Soldier’s hut in winter–Borrowing a chimney
1864
Imagine trying to build a home out of sticks and mud in the middle of a war zone. In this sketch by Edwin Forbes, a Union soldier stands before a rough log hut that features a bizarre but brilliant invention: a chimney made from a stack of barrels perched on a dirt mound. This 'borrowed chimney' allowed the soldiers to vent smoke without giving away their position or burning down their flimsy shelter. Forbes, an artist embedded with the Army of the Potomac, skipped the heroic battle scenes to focus on the gritty, improvisational reality of daily camp life during the Civil War.
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