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<b>Wounded 3 times during the War Between the States


Commanded the "Laurel Brigade"


From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>


(1836-1910) Born on a farm called "Catalpa Hill," in Campbell County, Virginia. Appointed to West Point in 1856, at that time a 5 year course, his roommate was John Pelham. Rosser resigned on April 22, 1861, two weeks before he would have graduated. He was appointed a 1st lieutenant in the Regular Confederate army, and assigned as instructor to the Washington Artillery at New Orleans, La. He commanded a company of this regiment at the Battle of 1st Manassas, Va., in July 1861. After being severely wounded at Mechanicsville, Va., he was made colonel of the 5th Virginia Cavalry, at the request of General J.E.B. Stuart. He commanded the advance of Stuart's cavalry expedition to Catlett's Station, and was notable in the Second Battle of Manassas. During the fighting at Crampton's Gap, at the Battle of South Mountain, Md., his cavalry delayed the advance of General William B. Franklin's 6th Corps with help from Major John Pelham's artillery. At Sharpsburg, his men screened the left flank of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. He was seriously wounded at Kelly's Ford, Va., where his West Point roommate, "the gallant Pelham" was killed. Rosser was disabled until the Gettysburg Campaign, where he commanded his regiment in the fighting at Hanover, and the East Cavalry Field at Gettysburg. He continued to lead the 5th Virginia Cavalry with brilliant success until he was promoted brigadier general September 28, 1863. Rosser succeeded General Beverly Robertson in command of the "Laurel Brigade," and continued to win honors in the Overland Campaign of 1864 driving back a large force of Union cavalry and artillery at the Battle of the Wilderness. Rosser was again wounded at Trevilian Station, Va., where his brigade captured a number of prisoners from his former West Point classmate and close personal friend General George Armstrong Custer. His brigade later gallantly fought against General Philip H. Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, and he efficiently commanded General Fitzhugh Lee's division at Cedar Creek. A rare defeat occurred when General Custer overran Rosser's troops at the Battle of Tom's Brook, which allowed Custer to repay Rosser for Trevilian Station. For no tactical reason, Custer chased Rosser's troops for over 10 miles and the action became known as the great "Woodstock Races." Custer had also captured Rosser's private wardrobe wagon at Tom's Brook, and Rosser immediately messaged him: 


Dear Fanny,


You may have made me take a few steps back today, but I will be even with you tomorrow. Please accept my good wishes and this little gift—a pair of your draws captured at Trevillian Station.


Tex


Custer shipped Rosser's gold-laced Confederate grey coat with this reply:


Dear friend,


Thanks for setting me up in so many new things, but would you please direct your tailor to make the coat tails of your next uniform a trifle shorter.


Best regards, G.A.C. [George Armstrong Custer].


General Rosser became known in the Southern press as the "Saviour of the Valley," and was promoted to major general in November 1864. He conducted a successful raid on New Creek, West Virginia, taking hundreds of prisoners and seizing much needed quantities of supplies. In January 1865, he took 300 men, crossed the mountains in deep snow and bitter cold, and surprised and captured two infantry regiments in their works at Beverly, West Virginia, takng almost 600 prisoners. Rosser commanded a cavalry division during the Siege of Petersburg in the spring of 1865, fighting near Five Forks, Va. It was here that Rosser hosted the "infamous" shad bake 2 miles north of the battle lines preceding and during the primary Federal assault. Guests at this small affair included Generals' George E. Pickett, and Fitzhugh Lee. It is said that Pickett only made it back to his division after over half his troops had been shot or captured, and Lee never forgave Pickett for his absence from his post when the Federals broke the Confederate lines and carried the day at Five Forks. Rosser was conspicuous during the Appomattox Campaign, capturing a Union general, John Irvin Gregg, and rescuing a wagon train near Farmville. He led a daring early morning charge at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, and escaped with his command as Lee surrendered the bulk of the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant. Under orders from the Secretary of War, he began reorganizing the scattered remnants of Lee's army in a vain attempt to join General Joseph E. Johnston's army in North Carolina. However, he surrendered at Staunton, Virginia, on May 4th and was paroled shortly afterwards. In 1886, he bought a plantation near Charlottesville, Va., and became a gentleman farmer. On June 10, 1898, President William McKinley appointed Rosser a brigadier general of United States volunteers during the Spanish–American War. His first task was training young cavalry recruits in a camp near the old Civil War battlefield of Chickamauga in northern Georgia. He was honorably discharged on October 31, 1898, and returned home. He died on March 29, 1910, at Charlottesville, and is buried at Riverview Cemetery, in Charlottesville.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 3/4 card. The mount has been trimmed. Bust view in Confederate uniform with rank of brigadier general. It is thought this photograph was taken some time between September 1863, and November 1864. Period ink inscription on the front mount, Maj. Genl. Thos. L. Rosser, C.S.A. Back mark: E. & H.T. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Maj. Genl. T.F. Rosser, C.S.A., Cavalry Commander. Genl. B.J.D. Irwin album, No. 56 is written in another hand in pencil at the bottom. Very fine image. Rare with this provenance literally making this image "one of a kind."


<h2><u>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</h2></u>


<b>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>


(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.


He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor reads; "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th U.S. Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege."


Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.


The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.


Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.


His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.


His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.


His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.


General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!


The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.  


 




 


<b>Colonel of the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry


From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>


(1832-1900) Born in Cameron, New York, he graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1855. His pre-war army career included garrison duty at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., a tour at the Cavalry School in Carlisle, Pa., and two years of rugged service fighting the western Indians, during which time he was severely wounded and put out of action from 1859 until the outbreak of the Civil War. He took part in the 1st battle of Bull Run, Va., and was commissioned colonel of the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry. He fought in the 1862 Virginia Peninsular campaign, the Seven Days Battles, at Kelly's Ford, Va., Antietam,  Fredericksburg, and various skirmishes of the mounted branch of the Army of the Potomac. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Averell a brigadier general of volunteers on September 26, 1862. His 2nd Cavalry Division earned much respect at Kelly's Ford, Va., in March 1863, an action said to have been the turning point of cavalry fighting in the eastern theater. Averell took part in the famous, but ill fated 1863 Richmond raid during the Chancellorsville campaign, and he was employed in numerous skirmishes in western Virginia and in General Philip H. Sheridan; 1864 Shenandoah Valley campaign. In the summer of 1864, when Confederate General Jubal A. Early had invaded Maryland, and defeated a series of Union commanders, Averell proved to be the only Union commander to achieve victory against the Confederates in the Shenandoah Valley before the arrival of General Sheridan. He routed Confederate General Stephen D. Ramseur at the Battle of Rutherford's (Carter's) Farm on July 20, 1864, inflicting 400 casualties and capturing a four-gun battery, in spite of Averell's being significantly outnumbered. When General John McCausland burned Chambersburg, Pa., to the ground on July 30, 1864, General Averell tracked him down near Moorefield, West Virginia. Using scouts disguised as Confederates in his vanguard, Averell routed McCausland in a sunrise attack upon the Confederate camp, capturing hundreds of prisoners and another four-gun battery in the Battle of Moorefield. On July 17, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Averell for appointment to the grades of brevet brigadier general and brevet major general in the Regular Army, to rank from March 13, 1865 which the U.S. Senate confirmed. The latter appointment was in recognition of Averell's actions at the Battle of Kelly's Ford. Following the Civil War, President Johnson appointed Averell as U.S. consul general to British North America; he served from 1866 to 1869, through the rest of that administration. In 1888, during Grover Cleveland's presidency, Averell was appointed as Assistant Inspector General of Soldiers Homes, serving from 1888-98.  Averell was among career officers who wrote memoirs and histories of military units: he wrote "Ten Years in the Saddle," and co-authored "History of the Third Pennsylvania Cavalry, 60th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers." General Averell died in Bath, New York, on February 3, 1900, and is buried there. General Averell was one of the first class of ten inductees into the Steuben County, New York, Hall of Fame.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Bust view in uniform with rank of brigadier general. Period ink inscription on the front mount, Major Genl. W.W. Averell, U.S.A. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Maj. Genl. W.W. Averell, U.S.A., Cavalry Army Potomac. Genl. B.J.D. Irwin album, No. 136 is written in another hand in pencil at the bottom. Bottom of the card mount is bumped. Very fine image. Rare with this provenance literally making this image "one of a kind."


<b><h2>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</h2></b>



<b>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>


(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.


He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor reads; "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th U.S. Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege."


Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.


The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.


Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.


His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.


His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.


His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.


General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!


The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only. 

    Best described here by our photos this relic bit was acquired by us years ago at the old 1978 Eisenhower Hotel & Conference Ctr., Gettysburg Civil War show where it was  picked from a local digger’s box of relics (Those were the days! 135 tables of real Civil War artifacts with something in <U>everyone’s</U> price range from thousands all the way down to a few dollars.).   The bit still retained a previous owner’s  descriptive string tag:    <I>Horse Bit – found at Gettysburg, Pa. 1938 by Edw. McGin  - Pickett’s Charge / Bought 6-1-76</I>  <B>Buy with confidence! </B><I>  We are pleased to offer a <B><U>no questions asked</U> three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!</B> <I>Just send us a courtesy  e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly.</I>  <FONT COLOR=#0000FF>Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! </FONT COLOR=#0000FF>  Best described here by our illustrations, this Civil War vintage grooming brush measures approximately 9 x 4 ½ inches and while remaining in excellent original condition, good evidence of age and originality.  Appropriate as a companion with any Civil War period grouping, this horse grooming brush will be of particular interest to the Civil War Cavalry or Mounted Artillery enthusiast.     .  <B>Buy with confidence! </B><I>  We are pleased to offer a <B><U>no questions asked</U> three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!</B> <I>Just send us a courtesy  e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly.</I>  <FONT COLOR=#0000FF>Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! </FONT COLOR=#0000FF>

CDV, General Thomas L. Rosser $250.00

 

CDV, General William W. Averell $150.00

 

1938 battlefield recovery - Pickett’s Ch $145.00

 

Civil War vintage equine decorated Groom $95.00

This attractive all cast brass American eagle  flagstaff finial stands approximately 5 inches and measures about 4 3/4 inches in width.   A classic design seen on many a Civil War vintage flag, this example remains in pleasing, eye appealing condition with good evidence of age and untouched originality .

