Valley of the Shadow of Death

[Jim McDougall]

In writing this thread, I just wanted to express its purpose (paraphrasing words from Tennyson in his famed poem). I wanted to illustrate how much more vivid and dimensional the weaponry in collections becomes when it is presented through the prism of the historic events, people and other elements that are associated with them.

The Crimean War is interesting as it is a contrast between older warfare technology and ways, and modern (in a sense) technology. It is the first use of photography in war reporting, changes in weaponry were in contrast to old forms. The Russians even had mines remote detonated by electric charge. Yet the mismanagement and conflicts of various kinds in the ranks led to the unfortunate outcomes in most of the 'strategy' and 'tactical oversights'.

The use of the sword in a time of modern warfare moving toward firearms in combat, had changes in their form being introduced despite this, as seen by the 'modern' (1853) mingled with others.

The old notion of 'capturing' guns was at hand here, and as I had noted, there seems a dearth of ammunition from these Crimean battles as souvenirs, though certainly they do exist. It is hopeful that learning more on which type guns were in use might help in examining potential examples which might be found.

I am hoping that this thread will not be seen as a 'history lesson' but might prove useful to those who have collected weaponry and militaria from this period in the contexts in which they served.