Civil War Exhibit at the Huntington

[BettyO]

This is new to me, Bill.....

I've seen photos of Powell's knife but NEVER knew that there was a sheath! Now - it could be that the knife was sheathed in the top of his boot - a lot of men did that as well. Remember that Davey Herold had a knife tucked into his boot top and a friend noticed it the day of the assassination.

I'm assuming that Powell perhaps wore a gun belt - who knows? It was NOT on him when captured and not found with his discarded overcoat - so he may not have worn a gun belt.... The knife could have just been sheathed in his boot top. But....there is no mention MADE of a knife sheath being found on his person! I wonder if perhaps the sheath was somehow attached to his saddle pommel (front of the saddle) via a "D-Ring" - since there is no RECORD in Powell's personal effects of a knife sheath being found - it could have been attached to the saddle - so no gun belt would have been worn.

I don't know about JWB - but did HIS knife have a sheath as well? Since it appears like they bought them in "bulk" (early Sam's Club or Costco perhaps! HA!) that the knives came with sheaths of course....