Bayonet
This weapon was usually only used when the moment came for charging. It was a knife fixed to the front end of a musket or rifle. The order to 'Fix Bayonets' had a special significance as the mark of a serious determination to overrun the enemy.
The bayonet had more uses apart from its intended use as a weapon.
They made excellent candle holders. They were useful skewers for cooking. Especially here at Petersburg, troops without entrenching tools could use them to loosen the earth
when digging. Many soldiers in both the Union and Confederate armies spent time digging
earthworks at Petersburg.