Southern Depot Haversacks

This reproduction Confederate Depot Haversack is based on the Goulding example.

The original quartermaster-made haversack came from the Goulding family. At least two Goulding brothers served in the Army of Northern Virginia. Both were from Darien, Georgia. Francis R. Goulding served with the Jeff Davis Legion, Mississippi Cavalry, and ended the war in a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina. His brother, C.H. Goulding, served with the 8th Georgia Infantry. C.H. Goulding died in General Hospital 21, Richmond, Virginia, December 24, 1862 of “remittent fever” (caused by gonorrhea). The collection has a number of objects from the Goulding family, to include Francis’s vest fashioned from a Tait jacket. The vest has strong provenance to Francis, but the haversack’s story is murkier, since family legend attributes it to C.H. The connection with C.H. is tenuous, because it is unlikely that the hospital would have returned a haversack to the family in 1862, unless it contained other personal items. Even then, sending this home would have been an extravagance that stretches plausibility. It is more likely that the haversack belonged to Francis, and that he brought it home with his vest and other Confederate memorabilia. This makes sense to me, because the haversack is clean and in good condition. It is likely that Francis got this fresh haversack while he was in the hospital in Charlotte, and the war ended before it saw any heavy field use. In any case, the haversack is an amazing example of a cheap, simple, mass-produced Confederate haversack, typical of what Southern soldiers received from the quartermaster.