American Civil War Military Soldier Collection – Custom Printed Brick Block Figure

These figures represent the three primary combat branches—Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery—for both the Union Army (North) and the Confederate States Army (South) during the American Civil War (1861–1865).

Here is a detailed, one-by-one breakdown of each character, moving from the top row to the bottom row, left to right.

Top Row: Infantry and Cavalry Forces

1. Top Left: Union Infantry Private (Pvt. Inf.)

• Specific Name: Union Army Infantry Private

• Visual Details: This figure wears the classic dark blue sack coat and sky-blue trousers of the Federal army. He has a clean-shaven face. His kepi cap features a gold bugle insignia, the universal symbol for the Infantry. His sleeves have no stripes, indicating he is a Private. He is equipped with a black cross-belt featuring a round brass eagle plate.

• Weapon: He holds a long rifled musket with a fixed socket bayonet, the standard weapon for close-quarters infantry charges.

2. Top Middle: Confederate Infantry Private (Pvt. Inf.)

• Specific Name: Confederate States Army Infantry Private

• Visual Details: Representing the Southern foot soldier, he wears a faded grey/brownish uniform, famously known historically as “butternut,” paired with sky-blue trousers. He sports a full, rugged beard. Like his Northern counterpart, his kepi features the gold bugle insignia of the Infantry, and he wears no rank chevrons.

• Weapon: He is also armed with a long rifled musket and fixed bayonet, ready for the frontline volleys.

3. Top Right: Union Cavalry Corporal (Cpl. Cav.)

• Specific Name: Union Army Cavalry Corporal

• Visual Details: This non-commissioned officer wears a dark blue jacket. The defining feature is the yellow trim/piping on his collar and cuffs, which was the official branch color for the Cavalry. His sleeves bear two yellow chevrons, denoting the rank of Corporal. His kepi features the crossed sabers insignia.

• Weapon: He carries an advanced brass-receiver lever-action repeating rifle (resembling a Henry rifle), giving him massive rapid-fire capabilities from horseback.

Bottom Row: Cavalry and Artillery Forces

4. Bottom Left: Confederate Cavalry Corporal (Cpl. Cav.)

• Specific Name: Confederate States Army Cavalry Corporal

• Visual Details: This Southern cavalryman wears a grey tunic featuring the same yellow cavalry trim and two yellow rank chevrons on his sleeves. He wears a full beard and a kepi with the crossed sabers insignia. His belt buckle clearly displays “CS” (Confederate States).

• Weapon: Like the Union cavalryman, he is armed with a highly prized repeating rifle, essential for the fast-paced skirmishes and raids cavalry units conducted.

5. Bottom Middle: Union Artillery Sergeant (Sgt. Art.)

• Specific Name: Union Army Artillery Sergeant

• Visual Details: This experienced leader wears a dark blue uniform featuring red trim/piping, the official branch color for the Artillery. His sleeves display three red chevrons, marking him as a Sergeant (gun commander). His kepi features the crossed cannons insignia. His belt buckle bears the “US” stamp.

• Weapon: Because artillerymen needed their hands free to operate cannons, he is armed with a cap-and-ball revolver for personal defense.

6. Bottom Right: Confederate Artillery Corporal (Cpl. Art.)

• Specific Name: Confederate States Army Artillery Corporal

• Visual Details: This Southern artillery NCO wears a grey uniform featuring the red artillery trim and two red chevrons (Corporal). He has a distinct 19th-century mustache and goatee. His kepi displays the crossed cannons insignia, and his brass belt buckle reads “CSA” (Confederate States of America).

• Weapon: He is also equipped with a revolver, prioritizing a sidearm over a bulky musket while working on a cannon crew.

Historical Background

The American Civil War was defined by massive armies utilizing the “combined arms” of the era, which required strict visual identification systems on the chaotic battlefields.

• The Branch Colors (Waffenfarbe): The US military regulation of the 1860s (adopted by both the Union and the Confederacy) used a strict color-coding system to identify a soldier’s role instantly. Light Blue/Bugles represented the Infantry, Yellow/Crossed Sabers represented the Cavalry, and Red/Crossed Cannons represented the Artillery.

• Blue vs. Grey: The war is famously remembered as “The Blue and the Grey.” The highly industrialized North (Union) could mass-produce standardized dark blue wool uniforms. The agricultural South (Confederacy) struggled with supply shortages, leading to uniforms made of varying shades of grey, and later in the war, homespun cloth dyed with walnuts and copperas, resulting in the brownish “butternut” color seen on the Confederate infantryman in this image.

• Weaponry Evolution: This collection beautifully showcases the weapons of the era. The infantry relied on the slow-loading but highly accurate rifled musket, while the cavalry eagerly adopted modern repeating rifles to increase their firepower. Artillery crews, who operated the devastating cannons, relied on revolvers for close-quarters survival.