Large Civil War era Antique Folk Art Whirligig Sculpture Collection Jim Linderman

Large Civil War era Antique Folk Art Whirligig Sculpture According to the seller?

"My grandfather lived near Louisville, Kentucky. In 1971 he was visiting a neighbors residence when they were tearing down an old barn that was built around 1890. When they pried up the floorboards, this whirligig was found under the floor. The family who owned the barn said they thought it was possibly used during the civil war. They said troops would build these and put them up around land where the troops were to make it seem like there were more soldiers in the area than there really were. Whether the story is true, who knows."

Regardless, this is one old and gigantic whirligig.  The body (a log once) is over 30 inches.  With the considerable wear, it makes me wonder about the "19th century" whirligigs and how long they stayed outside.  The figure here has virtually no paint left, several staples around the lips which likely held a moustache...and of course one paddle entirely gone.
Collection Jim Linderman