The bowie knife on this Confederate soldier's belt was a Southern tradition. Named for Jim Bowie — the Alamo defender and frontier knife-fighter — the large American hunting and fighting knife was a personal weapon Southern volunteers carried from home in 1861. Most brought one. The knife was twelve to fifteen inches long, single-edged, with a clipped point sharpened for thrusting. Soldiers used them for digging, cutting tent stakes, splitting kindling, and preparing rations far more often than for fighting. The Confederate soldier carrying his bowie knife in the field was making a statement about his identity — a Southerner, a frontiersman, a personal warrior — that the Federal government's standardized regulations never tried to make. This W. Britain figure depicts a Confederate infantryman on the march — gray shell jacket, light blue trousers (with the visible wear and patching typical of campaign service), broad-brimmed slouch hat, the rifle musket carried at right shoulder shift, the bedroll and haversack across his chest. The personal bowie knife visible on his belt is the distinguishing detail — a Southern volunteer's home-carried weapon. The marching pose works as the foundation of any Confederate road column or regimental front in motion. Pair this figure with Confederate Corporal Marching as the NCO beside him; with Forward March Confederate Infantry for a longer column; or with Confederate Infantry Drummer Marching for the column's cadence. Scale: 1/30 (60mm). Matte-painted metal. W. Britain model 31356. From the American Civil War range. Single foot figure, supplied painted and ready for display.