<B>Buy with confidence! </B><I>  We are pleased to offer a <B><U>no questions asked</U> three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!</B> <I>Just send us a courtesy  e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly.</I>  <FONT COLOR=#0000FF>Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! </FONT COLOR=#0000FF>


 Direct from decades of period attic storage, we have acquired a small lot of earlier through mid-19th century natural cotton sewing floss and are offering  single skeins here for period display or restoration use.  All in as new, off the shelf condition while clearly period, a single twisted skein (illustrated here with a quarter for size comparison) will make a nice addition in any Civil War soldier’s <I>housewife</I> sewing kit, period lady’s sewing basket or will bring period correctness to button application or a textile restoration project.  One of those every day, period <I>must have</I> items seldom surviving to reach todays collector / historian. <B>Buy with confidence! </B><I>  We are pleased to offer a <B><U>no questions asked</U> three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!</B> <I>Just send us a courtesy  e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly.</I>  <FONT COLOR=#0000FF>Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! </FONT COLOR=#0000FF>


 Most frequently carried by ununiformed persons as a symbol of some notoriety, the late 1700s early to mid-1800s swager stick was created in limited quantity with use most popular among the socially elite. Limited in number even in the period, surviving examples are seldom encountered today outside of major museums and private collections.  In addition to its presence as a symbol of status or authority, this all original and period example offered the carrier the security of self-defense as it concealed a menacing 9 3/4  inch long dagger.   Measuring approximately 20 ¼ inches in total, this especially desirable  <I>sword swager stick</I> is fitted with a bovine horn tip to its 7/8 inch diameter tapered wood shaft, a bone ring at the junction to the grip.  The attractively formed grip is hand carved from horn with bone embellishment.  All original and pleasing with no condition,<I>issues</I>, this  attractive swager sick with its concealed triangular blade.

<B>Buy with confidence! </B><I>  We are pleased to offer a <B><U>no questions asked</U> three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!</B> <I>Just send us a courtesy  e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly.</I>  <FONT COLOR=#0000FF>Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! </FONT COLOR=#0000FF>


 H 70in. x D 70in.

antique American Eagle – FLAGSTAFF FINIA $125.00

 

earlier through mid-1800s Cotton SEWIN $35.00

 

rare mid 18th early 19th century - Swo $285.00

 

H 70in. x D 70in. $12000.00

H 34in. x D 14in.  H 44in. x D 18in.  H 14in. x D 12in.  H 20in. x D 10in.


Sold as a pair.

H 34in. x D 14in. $1500.00

 

H 44in. x D 18in. $1500.00

 

H 14in. x D 12in. $750.00

 

H 20in. x D 10in.

Sold as a pair. $1400.00

H 38in. x D 10in.  H 28in. x D 9in.  H 32in. x D 11in.  H 16in. x W 10in. x D 13in.


Sold as a Pair.

H 38in. x D 10in. $850.00

 

H 28in. x D 9in. $650.00

 

H 32in. x D 11in. $2400.00

 

H 16in. x W 10in. x D 13in.

Sold $1200.00

H 36in. x D 21in.  H 34in. x D 24in.  H 18in. x D 16in.  H 21in. x D 8in.

H 36in. x D 21in. $950.00

 

H 34in. x D 24in. $3800.00

 

H 18in. x D 16in. $3800.00

 

H 21in. x D 8in. $2400.00

A classic Civil War personal arm with all matching numbers, this Colt Pocket Model ( serial # 187866) was manufactured in 1861 and remains in pleasing unmolested condition functionally and with  traces of original finish just as it was set aside decades ago.   Best described here by our photo illustrations, this attractive Colt Pocket came to us decades ago when it emanated from <I>hand me down</I> family keepsakes with only a <U>Westminster, Mass.</U> attribution and the applied <B>A. E. DRURY</B> on the bottom flat of the barrel under the loading lever as clues to its long lost history.  We found that Abner E. Drury was a 30 year old resident carpenter of Westminster, Massachusetts when he was mustered in on November 26,1861 as a Corporal of Co. A <B>32nd Mass. Voluntary Infantry</B>.   Reenlisting on January 1, 1864, Drury would be promoted to 1st Sergeant, commissioned 2nd Lieut. on July 20,1864 and finally to 1st Lieut. on April 1865 before mustering out in Washington D.C. on June 29, 1865.  A hard fought regiment, the 32nd Mass. saw considerable action during Drury’s service to include Antietam, Appomattox Court House, Cedar Creek, Chancellorsville, Cold Harbor, Five Forks, Fredericksburg and <B>Gettysburg</B> where the 32d engaged with <U>227 men losing 81, of whom 22 were killed or mortally wounded.</U>   Also included were actions at Jerusalem Plank Road, Mine Run, 2nd Petersburg and the Battle of the Wilderness.   Abner Drury returned to Westminster  after the War where he served as Commander of the Joseph P. Rice G. A. R. Post 69, Dept. of Massachusetts.   With copies of a number of Drury’s period records available on the internet (see: fold3.com) and his image available on the Library of Congress site, this remnant of our years of collecting (see: MaineLegacy.com) dealing and <I>squirreling</I> away will be of special interest to the Gettysburg enthusiast!

<B>Buy with confidence! </B><I>  We are pleased to offer a <B><U>no questions asked</U> three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!</B> <I>Just send us a courtesy  e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly.</I>  <FONT COLOR=#0000FF>Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! </FONT COLOR=#0000FF>


 A bit of a variation in design, this nice <U>Civil War vintage</U> tinned sheet iron mess cup stands 4 11/16  X  4 ½ inches in diameter and will appeal to the <I>deep-dish</I> period tin enthusiast as it features a <U>non-typical recessed base</U>.  Clearly not of the usual design that is seen in later construction, but the skilled application of an earlier design, this period variant is entirely hand crafted with led soldered seems and will add a rare period variation of the more common Civil War era soldier’s mess cup.  <B>Buy with confidence! </B><I>  We are pleased to offer a <B><U>no questions asked</U> three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!</B> <I>Just send us a courtesy  e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly.</I>  <FONT COLOR=#0000FF>Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! </FONT COLOR=#0000FF>


 This attractive little Civil War vintage amber apothecary bottle stands approximately 3 ½  inches and remains in fine condition with its original seal and bears the spirits of camphor label of the early Hannibal Missouri <I>BROWN’S DRUG STORE</I>.  (see: Missouri Historical Society collection : 1858-1860 prescription book) A common cure of the period Camphor Spirit was used topically, orally and even vaporized to treat a variety of common physical maladies. (Note: J.B. Brown operated one of Hannibal’s earliest drug stores originally purchased with money brought back from his participation in the California Gold Rush.)  <B>Buy with confidence! </B><I>  We are pleased to offer a <B><U>no questions asked</U> three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!</B> <I>Just send us a courtesy  e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly.</I>  <FONT COLOR=#0000FF>Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! </FONT COLOR=#0000FF>


 This single stirrup remains in original as found condition and is marked <B>B. M. Co. U. S. </B>  Not a big deal but worthy of an appreciative home.   <B>Buy with confidence! </B><I>  We are pleased to offer a <B><U>no questions asked</U> three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!</B> <I>Just send us a courtesy  e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly.</I>  <FONT COLOR=#0000FF>Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! </FONT COLOR=#0000FF>

32nd Mass. Vols. attributed - Colt Pocke

 

especially nice! Civil War era CUP $135.00

 

Civil War era Hannibal Missouri – APOTHE $55.00

 

U. S. marked MILITARY STIRRUP $35.00

A medical / surgical relic from a time when chloroform was administered by hand utilizing a specially designed <I>dripper</I> bottle and a cloth over the nose and mouth.  (In a search of our personal collection / museum site at MaineLegacy.com you will find an account of how Gettysburg Artillerist, Col. Freeman McGilvery was killed by an overdose of chloroform during simple surgery for a wound of the thumb.)  This little dripper stands approximately 4 ¼ inches including the stopper.   Remaining in pleasing condition with no chips or cracks, this seldom seen dripper will make a nice addition to any quality medical / surgical grouping.


<B>Buy with confidence! </B><I>  We are pleased to offer a <B><U>no questions asked</U> three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!</B> <I>Just send us a courtesy  e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly.</I>  <FONT COLOR=#0000FF>Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! </FONT COLOR=#0000FF>

 


<b>McDowell commanded the Union army at the 1st Battle of Bull Run, Virginia in 1861


Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, 1862</b>


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/4 x 4 1/8 card. Excellent view of an octagon house in Arlington, Va., that was used as the headquarters of General Irvin McDowell in the early summer of 1862. Three Union soldiers can be seen standing on the front porch. A ladder can be seen leaning against the cupola at the top of the house which was used as an observation post. Card is trimmed. No back mark, but this is most likely a Mathew Brady view. Sharp image. This view is published in The Image of War; The Guns of '62. Scarce.  


