going to see...

... antique firearms at the museum on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. Even though I do not know much about the exhibit, I know enough to feel like I should not miss the opportunity to see what is there. When at a family gathering last summer, I heard about a special exhibition that was opening in December, running through the latter part of February. I have plans to go on Saturday, and hope to find my way to the museum and look at the rifles that are in the show.

There are guns and long arms that were made by people I am related to. According to my cousin, who lives on the other side of the state, and does a much better job of keeping up with what's going on: the title of the exhibit is "Artful Instruments of Death: Georgia Gunsmiths and Their Craft." I have known that there were forebears who lived in east  GA before the War of Northern Aggression who were makers of firearms, and think my dad's grandfather was one of the men from that area who made his living as a gunsmith. The cousin, in suggesting family members would want to go to Athens to see the collection reported that many of the artifacts in this special show have never been in a place to be viewed by the public before: a number of the items on display are in private collections, lent to the Georgia Museum of Art especially for this occasion.

I have a vague memory of hearing family speak about long arms that were buried in order to keep them out of the hands of Union soldiers. Taken from a gun shop, well wrapped, and carefully hidden to keep them safe. Guns were in every household, used for supplying meat to feed families. Back in the early and mid-1800's boys from a very young age were schooled in handling guns, especially rifles that could be used to hunt game and put food on the table. So knowing that great grand-dad WT went off to war as a sharp-shooter/sniper for the Confederacy at the age of fifteen is not surprising.

Plus it was expected that if you used the gun, you would be the one to care for it, to have it cleaned and ready to shoot again as needed. Along with the privilege of using the rifle, came the responsibility for its' care: just like farm animals/livestock. You take care of it, so when the time comes it will provide the service you need. In that era, young men accepted the necessity for taking care of equipment, in order to be able to have the tools ready and dependable when the need arises.