This is more of a curiosity piece than anything else that I only paid $10 for recently, whereas this probably early to mid twentieth century cold painted hand-sculpted terracotta or red earthenware figure of a Civil War soldier was recently discovered in an estate in Rockford, Illinois. It came out of a house owned by a man who spent much of his life collecting military antiques, and predominantly from the American Civil War period. It has to be a one-of-a-kind piece depicting the face of a 47th Infantryman, where the cap is marked "47," and there is also a gold button that reads "US."
Personally, I do not think this is a student project; I place it more into the realm of twentieth century American folk art. Whoever made this object knew what they were doing, where it has crossed my mind whether this could have been made at a terracotta factory, which were located all over America during this period, everywhere from New England, to New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, etc.
Interestingly, the face of this terracotta soldier is a type of image that was regularly seen in illustrations that were drawn by Winslow Homer (1836-1910) for Harper's Weekly, while reporting on the American Civil War. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "In 1857 Winslow Homer began his eighteen-year career working as an illustrator for Harper’s Weekly, which launched in New York in the same year. The publication was one of the most successful examples of an illustrated weekly, a type of magazine dominated by images rather than text. Weeklies could be printed quickly, cheaply, and in large quantities thanks to recent advances in wood-engraving technology, in which an image was translated onto a wood block and then cast electrolytically from a wax mold. After working as a freelance illustrator during the early years of his career, Homer was hired by Harper’s as a full-time correspondent upon the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861–65). His work for the weekly ranges from wartime scenes observed from the front to nostalgic views evoking America’s agrarian past."
Furthermore, I am not sure which state the "47" represents, seeing that regiments were designated by a number and the name of the state that raised them, such as the 10th New York or 48th Mississippi. Each regiment also had their regimental colors, and flags which not only served to denote position and alignment on the battlefield, but which also held special emotional significance.
But I also want to note that the hat looks more Southern to me than Northern so it may be a confederate hat; among the more notable Southern regiments was 47th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, which was organized in March of 1862 at Camp Mangum, near Raleigh, North Carolina. Its companies were composed of men from Nash, Wake, Franklin, Granville, and Alamance counties. The regiment served in the Department of North Carolina until May, 1863, when it moved to Virginia. During the conflict it was brigaded under Generals Pettigrew, Kirkland and MacRae. It fought with the Army of Northern Virginia from Gettysburg to Cold Harbor, then was involved in the long Petersburg siege south of the James River and the Appomattox Campaign. The unit lost over thirty-five percent of the 567 engaged at Gettysburg and reported 42 casualties at Bristoe and 20 at The Wilderness. It surrendered 5 officers and 72 men. The field officers were Colonels George H. Faribault and Sion H. Rogers, Lieutenant Colonels Archibald d. Crudup and John A. Graves and Major William C. Lankford.
Note: I have also seen through the years some interesting folk pottery made in Ohio in the 1940s, none of which was signed, although it is unclear if this piece is related to that production.
A Hand-Sculpted and Painted Figure of a Civil War Soldier
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