<b>In December 1855, he was severely wounded in a skirmish with Seminole Indians near Fort Drane, Florida, a wound that would  eventually cause his death!</b> 


<b>Severely wounded at the battle of Antietam, Maryland, in September 1862</b>


<b>From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>


(1830-74) Born at Tyre, New York, he graduated in the West Point class of 1852, and was assigned to the 4th U.S. Artillery. He served with them first in Texas, and later against the Florida Seminoles, when he was severely wounded in a skirmish near Fort Drane, Florida, in December 1855. This wound eventually caused his death. On the fateful day of September 8, 1860, Hartsuff was extremely lucky when he survived the wreck of the steamer, "Lady Elgin," on Lake Michigan. In 1861, he went with the expedition that secretly re-enforced Fort Pickens, Florida. During the fall and winter of 1861-62, he was chief of staff to General William S. Rosecrans in West Virginia, and on April 15, 1862, was appointed brigadier general. He fought gallantly at the 2nd Battle of Bull Run, and was severely wounded at the battle of Antietam. He was promoted to the rank of major general, November 19, 1862, and was appointed to the commanded of the 23rd Corps, until being incapacitated again by his wounds. In March 1865, he took command of the Bermuda Hundred, Va. front, during the siege of Petersburg. Located between the James and Appomattox rivers, the fall of Petersburg, Va., would signal the fall of Richmond, and ultimately the surrender of the Confederacy. After the evacuation of the Confederates, he commanded the District of Nottaway, with his headquarters in Petersburg. Hartsuff was mustered out of the U.S. Volunteer Service, on August 24, 1865. He then served in the Regular U.S. Army, with rank of lieutenant colonel. George Lucas Hartsuff resigned from the Regular Army on June 29, 1871, because of disability caused by his old war wounds. He retired with the rank of major general, and died on May 16, 1874, in New York. He is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the United States Military Academy.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 7/8 card. Mount is slightly trimmed. Excellent quality, standing view in uniform, with rank of major general, and holding his hat. Back mark: E. & H.T. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York, made from a photographic negative in Brady's National Portrait Gallery. Written in period ink on the front of the card mount is, Maj. Genl. G.H. Hartsuff, U.S.A. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Maj. Genl. Geo. Hartsuff, U.S.A. Died, 1874. Genl. B.J.D. Irwin album, No. 92 is written in another hand in pencil at the bottom. Very sharp image. Rare with this provenance literally making this image "one of a kind." 


<h2><b>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</h2></b>


<b>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>


(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.


He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor reads; "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th U.S. Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege."


Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.


The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.


Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.


His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.


His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.


His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.


General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!


The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.   


<b>"you have heard all the news about the battle at Winchester. The Rebels lost killed, wounded & prisoner about twelve hundred, & we followed them about thirty miles, all along the road where they left their dead & wounded, nearly every horse was killed with the wounded."</b> 


3 pages, 5 x 7 1/2, in ink, written by John A. Yeckley, Company E, 28th New York Infantry, to his brother.


<u>Camp Near Edinburg, Va., March 8th/62</u>


Dear brother,


I received your letter last night & was glad to hear from you for I had not heard from you in some time. We have not had any pay in nearly four months & money is rather scarce with us. What I had I let to the boys. We are having pretty fair times just now, rather short rations sometimes, but we are bound not to go hungry so long as there is a porker to squeal & a cock to crow. We don't show much mercy to the Secesh. I suppose that you have heard all the news about the battle at Winchester. The Rebels lost killed, wounded & prisoner about twelve hundred & we followed them about thirty miles, all along the road where they left their dead & wounded, nearly every horse was killed with the wounded. They burned all the bridges where they had a chance which hindered us considerably & I think it is the only thing that saved their bacon. I was detailed to work on the bridge over Stony Creek at Edenburg & the Rebels thought they would stop us & they sent some of them around us, but no one was hurt. One ball upset my coffee while I was eating dinner. That is the closest they have come to me. I suppose that we will move again as soon as everything is in order. We received a dispatch at headquarters this morning from Secretary Stanton that Island No. 10 is taken with two thousand prisoners & all their munitions of war, that Gen. Grant has met Beauregard near Corinth & completely routed him. If it is a true report the Rebellion will soon be wiped out. We expect now that we will get home by the fourth of July. We are all well & enjoying ourselves very well. Paper & stamps are rather a scarce article with the soldiers & they are more so with the citizens. Salt is worth twenty dollars per bushel & is not to be had, potatoes, coffee & writing paper in the same proportions. Write as often as you can conveniently for I am always glad to hear from home.


John A. Yeckley


Some light scattered age toning and staining. Bold and neatly written. Very fine.


John A. Leckley, was 24 years old when he enlisted in the Union army as a private, at Canadaigua, New  York, on May 14, 1861, and was mustered into Company E, 28th New York Infantry, on May22nd. He was mustered out of the service on June 2, 1863, at Albany, New York, when the regiment's term of service expired.


<u>Edinburg, Virginia</u>: Located in Shenandoah County, in the lower Shenandoah Valley, (the Shenandoah Valley ran opposite from normal directional description: it went from upper at the south, near Lexington, to lower at the north near Winchester). This small town was incorporated in 1852. During the War Between the States troops from both armies served and skirmished in this vicinity. The important Edinburg Mill, founded in 1848, was located here.

19th century amber Chloroform Dripper $75.00

 

CDV, Headquarters of General Irvin McDow $100.00

 

CDV, General George L. Hartsuff $200.00

 

28th New York Infantry Letter $185.00




<b>Wounded at Fort Donelson, Tennessee, and in the Atlanta, Georgia campaign!


General Logan was instrumental in founding Memorial Day to honor our war veterans!


United States Senator and Congressman from Illinois


From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>




(1826-86) Nicknamed "Black Jack," he served in the Mexican War as a lieutenant of Illinois Volunteers; and was perhaps the Union's premier civilian general during the Civil War. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1858 and 1860, he attended the Democratic National Convention in Charleston, S.C., as a supporter of Senator Stephen A. Douglas. After fighting at the battle of 1st Bull Run, Va., he returned to Illinois to recruit the 31st Illinois Infantry and he was commissioned as their colonel. An instant success as a field commander, he saw action at Belmont, and Fort Donelson where he was wounded. Promoted to rank of brigadier general, March 21, 1862, and major general March 13, 1863, he fought at Corinth, Shiloh, Vicksburg, in the Atlanta campaign where he was wounded again, and in the 1865 Carolina's campaign. After the war he returned to politics and served as U.S. Congressman and Senator from Illinois almost uninterruptedly until his death. He was greatly involved in veteran's affairs and was instrumental in founding Memorial Day.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 7/8 card. The mount has been slightly trimmed. 2/3 seated pose of Logan wearing a double breasted frock coat with rank of major general. Written in period ink on the front of the card mount is, Maj. Genl. John A. Logan, U.S.A. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Maj. Genl. Jno. A. Logan, U.S.A. Comdg. 15th Corps d'Arme. Died, 1887. Genl. B.J.D. Irwin album, No. 68 is written in another hand in pencil at the bottom. Sharp image. Rare with this provenance literally making this image "one of a kind." 


<h2><b><u>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</h2></b></u>


<b>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>


(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.


He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor reads; "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th U.S. Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege."


Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.


The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.


Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.


His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.


His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.


His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.


General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!


The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.  A nice pair of period of the pattern of 1872 U. S. Cavalry Sgt. stripes.  All original and in ‘minty’ condition after decades of storage, this pair should not be confused with the later issue and outright reproductions that are more frequently seen.  With their sturdy yellow wool and higher quality chain stitch trim, these original issue cavalry stripes will add quality and color to any Indian Wars era or U.S. insignia grouping. A relatively common item only a few years ago, real examples are now difficult to find.  <B>Buy with confidence! </B><I>  We are pleased to offer a <B><U>no questions asked</U> three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!</B> <I>Just send us a courtesy  e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly.</I>  <FONT COLOR=#0000FF>Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! </FONT COLOR=#0000FF>


 For the collector who <I>’thinks’</I> they have everything, this antique    ring has an outside diameter of 3 3/8 inches and was fashioned in two pieces fitting together and held by counter sunk screws to form a stout bronze ring.  When clipped to a strong wood shaft a nose ring became a mainstay of handler protection and control a rambunctious bull. This antique example remains untouched and in good honest condition with that natural age patina that comes to bronze with the decades.   Will make a  truly eclectic conversation piece. <B>Buy with confidence! </B><I>  We are pleased to offer a <B><U>no questions asked</U> three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!</B> <I>Just send us a courtesy  e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly.</I>  <FONT COLOR=#0000FF>Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! </FONT COLOR=#0000FF>

4444


 Backmarked by Civil War photographer D. K. Brownell of Scranton, Pennsylvania, this well got up, armed, Highlander  offers a fine representation of the presents of Scottish militia as the  Union Army possessed several predominantly Scottish regiments between 1861 and 1865.  Mostly based on pre-war militia units as approximately 600,000 Scots migrated to the United States between 1851 and 1861, many continued to represent their ethnic heritage and rich military tradition wearing full Highland uniforms. 

<B>Buy with confidence! </B><I>  We are pleased to offer a <B><U>no questions asked</U> three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!</B> <I>Just send us a courtesy  e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly.</I>  <FONT COLOR=#0000FF>Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! </FONT COLOR=#0000FF>

CDV, General John A. Logan

 

1872 Pattern Cavalry SERGEANT CHEVRONS $165.00

 

antique bronze – Bull NOSE RING $48.00

 

Civil War vintage Pennsylvania - Highlan $165.00




<b>Killed at Pine Mountain, Ga. in June 1864


From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861</b> 


(1806-64) Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, he was known as the "Bishop Militant." Polk graduated in the West Point class of 1827 with an impressive academic record, excelling in rhetoric and moral philosophy. He graduated eighth of 38 cadets, and was appointed a brevet second lieutenant in the artillery. He resigned from the U.S. Army in December 1827, and entered the Episcopal ministry, and later became Missionary Bishop of the Southwest. Polk was the leading founder of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, which he envisioned as a national university for the Southern United States. Exchanging his clerical vestments for an army uniform upon the outbreak of the War Between the States, he was appointed major general in the Confederate Army on June 25, 1861, and lieutenant general October 10, 1862. In the early months of the war he commanded the vast territory of Department No. 2, including the Mississippi River defenses from the Red River to Paducah, Kentucky. He also organized the Army of Mississippi. He subsequently served as a corps commander at the Battles of Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and in the opening operations of the Atlanta campaign. While examining the Federal position in company with Generals' Joseph E. Johnston and William J. Hardee, Polk was instantly killed by a cannon shot at Pine Mountain, Ga., on June 14, 1864. This artillery fire was initiated when General William T. Sherman spotted a cluster of Confederate generals in an exposed area.  Sherman pointed them out to General Oliver O. Howard, commander of the 4th Corps, in Sherman's army, and ordered him to fire upon them, which a battery of the 1st Ohio Light Artillery, commanded by Captain Hubert Dilger, did within minutes. The third shell they fired struck General Polk's left arm, went through his chest, and exited, hitting his right arm, then exploded against a tree; nearly cutting him in half! 


