Object Details
user
Conn, Solomon
Description
Physical Description
Wood with personal carvings.
Specific History
At 24 years old, Solomon Conn, a son of a hotel keeper in Minamac, Indiana, enlisted as a private in Company B of the 87th Indiana Infantry on July 26, 1862. He purchased this violin in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 1, 1863. Conn carried the violin while serving, although his family admitted that he never learned to play. Written on the back of the instrument are the names of places where the soldiers of the 87th were either on duty or engaging the enemy. More place names are written along the left and right edges of the sides. Among the more well-known battles the 87th took part in were the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863 and Kennesaw Mountain in June 1864. By the end of the war, the 87th Volunteers had lost 283 men, most of them to disease.
This object stands as a unique memento of the common soldier during the Civil War.
Credit Line
S. Jackson Conn and William M. Conn
ID Number
1988.0716.01
accession number
1988.0716
catalog number
1988.0716.01
Object Name
violin
Physical Description
wood (overall material)
metal (part material)
Measurements
overall: 24 in x 8 in x 4 in; 60.96 cm x 20.32 cm x 10.16 cm
purchased
United States: Tennessee, Nashville
associated place
United States: Indiana
See more items in
Military and Society: Armed Forces History, General
Music & Musical Instruments
Military
ThinkFinity
Data Source
National Museum of American History
related event
Civil War
Battle of Chickamauga, 1863
Civil War and Reconstruction
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, 1864
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_687491
