Civil War Technology-- Part 5: About Dem Shoes and Shoddy Uniforms, Ben Butler's Nest and Railroads

**  Left and right shoes.

**  Shoddy uniforms  (where the term shoddy came from  in the Civil War)

**  Lincoln had his own private telegraph.

He went to Fortress Monroe 14 times during the war and had private meetings there.  It was away from the prying eyes of Washington, D.C..  Plus, the commander there, Benjamin Butler had his iwn private netwodk of spies and informants.

**  Repeating rifles, but the knock against them was that they used too much ammunition.

**  Railroads had a boom in the 1840s and 1850s.  In 1850, there were 9,000 miles of rails, by 1860 there were 30,000.

However, of that, 21,000 miles were in the Union and 9,000 in the Confederacy.

--Old Secesh

Some More Technology

**  Standard shoe sizing

**  Aerial surveillance

**  Signal Corps

**  Dart-tipped grenades

10.  Jelly Beans  (an ideal candy to send to soldiers)

Give Me Those Jelly Bellies.  --Old Secesh

What the Well-Dressed Woman Was Wearing-- Part 2: Autograph Books

Also included in the Society's exhibit is an autograph book which were popular especially in private schools.  The book on display has several pictures, including one of President Abraham Lincoln.  Often these photos were carte de visites.

Some of the shoes are made of silk and some of leather.  But all shoes were made for much narrower feet than those found on today's women..  Shoes in the collection also include those for babies, children and men.  Others were for every day wear and there is even a pair for ballroom dancing..

Some of the dresses have shortcuts.  One has two bodices and a detachable skirt that allowed the woman to go from daytime to evening events easily.  Another had sleeve extensions and a shawl that could be removed as the lady went from the banquet to dance floor where dresses had lower necklines and shorter sleeves than today.

Sashay 'Round the Dance Floor.  --Old Secesh