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 3/4 card. Card mount has been trimmed. Bust view in uniform with epaulets. Back mark: E. & H.T. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York, made from a photographic negative in Brady's National Portrait Gallery. Written in red period ink on the front mount is: Lt. Genl. Leonidas Polk, C.S.A. Red ink was used to indicate that General Polk had been killed during the war. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Lt. Genl. Leonidas Polk, C.S.A, [in red ink] Killed, June 14, 1864, Pine Mountain. At 58. Genl. B.J.D. Irwin album, No. 128 is written in another hand in pencil at the bottom. Rare with this provenance literally making this image one of a kind.


<u><h2>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</u></h2>


<b><h2>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861.

</b></h2>


(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.


He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor reads; "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th U.S. Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege."


Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.


The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.


Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.


His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.


His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.


His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.


General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!


The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.    


<b>He was seriously wounded during the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign


Johnson led General Stonewall Jackson's old division at Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania


He was captured at Spotsylvania while defending the Bloody Angle in May 1864


Johnson was captured at the battle of Nashville, Tennessee in December 1864


From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>


(1816-73) Known as "Old Allegheny," he was born in Chesterfield County, Virginia, and graduated in the West Point class of 1838, and was assigned to the 6th U.S. Infantry. He served in the Seminole Indian War, and the Mexican War. In the latter he distinguished himself for gallantry at Veracruz, Cerro Gordo, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and Chapultepec receiving two brevet promotions, to captain and major. He also was awarded a ceremonial sword by the state of Virginia for his bravery. After the war with Mexico concluded, Johnson served on the western frontier, in the Dakota Territory, California, Kansas, and in the Utah Expedition. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was appointed colonel of the 12th Georgia Infantry, and was promoted to brigadier general, on December 13, 1861, and major general, on February 28, 1863. He fought with distinction in the 1862 Shenandoah Valley campaign, where he was seriously wounded at the Battle of McDowell, with a bullet wound to the ankle, which took a long time to heal. He led General Stonewall Jackson's old division at Gettysburg, the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. In the fall of 1863, Johnson played a prominent role in the Mine Run Campaign. He was captured at Spotsylvania on May 12, 1864, while defending the "Bloody Angle." After his exchange from prison he led a division in the Tennessee campaign and was captured at the battle of Nashville, on December 16, 1864. He again spent months in a Union prisoner of war camp at Johnson's Island, in Lake Erie, and at the end of the war, General Johnson was moved to the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C., where he was accused of being somehow complicit in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Nothing came of the accusation and he was paroled on July 22, 1865. After the war he was a farmer in Virginia, and also active in Confederate veterans affairs, including early efforts to construct a monument to General Robert E. Lee in Richmond. He died in Richmond on February 2, 1873, and his body lay in state in the Virginia State Capital building until his burial at Hollywood Cemetery, in Richmond. 


Wet plate, albumen, carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 3/4 card. Bust view in Confederate uniform with rank of major general. Back mark: E. & H.T. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York. The card mount is trimmed. Light age toning and wear. Very fine. This is the only known wartime view of General Edward Johnson in uniform. It was taken sometime after his promotion to major general on February 28, 1862. Written in period ink on the front of the card mount is, Maj. Genl. Ed Johnson, C.S.A. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Maj. Genl. Edward Johnson, C.S., Died, 1872. At 57. Genl. B.J.D. Irwin album, No. 96 is written in another hand in pencil at the bottom. Rare with this provenance literally making this image one of a kind.


<u>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</u>


<b>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861.

</b>


(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.


He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor reads; "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th U.S. Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege."


Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.


The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.


Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.


His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.


His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.


His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.


General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!


The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.   


<b>Captured at the fall of Fort Donelson, Tennessee in February 1862


Kentucky Cavalry Commander under General Nathan Bedford Forrest


He escaped from capture at Red Hill, Alabama in January 1865, by his quick thinking and daring action and shooting a Yankee sergeant</b>


(1836-1907) He was born in what is now Lyon County, Kentucky, to a wealthy plantation family, and was the grandson of Congressman Matthew Lyon. He graduated in the West Point class of 1856, and was assigned to the 2nd U.S. Artillery Regiment on duty at Fort Myers during the Third Seminole War. After hostilities with the Seminoles ended, Lyon was transferred to the 3rd U.S. Artillery and sent to Fort Yuma in California. The following year he was ordered to the Washington Territory, where he took part in two battles with local Indian tribes. When the War Between the States erupted in April 1861, Lyon resigned his commission in the U.S. Army, and threw his lot in with the Confederacy. He soon after raised Company F, of the 3rd Kentucky Infantry, which later became part of the 1st Kentucky Artillery. Lyon equipped the unit, which initially was known as "Lyon's Battery," later "Cobb's Battery." In January 1862, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 8th Kentucky Infantry, and his regiment was part of the garrison at Fort Donelson, Tennessee. After fighting off three attacks by the Union Army, the fort finally surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, and Lyon was among those captured. He was sent as a prisoner of war, first to Camp Morton at Indianapolis, and then to Camp Chase, Ohio. He and other captured officers were later sent to Fort Warren, in Boston Harbor, where he was finally exchanged in September, 1862. His regiment was reorganized and now re-enlisted for three years, with Lyon appointed as its colonel. He fought in the forces of General Earl Van Dorn, and then General John C. Pemberton during the Vicksburg Campaign. He and 250 of his men managed to avoid surrendering to General Grant, and he led them to Jackson, Mississippi, where they joined the Confederate forces there. Later, General Braxton Bragg appointed him as commander of two cavalry regiments under General Joseph Wheeler, and he later served under General James Longstreet during the Siege of Knoxville. Following the Battle of Chattanooga, Lyon was placed in charge of General Bragg's artillery, saving them from capture during his subsequent retreat. He returned to commanding cavalry in 1864, this time in Mississippi as a brigadier general under General Nathan Bedford Forrest. In December 1864, he led 800 Kentucky cavalrymen on a raid into Tennessee and western Kentucky both to enforce Confederate draft laws, and to draw Union troops away from General John Bell Hood's Nashville campaign. His men burned seven county courthouses that were being used to house Union troops, including those at Princeton, Marion and Hopkinsville. He retreated south after the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Nashville to rejoin General Forrest in Mississippi. In January 1865, General Lyon was surprised while sleeping in a private home in Red Hill, Alabama, by a detachment of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry. After he was captured, he shot and killed the Union sergeant who captured him, Arthur Lyon, by asking to retrieve his clothes and grabbing a hidden pistol, he escaped in his nightgown. When the war ended, Lyon refused to surrender and he accompanied Tennessee Governor Isham G. Harris into Mexico with the intention of joining up with the forces of Emperor Maximilian.  He was a civil engineer in Mexico for nearly a year before finally returning to his home in Eddyville, Kentucky, where he resumed farming and opened a prosperous mercantile business. He also served as state prison commissioner, primarily responsible for what is now the Kentucky State Penitentiary located in his hometown of Eddyville. His initials are still inscribed over the Kentucky State Penitentiary's front gate. Lyon died on April 25, 1907, at his home in Lyon County, Kentucky.


<u>Card Signature With Rank</u>: Superb card signature in ink, H.B. Lyon, Brigadier General, Comdg. Kentucky Brigade, Forrest Cavalry, C.S.A. This 3 3/4 x 2 1/2 card is tipped to a larger card that measures, 4 1/2 x 3 1/4. Light wrinkle at center. Bold and neatly written autograph. Extremely desirable and very scarce in this format.        


<b>Written on a beautiful full color Union patriotic letter sheet


"I hope this [war] will soon come to an end and have peace again in our country."</b>


4 pages, 5 x 8, in ink, written by Benjamin Frey, to George H. Yeckley, on a beautiful full color patriotic letter sheet featuring Columbia holding a sword and the American flag. Very fine condition. Desirable patriotic stationary used in 1862. 


