"I am like you, I am disgusted at the profanity that is used in the army. Sometimes I wonder how some men in the army will ever have the face to meet their friends at home, after acting as they do in the army..."---James McMeeken Newmarket, Tennessee March 28, 1865

"Believe it or not, my grandfather (James' youngest son) used to let me play with it back in the 1950's. As a kid, I once filled it with water, but found the flavor musty and metallic. Even so, I used to prowl the woods and orchards around his farm with this thing flapping around my shoulder. Now the leather is worn and quite brittle--it has crumbled in places, but is still a nice family treasure, I think"---Rob Geiger

H. G. Palmer and the minie ball removed from his wounding at Kennesaw Mountain in 1864. Palmer was McMeeken's tentmate during the war.