Antique Civil War Battle Rattle Folk Art Wooden Hinged Clapper Noisemaker AAFA

Acquired from a large collection of primitives, the original owner had previously told me that this was a Civil War era clapper / noisemaker that would have been used by foot troops walking through forested areas to mimic the sound of a calvary of horses or a large marching troop to alert and scare off any lurkers in the woods. However, in my opinion, based on the hardware, the machine made screws point more towards the 1880s to 1910s.

Nonetheless, it certainly shows its age and has a great look!

It works by holding the device with two hands and thrusting it away from the body and then quickly thrusting it back towards the body to produced a large thundering clapping noise. The hinges also help to mimic the sound of horse reigns.

There is some writing on it, however, I cannot make it out even under strong light.

I did post this to a civil war group to get thoughts on it, and it was a strong sentiment that it is indeed not from the 1860s but plausibly from the later half of the 19th century. This could have been created to help drive livestock, or to scare predators such as pairs or mountain lions away while walking through the woods, or as an early watchman alarm to alert towns of distress for emergency situations such as fires.

Measures approx. 19.25" by 4" by 2.75"