matthews. Together, Kimball Pearsons and Joseph Matthews sent over a hundred letters back home, mostly to Kimball’s sister, Harriett, and her husband William Press. Also frequently mentioned in the letters are Harriett’s young daughters, Ida and May Press.

On October 12, 1862, Kimball Pearsons wrote to his sister and gave her a description of how he and the other men passed the time while they waited for their company to obtain the necessary number of recruits.

“Maybe you would like to know how I have passed the day. Well in the first place I got up and washed me in a few minutes, formed in line with the rest for roll call. Then came breakfast then a few 12 or 16 played a game of ball. Then an hour or so of drill then Bela Dexter cut my hair, and I cut his, and Daniel Brown’s, then sat around and lazed around till dinner time. Then we played two games of ball after dinner, drilled an hour and lazed around until supper time. We had Potatoes, beef coffee bread and butter for breakfast, Pork & Beans beef & bread and water for dinner, Pudding and Rice and Milk and Butter for Supper, and this evening I am writing for you. We have dancing in our shanty about every other night. One of our company has a fiddle. Some play Chess some Checkers, some cards some read and some do what they are a mind to every day.”

Kimball Pearsons was born in Collins, New York, on October 11, 1831, to Amos and Mary (Bartlett) Pearsons. Amos died in 1850 and Mary died in 1859. Kimball

01/23/2026

The answer to this week's What's it Wednesday is a Haversack! Below is the full description from the 1865 Quartermaster Manual.

"Haversacks-to be made of 3/4 yard of 7/8 cotton or pure linen drilling, to weigh 6 ounces to the yard; 1/2 yard of 3/4 cotton or pure linen drilling, of same material as sack, for the pocket; 3 white metal suspender buttons, 2 1/2 skeins of W. B. linen thread, No. 35; one 5/8 inch roller buckle, having a leather strap and loop strongly sewed on the sack, with two rows of stitches, of not less than 6 each, all of the thread used for sewing to be well waxed and strong; a leather strap 7 inches long and 5/8 inch wide, punched with 6 holes, at equal distances, to receive the tongue of buckle, and to be sewed on in the same manner, with the same kind of thread, and same number of stitches; the sling of carrying strap, to be of the same material as sack, and doubled; to be from 40 to 45 inches long and 2 inches wide, strongly sewed on sack, with 2 rows of stitches near the outer edges; the pocket to button-on the inside of sack ; the outside of the sack, with the strap, to be painted with the same material as for a knapsack. Bottom of sack, 3 1/2 inches wide; back, from top of flap to bottom of sack, 16 1/2 inches long; depth of sack, 11 1/4 inches; width of sack, 12 1/2 inches; depth of pocket, 11 inches; and width of pocket, 11 1/2 inches."

See the manual description here: https://app.researcharsenal.com/quartermaster-manuals/90

Photo of unidentified soldier in courier uniform wearing a haversack: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/2492

01/22/2026

What are you doing to keep track of your collection?

The last two weeks we’ve discussed the importance of a well-documented private collection, and this week we’re going to dive into some ways to keep all of that information with your items. Although this “can” be done with paper, pencil and a filing cabinet, I strongly recommend you go the digital route. I know we all love our historic things, but record-keeping should definitely be in a 21st century style.

We’ve discussed the importance of a well-documented private collection, and this week we’re going to discuss ways to keep that information with your items.

01/21/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, we're back in the Quartermaster manuals. What is this description for?