Gorham, (Maine), February the 5th, 1862


Mr. George H. Yeckley,


Dear Sir,


My friend I must once more take the opportunity to write to you for I shall be glad to hear from an old friend again. Well George, there has been a great change in Gorham since you left here. Now I will tell you some of the changes that happened here with me. For one thing I have only enjoyed married life a little over a year. It was a happy one too, but the Lord seen fit to part us again in our happiness. I suppose you heard who I married. It was Dear Lovine E., but she is gone now. We shall never see her again in this world. She died the 9 of Dec. 1861. My little boy died 4 of Nov. 1861. When Lovine died she left me with a little girl, only two weeks old. I have given up keeping house, and July has took my baby home to her Father. It is well and a gaining. The rest of my Father-in-Laws folks are all well and I am well at present. I hope these few lines may find you the same George. This is a lonesome winter for me, but I must submit to my lot. There may be sunshine again for me now. George, I will tell you that I have been out west and what parts. I left home the 2nd of Jan. 1860. I went to Ohio. I stayed there until spring. From there I went to Ind.[iana] & on through to Wisconsin. I stayed there through the summer. In the fall I made my return home again. I seen a great deal of the western country while I was gone, and got pretty well satisfied too of it for one route. When I got home I found some changes myself, but no matter I soon brought the changes all right. The shame was that me & Lovine had a little boy to see to now so we got married the 8th of Oct. 1860 & lived happily together as ever a married couple did in this world. We lived right across the road from my father in a house that my father bought of the Dunn Boys, and moved there, and I worked for my father in the copper shop. Me & Lovine had everything arranged very comfortably for new beginners, but now all hopes is blasted, but I hope to meet her in Heaven where there will be no more parting, but the ever lasting joy. Lovine spoke about you a great many times and of the old times we used to all have together. She had your likeness so me & her could see you. It recalled us back to the old times we use to all have together, but now she is gone & left me & you and all of us we will never hear her voice again. About your brother enlisting (he is referring to John A. Yeckley, who served in Co. E, 28th New York Infantry) I guess you know as much about them as I do. Your folks are all well as far as I know. The news is nothing but we are now a daze. I guess it is the same where you are, but I hope this will soon come to an end and have peace again in our country. [he is referring to the Civil War now almost ready to start its second year]. George we have now got a brass band of music in our great city of Bethel. There is nine in the band. I will bring my letter to a close for this time. I shall be greatly pleased to hear from you soon. Write as soon as you get this letter. My best respects and wishes to you from your old friend.


Benjamin Frey


I hope to see you soon. I thought you would have made us a visit before this time. Good bye. 


Very bold and neatly written letter with some heart breaking content regarding the loss of his wife and child, and his desire for the war to end and have peace restored in the country.

CDV, General Leonidas Polk $175.00

 

CDV, General Edward Johnson $200.00

 

Autograph, General Hylan B. Lyon $350.00

 

1862 Letter From Gorham, Maine $65.00




<b>United States Congressman & Senator from Missouri


He was instrumental in preventing Missouri from joining the Confederacy in 1861


The Blair family were close friends of President Abraham Lincoln</b>


(1821-75) Born in Lexington, Kentucky, he was the son of an advisor to presidents, and the brother of Montgomery Blair, President Abraham Lincoln's first postmaster general. From secession to reconstruction, Francis P. Blair, Jr. made a series of major contributions to the Union cause. No man did more to block Missouri's joining the Confederacy in 1861 than Blair, Jr. As a U.S. Congressman he battled for Lincoln's early war programs; he was a distinguished divisional and corps commander in the Vicksburg and Atlanta campaigns; and as a post war senator battled the Radical Republicans in an attempt to bring reconstruction to a shattered nation. After the Mexican War started he joined the expedition of General Stephen W. Kearny in Santa Fe, who then appointed Blair as attorney general for the New Mexico Territory after it was secured. Blair was instrumental in appointing Nathaniel Lyon as the new military commander of the Western Department of the U.S. Army. He assisted Lyon in securing help of the St. Louis Home Guard in moving over 20,000 rifles and muskets from the St. Louis Arsenal to Illinois. The Blair family were unwavering supporters of Abraham Lincoln during his rise to the presidency, and during his years in office, and in return they enjoyed his political patronage. In December 1863, President Lincoln said, "The Blair's have to an unusual degree the spirit of clan. Their family is a close corporation. Frank, Jr. is their hope and pride. They have a way of going with a rush for anything they undertake, and especially have Montgomery and the Old Gentleman." Blair was appointed a colonel of Missouri volunteers in July 1862, and was promoted to rank of brigadier general of volunteers in August 1862, and major general in November. He subsequently commanded a division in the Vicksburg campaign, and in the fighting about Chattanooga. He also saw action during the Yazoo expedition, in Sherman's March to the Sea, and in the 1865 Carolina's campaign. Both Generals' Grant and Sherman who were highly critical of most "political generals" rated Blair as one of the most competent military leaders of the Civil War. He was one of General Sherman's top corps commanders in the final campaigns in Georgia and the Carolina's. He died on July 8, 1875, from serious head injuries that he received after a fall. He is interred in Bellefontaine Cemetery, in St. Louis, Mo. After hearing about Blair's death, General William T. Sherman said, "I always regarded him as one of the truest patriots, most honest and honorable men, and one of the most courageous soldiers this country ever produced." General Ulysses S. Grant wrote about Frank Blair, Jr. in his memoirs that, "There was no man braver than he, nor was there any who obeyed all orders of his superiors in rank with more unquestioning alacrity. He was one man as a soldier, another as a politician."


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Splendid half view portrait of a seated Blair  wearing jacket, vest and bow tie. Imprint on the front mount, "Gen. Frank P. Blair." Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by J. Gurney & Son, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. J. Gurney & Son, Photo, N.Y. Back mark: J. Gurney & Son, 707 Broadway, N.Y. Corners of the card mount are very slightly trimmed. Very sharp image. Nice photograph.    

 


<b>Chief Engineer of the defenses of Washington, D.C., in 1861 


Photograph taken by Alexander Gardner, Washington, D.C.</b>


(1819-78) Born in Nicholas County, Kentucky, he graduated #7 in the West Point class of 1842, and was commissioned into the elite U.S. Engineers Corps. He served in the Mexican War, as an engineer officer building fortifications to protect the  supply lines of the U.S. Army during their advance upon Mexico City. After the war, he was stationed in Washington, D.C., where he served as architect for the Scott Building of the U.S. Soldiers' Home, now known as the Armed Forces Retirement Home. The building was named for General Winfield Scott, and he took over the completion of the Smithsonian Institution building after the first architect was dismissed. Alexander worked on several fortification projects along the East Coast of the United States, including Forts Pulaski, Jackson, and the defenses of New York City. Afterwards he traveled to New England, where he supervised the rebuilding of the Minot's Ledge Lighthouse, a project widely considered to be one of the most difficult to be attempted by the U.S. Government up to that time. On September 28, 1861, he was commissioned lieutenant colonel and he served as an advisor to the Engineering Brigade of the Army of the Potomac, and became Chief Engineer of the defenses of Washington, D.C. Alexander put his skills to military use for the first time since the Mexican War, when on May 24, 1861, he was among several hundred engineers who marched into Virginia to begin building fortifications to protect Washington, D.C. In July 1861, the force that had marched into northern Virginia on May 24th found itself opposed by a large Confederate Army force that had marched up from the south. In the haste to meet the Confederates in battle, Alexander found himself serving as an infantry officer and was assigned to the 1st Division of the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under the command of General Daniel Tyler. It was a situation common to the young Union Army soldier, which found itself short of experienced officers. Many engineer officers building defenses south of Washington were assigned to a regiment or division during the First Battle of Bull Run. Alexander received a brevet to major in the regular army for his service during the battle. He was cited for gallantry and meritorious service at 1st Bull Run, and Yorktown, and was promoted to brevet brigadier general, on March 13, 1865. He later served as chief engineer of the Military Division of the Pacific, making him the head engineer for every military construction project on the West Coast. In later years, he persuaded the U.S. government to acquire Pearl Harbor from the Kingdom of Hawaii and supervised numerous irrigation and land reclamation projects in California's central valley. He died on December 15, 1878, in San Francisco, California. He is buried in San Francisco National Cemetery.  


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 3/4 card. Bust view in uniform with shoulder strap visible. Back mark: Alex. Gardner Galleries, Photographer to the Army of the Potomac, 511 Seventh Street and 332 Pennsylvania Av., Washington, D.C., with vignette of the U.S. Capitol, and a 3 cents green Internal Revenue Proprietary tax stamp with stamped date Aug. 28 on the reverse. Card mount is trimmed. Scarce.  


<b>From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>


(1807-71) Known as "Prince John," a resplendently uniformed man with a theatrical manner, he attained a reputation for his social grace and etiquette. Born at Port Royal, Virginia, he graduated in the West Point class of 1830. He fought gallantry during the Mexican War, while an artillery officer, and at the Battle of Palo Alto, on April 18, 1847, Magruder served with "zeal and ability," in General Winfield Scott's expedition, under heavy fire and turned Mexican artillery against them at Cerro Gordo, for which he was praised by his superiors and was promoted to the rank of brevet major. In the Battle of Mexico City, he was wounded, and ordered the first shots to be fired, and began a heavy pursuit, despite superior Mexican numbers, to capture the Anzures, Veronica, and Belen intersection, a crucial crossroads that would block efforts by General Santa Anna to relieve the palace. From the conflict in Mexico, Magruder learned the value of deceiving and flanking forces outnumbering his own. He also saw the war as a way to demonstrate that the science of artillery was continually advancing, and submitted a detailed plan for separating the light artillery from ordnance, field, and sea coast artillery, resulting in an enlightened division of labor" and specialization. Magruder resigned from the U.S. Army on April 20, 1861, and was appointed brigadier general in the Provisional Confederate Army on June 17, 1861, and major general on October 7, 1861. He won the Battle of Big Bethel, Va., the first land battle of the war, and distinguished himself in the early part of the 1862 Virginia Peninsula campaign, completely deceiving General George B. McClellan as to the size of his forces at Yorktown. He was less successful during the Seven Days battles, and was later assigned to command the District of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Here he was successful in the recapture of Galveston, Texas and the dispersal of the Federal blockading fleet. After surrendering the Trans-Mississippi Department in June 1865, General Magruder fled to Mexico refusing to be formally paroled and then joined Emperor Maximilian's Imperial forces with the rank of major general. He did not return to the United States until 1867. John B. Magruder died in Houston, Texas, on February 18, 1871, and is buried at the Episcopal Cemetery, in Galveston.  


