The Barker Walking Cane

Civil War veterans remembered their experience in many ways. They wrote memoirs, they toured battlefields with friends and families, and they built monuments. Perhaps the most personal way that these men remembered the war was the creation of folk-art objects such as carved rings and canes made from wood from battlefields where they had served.

The Chattanooga History Center is fortunate to include in its collection one of these pieces of late 19th century folk art. Barton L. Barker served in the 3rd Tennessee Infantry Regiment, United States from 1862 – 1865. During 1862-1863, the regiment served in East and Middle Tennessee and participated in none of the major battles that raged across the state. The regiment was attached to William T. Sherman’s army in late 1863 and participated in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign and in the 1864 Battle of Nashville. Most of the regiment was mustered out of service in February 1865.

Barker remembered his service with pride. He joined the Union veterans’ organization called the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and, evidently, regularly attended local meetings and reunions. He also belonged to a more elite group of veterans called the Union Veterans League (UVL). Only men who had volunteered for service before the United States government began drafting soldiers in 1863 could apply for membership. Barker counted himself among the men who selflessly and patriotically supported the Union war effort.