"to be made of 3/4 yard of 7/8 cotton or pure linen drilling, to weigh 6 ounces to the yard; 1/2 yard of 3/4 cotton or pure linen drilling, of same material as sack, for the pocket; 3 white metal suspender buttons, 2 1/2 skeins of W. B. linen thread, No. 35; one 5/8 inch roller buckle, having a leather strap and loop strongly sewed on the sack, with two rows of stitches, of not less than 6 each, all of the thread used for sewing to be well waxed and strong; a leather strap 7 inches long and 5/8 inch wide, punched with 6 holes, at equal distances, to receive the tongue of buckle, and to be sewed on in the same manner, with the same kind of thread, and same number of stitches; the sling of carrying strap, to be of the same material as sack, and doubled; to be from 40 to 45 inches long and 2 inches wide, strongly sewed on sack, with 2 rows of stitches near the outer edges; the pocket to button-on the inside of sack ; the outside of the sack, with the strap, to be painted with the same material as for a knapsack. Bottom of sack, 3 1/2 inches wide; back, from top of flap to bottom of sack, 16 1/2 inches long; depth of sack, 11 1/4 inches; width of sack, 12 1/2 inches; depth of pocket, 11 inches; and width of pocket, 11 1/2 inches.

01/19/2026

Joseph Maitland enlisted in Company G, 95th Ohio Infantry on August 8, 1862 and was appointed corporal on August 19, 1862. On December 5, 1862 he was promoted to sergeant.

In 1862 Joseph Maitland, along with much of his regiment, was taken prisoner at Richmond, Kentucky by Confederate forces under the command of General Kirby Smith. He was paroled and sent to Columbus Ohio for about three months until the end of 1862.

For this spotlight we’ll focus on the 13 letters he wrote in 1864 to his future wife, Arabella Wharton. In Joseph Maitland’s first letter in our collection, he wrote from a camp near Memphis, Tennessee on May 11, 1864 about the recent expedition the 95th Ohio Infantry had made in the area.

“After proceeding about 34 miles east of Memphis, it was found that the bridge over Wolf River had been destroyed so that we could go no further that way, so we abandoned the railroad and proceeded to take up our line of march on foot. Our course was in a southeasterly direction passing through the towns of Moscow (which is nearly all burned), Somerville & Bolivar. At the last named place, our cavalry — which was in the advance — overtook a part of Forrest’s command and had a small skirmish with him in which there was not much loss on either side. The Rebs retreated over the Hatch River in the direction of Jackson, Tennessee. They burnt the bridge over the river, thus stopping us from following them. It was the intention to rebuild the bridge & follow them, but on sending some scouts to Jackson, it was found that they had evacuated that place also…

Joseph Maitland was born in 1838 to James Madison Maitland and Anna (Mast) Maitland of Salem, Ohio. Joseph Maitland enlisted in Company G, 95th Ohio Infantry

01/16/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, we asked you to identify a particular item from the Quartermaster Manual's description for it, and the answer was: Cheese glue! Or, rather "Cheese Paste" for use in pasting documents together. Very old cheese quite literally holds some of our Civil War history together. 😊

Here is the full description:
"Cheese Paste is made of fresh white cheese and quicklime. Pound the cheese in a mortar with boiling water : let it stand, and decant it : repeat this operation three or four times. Pound together 3 parts of this cheese thus prepared and 1 part of quicklime, moistening it with pure water till the paste ropes like honey. Prepare only a little at a time. It is used in pasting parchment and parchment-paper.

These different kinds of paste should be used cold. A supply for not more than 2 or 3 days should be made at one time ; but it may be preserved longer by adding alum in the proportion of 1/10th of the weight of flour. The depredations of rats may be prevented by dissolving a like proportion of colocynth in the water with which the paste is made.

Glue is dissolved in its own weight of boiling water. A glue-pot with a water-bath should be used, to avoid burning the glue. Remove the pot from the fire as soon as the glue is entirely dissolved."

Quartermaster Manual page: https://app.researcharsenal.com/quartermaster-manuals/639
Credit for image: https://pixels.com/featured/cheese-is-the-glue-that-holds-my-life-together-funny-cheese-pun-dogboo.html

01/15/2026

Last week’s post left you with some instructions to take a cursory look at your collection. Where and who did you get your items from? What did you spend? What research have you done on your collection? Do you know where all of it is? Etc. If this was a bit of a challenge, that’s okay. Now that you know where you stand with this information, you can start to organize it. As I mentioned last week, this will be very helpful for you, but also for your loved ones should anything ever happen to you. It’s not a pleasant thing to think about, but it is a sad reality that will eventually happen. Our collections always outlive us, just as they have the original owners.