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 7/8 card. Full standing view of the flamboyant Magruder wearing a double breasted frock coat with epaulets, over the shoulder belt, aiguillete, sash, gauntlets, and holding his sword in one hand and a chapeau hat with plume, and eagle hat plate in the other. Back mark: Charles D. Fredricks & Co., 587 Broadway, New York. The card mount has been slightly trimmed. Written in period ink on the front of the card mount is, Maj. Genl. J.B. Magruder, C.S.A. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Maj. Genl. J.B. Magruder, C.S.A., Died Feb. 19, 1871. Age 64. Genl. B.J.D. Irwin album, No. 185 is written in another hand in pencil at the bottom. Splendid pose of Magruder wearing a uniform of his own design! Very desirable image. Rare with the provenance.


<u>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</u>


<b>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861.</b>


(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.


He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor reads; "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th U.S. Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege."


Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.


The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.


Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.


His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.


His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.


His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.


General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!


The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.  


  


<b>Nicknamed "Little Poison," the defensive great patrolled center field for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1920's and 1930's</b>


(1906-82) Born in  Harrah, Oklahoma, along with his older brother, Paul Waner, known as "Big Poison," he anchored the Pittsburgh Pirates outfield throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The younger Waner started his professional baseball career in 1925 with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League. Waner broke into the major leagues with the Pirates in 1927, and quickly built his reputation as a slap hitter with an astute sense of plate discipline. In his rookie campaign, he batted .355 with 223 hits while only striking out 23 times (the highest strikeout total of his career). As the lead off hitter of the powerful Pittsburgh offense, he led the National League with 133 runs scored which set set a MLB rookie record. The Pirates won the 1927 National League pennant with Waner batting .400 in his only World Series, but they lost to the powerful New York Yankees, the team led by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig known as "Murder's Row," in four straight games. He continued to bat well and earned a record-setting 678 hits over his first three seasons (1927–1929), and  finished in the top ten in MVP voting in 1927 and 1929. He finished his career in September 1945. Waner led the NL in putouts four times, using his excellent speed to cover the spacious Forbes Field outfield. He recorded a career .983 fielding percentage at that position. He (2,459) and his older brother Paul (3,152) hold the career record for hits by brothers (5,611), outpacing the three Alou brothers, and the three DiMaggio brothers, among others. Lloyd Waner was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967. His career batting average was .316, and he is also a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame.


3 x 5 index card signature, beautifully signed in ink, Lloyd Waner, "Little Poison." Excellent condition. Very desirable with the addition by Waner of his nickname! Comes with a 7 x 9 photograph of him in uniform taken from a book.

CDV, General Frank P. Blair $75.00

 

CDV, Lieutenant Colonel, Barton S. Alexa $95.00

 

CDV, General John B. Magruder $185.00

 

Autograph, Lloyd Waner, Baseball Hall of $50.00




Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Full standing view of an officer wearing a double breasted frock coat with rank of brigadier general, epaulets, sash, eagle belt plate, sword attached to his belt, and holding his chapeau with a cloth U.S. infantry hat insignia in the front, and pinned up on the side with a Hardee hat plate. Studio pose with column, railing and drapes in the background. No back mark. Light age toning. Excellent content. Very fine Civil War image of an unidentified United States officer.   


<b>Colonel 13th New Hampshire Infantry


Wounded at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Va., and the Capture of Fort Harrison, Va.


United States Congressman from New Hampshire 


Autographed carte de visite with rank & regiment</b>


(1819-87) Born in Derry, N.H., he was a lawyer by occupation, and served as a member of the New Hampshire State House of Representatives in 1845. He was a delegate to the Whig National Convention in 1852, and served as solicitor of Hillsborough County, 1856-1861. At the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted on April 29, 1861, as major, and was commissioned into the 1st New Hampshire Infantry, a 90 days unit, mustering out at the expiration of their term of service, on August 9, 1861. On September 23, 1862, he was commissioned colonel of the 13th New Hampshire Infantry. He was wounded in action on June 1, 1864, in the battle of Cold Harbor, Va., and was wounded again on September 29, 1864, in the capture of Fort Harrison, Va. Promoted to brevet brigadier general, December 8, 1864, and mustered out of service on June 21, 1865. Served as U.S. Congressman, 1867-71, and was a member of the New Hampshire State House of Representatives, 1876-84.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Bust view in uniform with rank of full colonel. Nicely autographed in ink on the reverse with sentiment, rank and regiment, Your Fr.[iend] & Servt., A.F. Stevens, Col. 13th N.H.V. No back mark. Light age toning. Very fine. Scarce.  


<b>Autograph Letter Signed written to General Winfield S. Hancock


Sickles murdered Philip Barton Key II across the street from the White House!


Severely wounded at Gettysburg resulting in the amputation of his leg


Medal of Honor Recipient for heroism at the Battle of Gettysburg


United States Congressman & New York State Senator</b>


(1819-1914) Born in New York City, he was a controversial New York State senator and congressman. He first achieved national notoriety in 1859 when he shot down, in the shadows of the White House, his young wife's lover, Philip Barton Key, II, who was the son of the author of our national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner," Francis Scott Key. Sickles lawyer during the lurid trial was none other than Edwin M. Stanton, Abraham Lincoln's future Secretary of War, who got him off. Sickles was acquitted after using "temporary insanity" as a legal defense for the first time in United States history. During the Civil War, Sickles served as a brigade, division, and corps commander, and fought in the 1862 Virginia Peninsular campaign, at Antietam, and Fredericksburg. At the Battle of Gettysburg, he commanded the 3rd Corps, of the Army of the Potomac, and was severely wounded on July 2, 1863, from cannon fire, the result being the amputation of his right leg. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions in the battle of Gettysburg. He saw no further field service as a result of his amputation. After the war, Sickles was appointed as a commander for military districts in the South during the Reconstruction period. He also served as U.S. Minister to Spain, 1869-74, under President Ulysses S. Grant. He was very instrumental in forming the Gettysburg National Military Park, and preserving the battlefield for posterity. Sickles political career was that of a New York State Senator, 1856-57; U.S. Congressman, 1857-61; and U.S. Congressman, 1893-95. He died on May 3, 1914, in New York City, at the age of 94. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.


<u>Autograph Letter Signed</u>: 2 pages, 5 x 8, in ink, written to General Winfield S. Hancock.


14 Fifth Ave.

Tuesday


Dear General,


Col. F. [?] did not see my note soon enough after the receipt of yours to call upon you on Monday. The Vicomte de Bondy is also here and has a letter to you from an old comrade the Duc de Chatres- now as you know is Colonel Commanding a regiment of cavalry. If you will afford an hour to me now to receive these polite men they will call together and pay their respects to you. 


Sincerely,

D.E. Sickles


To Maj. Genl. W.S. Hancock, U.S. Army


There is a docket written on the reverse in ink in another hand as follows:


14 5th Av.

Sept. 14, 1880


Genl. D. Sickles


Relative to his call with Col. Faverol [?] & the Viscomte de Bondy-


Typical fold wear. Boldly written. Very fine letter written between two Gettysburg generals who were both very severely wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2nd & 3rd, 1863.


<u>Trivia</u>: The word "Comte" is French for the title "Count."  

 


<b>The gallant Union commander of Fort Sumter, South Carolina who withstood a 36 hour bombardment before surrendering the fort</b>


(1805-1871) Born at "Soldier's Retreat," the Anderson family estate near Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated in the West Point class of 1825, and participated in the Black Hawk Indian War, in Florida. In the Mexican War, he fought in the Siege of Vera Cruz, the Battle of Cerro Gordo, the Skirmish of Amazoque, and the Battle of Molino del Rey where he was severely wounded while assaulting the Mexican fortifications, for which he received a brevet promotion to major. In November 1860, he was ordered to Charleston Harbor to take command of the three United States forts there; Castle Pickney, Fort Moultrie, and Fort Sumter, and all troops in the area, in the face of South Carolina's imminent secession. Major Anderson refused a formal demand for his surrender and in the early morning hours of April 12, 1861, Fort Sumter was bombarded by Rebel cannons, and the Civil War began. His small garrison withstood 36 hours under heavy fire before being compelled to surrender. Robert Anderson became a national hero in the North for his heroic stand. Ironically, the Confederate artillery attack was commanded by General P.G.T. Beauregard, who had been Anderson's student at West Point. He was promoted to brigadier general in the Regular U.S. Army, effective May 15, 1861. Anderson took the Fort Sumter's 33 star American flag with him to New York City, where he participated in a huge patriotic rally at Union Square that was the largest public gathering in North America until then. General Anderson then went on a highly successful recruiting tour of the North, with his next assignment placing him in another sensitive political position as commander of the Department of Kentucky, subsequently renamed the Department of the Cumberland, in a border state that had officially declared neutrality between the Union and the Confederacy. Anderson's last military assignment was a brief period as commanding officer of Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island, in August 1863. Anderson officially retired from the Army on October 27, 1863 "for disability resulting from long and faithful service, and wounds and disease contracted in the line of duty," but he continued to serve on the staff of the general commanding the Eastern Department, headquartered in New York City, from October 27, 1863, to January 22, 1869. On February 3, 1865, Anderson was brevetted to the rank of major general for "gallantry and meritorious service" in the defense of Fort Sumter. General Robert Anderson personally raised that same United States flag over Fort Sumter on April 14, 1865, exactly four years after he had hauled it down. Hours after the joyous ceremony of April 14, 1865, the country went into deep mourning as John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. General Anderson died in Nice, France, on October 26, 1871, as he had been there seeking a medical cure for his ailments. He was 66 years old at the time of his death, and was buried at the United States Military Academy, at West Point, New York.   


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Standing view wearing a double breasted frock coat probably as major, and Anderson is also sporting his overcoat on top of his uniform coat, and he is holding his bummer's kepi with hat insignia at his waist. Back mark: E. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York, made from a photographic negative in Brady's National Portrait Gallery. There is a photographic sticker affixed on the reverse from McAllister & Brother, 128 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. This is most likely the M.B. Brady agent who sold this photograph. Sharp image. Desirable pose. Excellent condition.

