upside-down Union belt buckle

[tscanla]

Recently I discovered a photo of one of my great-great-grandfathers in his Minnesota 2nd Infantry Regiment uniform. I can see clearly that his belt buckle with the US on it is upside-down. Does this have some special coded meaning, or was he just so weary and shell-shocked and put it on upside-down by accident? Please don't suggest that the photo is reversed, as two people elsewhere have told me, because the only way to make the US right-side up would be for my ancestor to stand on his head. I would appreciate any light anyone can shed on this question. Thanks.

[SkirmishNotes]

There are a couple of reason I can think of...

Perhaps he was just being lazy, or forgetful, but I wonder if this is the case, having a photograph made in this era is a big event, you'd think they would attempt to look their best for these photos...

Maybe he was left handed, and since the belt only buckles one way he put it on upside down....

Maybe he was upset with the government or the army, or his pension? Kind of like flying the US Flag upside down when you are in distress...

I believe it was common for Southern soldiers to wear Union belts "found" on the battlefield upside down... but this is an odd issue to think about...

Good luck with your research!