This week, I want to focus on the information that comes with purchased items, what to keep, and why that can be helpful.

Sales Information with Purchased Items. I want to focus on the information that comes with purchased items, what to keep, and why that can be helpful.

01/14/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, what item is this quote describing from the Quartermaster Manual? And what do you think it was used for? Post your guesses below and check back Friday for the answer!

"...is made of fresh white cheese and quicklime. Pound the cheese in a mortar with boiling water : let it stand, and decant it : repeat this operation three or four times. Pound together 3 parts of this cheese thus prepared and 1 part of quicklime, moistening it with pure water....Prepare only a little at a time."

Photo: Petersburg, Va. Group of the quartermaster department, 1st Division, 9th Corps, at leisure-Nov 1864. https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/67001

01/12/2026

Henry Cole Smith was born in 1845 to Marcus DeForest Smith and Harriet (Cole) Smith of Kent, Connecticut. He was just fifteen years old when he enlisted in Company E of the 8th Connecticut Infantry on September 28, 1861.

The nine letters in the Research Arsenal collection were written to a friend of Henry Cole Smith named Nancy L. Harrison.

The first letter in our collection was written from Suffolk, Virginia on May 10, 1863. At the time the 8th Connecticut Infantry had recently been involved in the siege of Suffolk. Henry Cole Smith wrote to Nancy about the 8th Connecticut Infantry’s successful capture of a Confederate battery.

“You have probably read about our taking the rebel battery the other side of the river, so I shall not need to say much about that. I was there of course. I fired my rifle 3 times. None of the boys fired more times than that, with one of our rifles, but those who had Sharps Rifles fired 5 times. Some of the boys fired none. One man of this company was wounded in his arm and leg but not seriously.”

Henry Cole Smith was born in 1845 to Marcus DeForest Smith and Harriet (Cole) Smith of Kent, Connecticut. He was just fifteen years old when he enlisted in

01/09/2026

This week for our What's it Wednesday question, we asked you to identify the firearm this cavalry soldier is holding. The answer is, an 1855 Springfield pistol-carbine!

"The Model 1855 Pistol-Carbine was the last single-shot pistol produced as an issue arm for U.S. troops. Slightly more than 4,000 were manufactured at the U.S. Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts. They employed the same Maynard primer system and .58 caliber ammunition as that used in the U.S. Model 1855 Rifle-Musket. These convertible arms were intended for use as a pistol by cavalrymen, and when fitted with the detachable shoulder stock, they could be used as a carbine by dismounted troops.

The service history of the Model 1855 pistol-carbine is quite brief. Originally conceived as a dual-purpose arm for artillery and mounted troops, it soon fell into disfavor, primarily because the angle of jump (and bullet departure) varied greatly, depending on whether the arm was fired from the hand as a pistol or from the shoulder with auxiliary buttstock attached. Other problems included the considerable weight and awkwardness of the arm when fired from the hand, a tendency for the buttstock attachment to loosen in use, and splitting of the pistol-grip in recoil, a defect often noted in surviving arms of this pattern."
https://www.nramuseum.org/guns/the-galleries/a-nation-asunder-1861-to-1865/case-14-union-carbines/us-springfield-model-1855-pistol-carbine.aspx

You can see the fully tagged image here: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/4565

01/08/2026

As collectors, we often know our collections inside and out—where and when we got something, who we got it from, what we paid for it, the significance of it, why we got it, etc. But what we often don’t take into account, is that there may come a day when we can’t remember that information. And there also will come a day when we’re gone from this earth, and unless we’ve written that information down somewhere, it dies with us. Let's start the new year by assessing our collections and getting that documentation in order!

Today I want to highlight the importance of having a well-documented private collection. As collectors, we often know our collections inside and out.

01/07/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, can you identify the firearm this cavalry soldier is holding? Post your responses below and check back Friday for the answer!