CDV, Armed United States Civil War Offic $75.00

 

CDV, Colonel Aaron F. Stevens

 

Autograph, General Daniel E. Sickles

 

CDV, General Robert Anderson $125.00




<b>General-in-Chief of the U.S. Armies during the Civil War, 1861-62


Democratic Presidential Candidate that was defeated by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864


Governor of New Jersey</b>


(1826-85) Hailed as the "Young Napoleon," McClellan was thought to have of the greatest military minds of his generation. He was born in Philadelphia, the son of a prominent surgeon, Dr. George McClellan, the founder of Jefferson Medical College. One of McClellan's great-grandfathers was General Samuel McClellan of Woodstock, Connecticut, a brigadier general who fought in the Revolutionary War. George Brinton McClellan graduated 2nd in his class of 59 cadets at West Point in 1846, where he was an energetic and ambitious cadet, deeply interested in strategic principles.  He was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His closest friends at the Academy were southerners George Pickett, Dabney Maury, Cadmus Wilcox, and A.P. Hill. After graduation, he served with distinction in the Mexican War, as an engineering officer who was frequently subject to enemy fire, and was appointed a brevet first lieutenant for his services at Contreras, and Churubusco, and to captain for his service at Chapultepec. He performed reconnaissance missions for General Winfield Scott, a close friend of McClellan's father. McClellan's experiences in the Mexican War would shape his military and political life. He learned that flanking movements that were used by General Scott at Cerro Gordo are often better than frontal assaults, and the value of siege operations against Veracruz was another well learned lesson. He witnessed Scott's success in balancing political with military affairs, and his good relations with the civil population as he invaded, enforcing strict discipline on his soldiers to minimize damage to civilian property. In the fall of 1852, McClellan published a manual on bayonet tactics that he had translated from the original French. He also received an assignment to the Department of Texas, with orders to perform a survey of Texas rivers and harbors. In 1853, he participated in the Pacific Railroad surveys, ordered by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, to select an appropriate route for the planned transcontinental railroad. Because of his political connections and his mastery of French, McClellan received the assignment to be an official observer of the European armies in the Crimean War in 1855, as part of the Delafield Commission, led by Richard Delafield. Traveling widely, and interacting with the highest military commands and royal families, McClellan observed the siege of Sevastopol. Upon his return to the United States in 1856, he requested an assignment in Philadelphia to prepare his report, which contained a critical analysis of the siege and a lengthy description of the organization of the European armies. He also wrote a manual on cavalry tactics that was based on Russian cavalry regulations. Capitalizing on his experience with railroad assessment, he became chief engineer and vice president of the Illinois Central Railroad, and then president of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad in 1860. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, McClellan was appointed major general, and he played an important role in raising the Army of the Potomac, and proved to be a brilliant military organizer, administrator, and trainer of men, but as the war developed he proved to be an officer totally lacking in the essential skills and qualities of successful command of large forces in battle. He served as the Commanding General of the United States Army, 1861-62. General McClellan organized, and led the Union Army in the 1862 Virginia Peninsula campaign in southeastern Virginia which was the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater of the war with the capture of the Confederate capital of Richmond, Va., as their objective.  McClellan was somewhat successful against Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, but the emergence of General Robert E. Lee to command the Army of Northern Virginia turned the subsequent Seven Days Battles into a Union defeat, but Lee failed to destroy McClellan's Army of the Potomac, and suffered a bloody repulse at Malvern Hill, Va. General McClellan and President Abraham Lincoln developed a mutual distrust for each other, and McClellan was privately derisive of Lincoln. Lincoln on the other hand accused McClellan of being too cautious in the field and once asked "Little Mac" if he was not going to use his army if he (Lincoln could borrow it). Lincoln removed him from command in November 1862, in the aftermath of the bloody battle of Antietam, Md., fought on September 17, 1862, which was the single bloodiest day in U.S. military history. A contributing factor in this decision was McClellan's failure to pursue Lee's army following the tactically inconclusive, but strategic Union victory at the Battle of Antietam outside of little town of Sharpsburg, Maryland. McClellan went on to become the Democratic Party's nominee in the 1864 presidential election against the incumbent Republican President Lincoln. The effectiveness of his campaign was damaged when General McClellan repudiated his party's platform, which promised an end to the war, and negotiations with the Confederacy. Consequently he was beaten by Lincoln. He later served as the Governor of New Jersey from 1878-81. The concluding chapter of his political career was his strong support in 1884 for President Grover Cleveland. He was interested in the position of Secretary of War in Cleveland's cabinet, but did not get it.  McClellan devoted his final years to traveling and writing; producing his memoirs, 'McClellan's Own Story," in which he stridently defended his conduct during the war. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 58 at Orange, New Jersey. He was buried at Riverview Cemetery in Trenton.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Seated view in uniform with rank of major general. Artistic pose of "Little Mac" seated with his back to the camera in a profile pose. Back mark: Silsbee, Case & Co., Photographic Artists, 299 1/2 Washington Street, Boston. Case & Getchell, Dec. 3, 1862. Light age toning. Small stains. McClellan was a peacock when it came to the camera, but this view of him is a rather uncommon one.  


<b>Mortally wounded at the battle of Antietam, Maryland, in September 1862</b>


(1803-1862) Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he graduated #2 in the West Point class of 1822. He served as chief engineer under General Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War fighting gallantly at Fort Brown, Monterey and Buena Vista, and earned promotion to the ranks of brevet major, lieutenant colonel and colonel in the Regular U.S. Army. On May 18, 1861, he was appointed Brigadier General in the regular army and assigned to the command of Washington and its environs by President Lincoln. He later commanded the 12th Corps at the battle of Antietam, and led his command into action to support General Joseph Hooker's 1st Corps. Seeing his raw recruits waver, he rode into the fray where the action was the hottest. General Mansfield was shot down and died from his wounds the next day, September 18, 1862. In 1880, the U.S. Treasury Department honored this fallen Civil War general by featuring his portrait on a $500 bill. 


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Superb full standing view wearing double breasted frock coat with epaulets, an eagle belt plate, sash, and gauntlets. He poses resting his hands on the hilt of his sword at his front. His cap with a U.S. hat wreath insignia sits on the studio column at his side. Back mark: E. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York, made from a photographic negative in Brady's National Portrait Gallery. Very sharp image. Excellent condition. Very desirable.  

 


<b>Founder and lead guitarist of "The Blue Moon Boys," the original backing band of Elvis Presley</b>


(1931-2016) Born in Gadsden, Tennessee. Scotty was in the United States Navy from 1948-1952, lying and entering the service under age! He served in China and Korea. He was the lead guitarist for Elvis Presley from 1954-1968, working with "The King" in the recording studio, movie sound tracks (even appearing on camera in some of the early films), and in his touring band. Scotty was part of the original Sun Studio recordings in 1954 in Memphis, Tennessee. The first song they ever recorded was the Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup tune, "That's All Right (Mamma)" which was the start of the iconic career of Elvis Presley! (I actually was privileged to hold the original microphone Elvis used in those early recordings on one of my visits to Memphis. I was fortunate to be friends with several members of the Presley band and the "Memphis Mafia.")  You will see Scotty on all of the various television shows that Elvis appeared on in the 1950's culminating with the spectacular 1968 television show now famously known as "The Comeback Special." Elvis wore his now iconic black leather suit in the live performances in that show. Having gotten out of his movie obligations, Elvis wanted to return to the stage and "The Comeback Special" produced by Steve Binder was the start of his live performances. Elvis never looked or sounded better in that show! 


8 x 10, black and white photograph, of Elvis and Scotty performing on one of their television appearances in the 1950's with musical notes background. Seen at the right, but obscured somewhat are legendary drummer D.J. Fontana, and stand up bass player Bill Black, both part of the original "Blue Moon Boys." Signed at the lower right in silver pen, Scotty Moore. Obtained in person. Mint condition. Very desirable Elvis Presley related item.


<u>Music History Trivia</u>:  


Rolling Stones' guitarist, and one of its founding members, Keith Richards, said of Scotty Moore: When I heard "Heartbreak Hotel," for the first time, I knew what I wanted to do in life. It was as plain as day. All I wanted to do was to be able to play and sound like the way Scotty Moore did. Everyone wanted to be Elvis, I wanted to be Scotty!


     


Served as brigadier general in the New York State Militia in the 1850's and during the Civil War.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 1/4 card. Standing view wearing double breasted frock coat with epaulets and rank of brigadier general. He is also wearing what appears to be a two piece N.Y. belt plate, sash, and is holding his sword. His chapeau with plume sits on top of the studio table at his side. Back mark: J. Gurney & Son, 707 Broadway, N.Y. Very sharp. Excellent image.

CDV, General George B. McClellan $125.00

 

CDV, General Joseph K. F. Mansfield $200.00

 

Autograph, Scotty Moore, Rock n' Roll HO $125.00

 

CDV, General Charles B. Spicer $100.00




<b>Promoted to Brevet Brigadier General in 1865</b>


(1814-83) Born in Onondaga County, N.Y., he was an architect and builder by trade. Otis designed St. John's Church, in Savannah, Ga., in 1851, the Buffalo Broadway Auditorium, the Buffalo Medical College and Mariners Church of Detroit. During the Civil War he served as lieutenant colonel of the 100th New York Infantry, and led his regiment during the capture of Folly Island, South Carolina. He was promoted to rank of brevet brigadier general, on March 13, 1865, for "faithful and meritorious services during the war." He died on January 22, 1883, at Cuba, N.Y., and is buried there.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Full standing view in uniform wearing a double breasted frock coat with rank of lieutenant colonel, eagle sword belt plate, sash, and holding his sword at his front. No back mark. Period pencil ID on the reverse. This a known published image. Light age toning. Very fine view. Scarce.  


