Surratt Commission and Anna Surratt

[Warren]

(09-23-2014 12:11 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  

(09-23-2014 11:39 AM)Warren Wrote:  Looking at the photo again, another of the honor guards (closest to the camera) to the right of the first is holding his rifle upside down, so I guess that was protocol.

The modern practice of displaying a battlefield cross also has an inverted rifle. See picture below. According the The Soldier's Field Guide "The inverted rifle with bayonet signals a time for prayer, a break in the action to pay tribute to our comrade." There are similar descriptions for the meaning of the helmet and boots.

It is believed that practice got its start during the civil war to mark soldier's burial sites. I suppose it is possible that the holding of inverted rifles at a funeral meant much the same as above in the battlefield cross.

That makes more sense than what I was thinking (gun pointing down - a time for peace, not war).