Don't get your knickers in a bunch guys, no one said all did, but by lots of accounts the battlefields were full of tossed away knives and also almost all the photos of guys with these big knives are studio photos, not photos of men in the field. MD if you want go to one of the websites that have the Civil War photo's and see how many photos you can find of men in the field carrying big knives. I spent some time a couple years back and did not find on. A few of guys in camp, lots in studios but none really in the field.
Steve I'm sure you did not throw away anything useful, but no one has yet explained how these big knives were that useful in a Civil War type battle or shown any place where someone has mentioned their use. As for the question, it was an honest one, all I saw was a big knife wit no other information.
Funny how folks get so upset when I try to get answers to a conclusion I've made on lack of evidence, and I've spent enough hours researching if these big knives were really used much to be paid overtime if I was getting paid for it by the hour and did it in one week.
I really doubt anyone who gets upset at my conclusion have spent near that much time to prove me wrong. I spent at least 2 hours yesterday looking at pictures trying to find them. So if anyone has proof, based on honest research, please show me I'm wrong, if not, please get to doing a bit of homework before you get so all fired upset. And sorry, some one documenting a knife was owned by a Confederate soldier does not mean said soldier carried it forth and did battle to protect his state's rights, it just means he owned it. Grandpa may have given it to him and instead of throwing it away he sent it home, lots of mention of that and other gear being sent home one both sides in Civil War accounts, could spend the time at the library and get more specifics on who and when, but since so many here seems to have spent so much time studing the life of the common soldier, then they have seen such accounts.