<b>The first Regular U.S. Army officer to be wounded in action during the Civil War, June 1861


Colonel 2nd New York Cavalry


He was wounded again in the 1864 Atlanta, Georgia campaign


United States Minister to Chile


From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>


(1836-81) Born near Deckertown, New Jersey, he graduated in the West Point class of May 1861, and only a month after graduating from the academy he had the distinction of being the first Regular U.S. Army officer to be wounded in action during the Civil War, this coming at the battle of Big Bethel, Va., which took place on June 10, 1861, on the Virginia Peninsula, near Newport News. In September 1861, he became the lieutenant colonel, and in December, colonel of the 2nd New York Cavalry. He successively commanded his regiment, a brigade, and later a division of cavalry in the Army of the Potomac, playing a creditable role in virtually every important cavalry action in the eastern theater of war, including Beverly Ford, Stoneman's raid, and Gettysburg. He was promoted to brigadier general, June 14, 1863. In February 1864, he commanded the celebrated Richmond raid which was to free the Union prisoners there, but instead resulted in a fiasco and the death of Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, the son of Admiral John A. Dahlgren. Sent south by General U.S. Grant, he was wounded in the early part of the Atlanta campaign, at Resaca, Ga. He returned to duty in late July 1864 to finish that campaign which included several raids and skirmishes against his old classmate, General Joseph Wheeler. He then took part in Sherman's March to the Sea, and the 1865 Carolina's campaign. General William T. Sherman was quoted as saying, "I want just that sort of man to command my cavalry in this expedition!" Kilpatrick was an early member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, a military society composed of officers who had served in the Union armed forces. He was appointed United States Minister to Chile, by President Andrew Johnson, and served from 1866-70. He became active in politics as a Republican, and in 1880, was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Congress from his home state of New Jersey. In March 1881, in recognition of Kilpatrick's service to the Republican Party, in New Jersey, as well as a consolation prize for his defeat for a House seat, President James A. Garfield appointed Kilpatrick once again to the post of Minister to Chile. Kilpatrick died, on December 4, 1881, shortly after his arrival in the Chilean capital of Santiago. He was only 45 years old. His remains were returned to the United States in 1887, and were interred at the West Point Cemetery, United States Military Academy.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Half view, seated pose, wearing a double breasted frock with rank of brigadier general. He is holding his slouch hat on his lap, and you can see the stripes on his trousers. Maj. Genl. J. Kilpatrick, U.S.A. is written in period ink on the front mount. Back mark: C.D. Fredricks & Co., 587 Broadway, New York. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Maj. Genl. Judson Kilpatrick, U.S.A. Cavalry. Died Oct. 1881. 45. Genl. B.J.D. Irwin album, No. 129. The card mount is very slightly trimmed. Very fine image. Rare. (because of the provenance).


<u>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</u>


<b>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861.</b>


(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.


He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor reads; "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th U.S. Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege."


Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.


The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.


Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.


His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.


His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.


His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.


General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!


The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.  


<b>Union commander who defeated General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg</b>


(1815-1872) He was born in Cádiz, Spain, to a wealthy merchant and banking family from Philadelphia. He graduated in the West Point class of 1835, and fought with distinction in the Second Seminole War, and the Mexican War where he earned a brevet for gallantry in the battles at Monterey. He served in the United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers, and led construction of lighthouses in Florida and New Jersey from 1851 to 1856, and the United States Lake Survey from 1857 to 1861. He fought in the 1862 Virginia Peninsular campaign, and in the Seven Days battles in Virginia where he was very severely wounded leading his brigade at Glendale. He recovered in time to fight at 2nd Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Elevated to the command of the Army of the Potomac on the eve of the Gettysburg campaign, he defeated Confederate General Robert E. Lee, Commander of the famed Army of Northern Virginia, in the epic 3 day battle at Gettysburg, and went on to fight in all of their battles culminating in the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox Court House, Va., on April 9, 1865. He was well known for his notoriously short temper and disdain for the press, and earned the nickname of the "snapping turtle." After the war, he commanded the Military Division of the Atlantic from 1865 to 1866, the Department of the East from 1866 to 1868 and the Military Division of the Atlantic again from 1869 to 1872. 


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Half view in uniform with rank of major general. His kepi is just visible at the lower left. Back mark: E. & H.T. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York, made from a photographic negative in Brady's National Portrait Gallery. The corners of the mount are very slightly trimmed. Minor age toning and wear. Sharp image. Very desirable pose of the victorious Union commander at the battle of Gettysburg!  


<b>From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 7/8 card. Features portraits of 100 Union Generals and Naval Officers in a collage format. Each individual person is identified by a number, and the corresponding numbers with their names are printed on the verso. Published by C.D. Fredricks & Co., 587 Broadway, N.Y. Card mount is very slightly trimmed. Very fine and interesting composite card of Union Civil War commanders. Nice way to acquire 100 portraits of Union leaders! From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861. Written on the verso is, Gen. B.J.D. Irwin Album No. 3.


<u>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</u>


<b>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861.</b>


(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.


He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor reads; "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th U.S. Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege."


Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.


The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.


Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.


His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.


His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.


His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.


General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!


The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.

CDV, Lietenant Colonel Calvin N. Otis, 1 $100.00

 

CDV, General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick $175.00

 

CDV, General George G. Meade $125.00

 

CDV, Army and Navy U. S. V. $95.00




<b>Recovered at Pickett's Charge Field, Gettysburg


From the famous Rosensteel Gettysburg collection</b>


Excavated, large size, flat coin button. It Measures 1 1/4 inches in diameter, and is complete with shank on the verso. Shows typical aging and wear with a green patina. Found in the field where Pickett's Charge occurred. It was recovered by the late Gettysburg relic hunter John Cullison, who excavated Civil War artifacts at Gettysburg from 1935-1959. Mr. Cullison passed it on to the famous Rosensteel family of Gettysburg where it remained in their private collection until it was released in 1996. Very fine Gettysburg relic.  


<b>He died while on active service in 1863


From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>


(1806-63) He entered the navy in 1822, and sailed in the West Indies, off Africa, and along the China coast. He was appointed commander of the western flotilla at the beginning of the Civil War, and in Feb. 1862, with the cooperation of Gen. U.S. Grant, captured Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. In the ensuing capture of Fort Donelson, Foote was wounded. He aided General John Pope on the Mississippi River, but his wound was not healing and he was obliged to take leave of his command. Having proved himself a gallant fighter on the rivers, he was awarded the Thanks of Congress, and appointed Rear Admiral, June 16, 1862. While still recuperating from his wound, he was put in charge of the Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting, and on June 4, 1863 was given command of the fleet off Charleston, South Carolina. Unfortunately, Foote's wound never healed properly and he died enroute to his assignment on June 26, 1863.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 3/4 card. Standing view portrait wearing naval uniform with epaulets and holding his sword and chapeau. Back mark: Charles D. Fredricks & Co., 587 Broadway, New York. Card mount has been trimmed. This image came from the Surgeon and General Bernard J.D. Irwin collection. There is a period ink inscription written on the front mount, Foot, Commodore, U.S. Navy. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Commodore Foot, U.S. Navy, Comdg. Mississippi Squadron, 1862-3. Light age toning and wear. Rare. (because of the provenance).


<u>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</u>


<b>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861.</b>


(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.


He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor reads; "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th U.S. Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege."


Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.


The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.


Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.


His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.


His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.


His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.


General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!


The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.        Another offering from our fifty plus years of seeking out all manner of 18th and 19th century treasures  with a personal interest in Maine Civil War (see: Maine Legacy .com) and <I>Little Round Top</I> Gettysburg related material, we had set this early post-Civil War <I>Horstman Brothers & Co.</I> frock aside for its association with <B>44th Massachusetts Infantry</B> <U>Little Round Top</U> veteran <B>Major Charles E. Sprague</B> (see: findagrave.com)  With period identification marking in the right shoulder sleeve and <I>Horstmann Brothers & Company Philadelphia</I> label, (1859-1893) this frock offers late Civil War, early post-Civil War features to include a nine button, three button sleeve configuration, with padded chest and  tail pockets.  ( With Waterbury backmarked buttons on this Horstman Brothers & Co. frock, we suspect the coat to have been converted to G. A. R. use from general military stock.)  With no condition issues and good evidence of period originality our illustrations will do best to describe this desirable frock coat.

      <B><I>Chas. E. Sprague</B></I> mustered in on September 25, 1862 as a Corporal of Co. E 44th NY Infantry Promoted to Sergeant on January 14, 1863.  With the hard fought 44th New York at Gettysburg where their loss on Little Round Top  was 111 in killed wounded and missing Sgt. Sprague would be counted among the fallen and would be discharged for disability from U. S. General Hospital on March 10, 1864.  He was breveted Captain in 1865 for his part in the Gettysburg action and would ultimately reach the rank of Major.   Returning to New York where he was active in business and as a veteran, Sprague died in in Manhattan in 1912. ( The New York Archives has a lengthy article written by Sprague on his military service.)  



 


<b>Commanded the 1st Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia


Severely wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia in May 1864</b>


(1821-1904) Born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, he was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the Civil War, and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse." An 1842 graduate of West Point, Longstreet fought in the Mexican War, and was wounded in the Battle of Chapultepec.  Throughout the 1850s, he served on the western  frontier.  In June 1861, he resigned his U.S. Army commission, and joined the Confederacy. He commanded Confederate troops during an early victory at Blackburn's Ford in July, in action at the First Battle of Manassas. Longstreet made significant contributions to most major Confederate victories, primarily in the Eastern Theater with the Army of Northern Virginia. He played an important role in the Confederate success during the Seven Days Battles in the summer of 1862, where he helped supervise repeated attacks which drove the Union army away from the Confederate capital of Richmond. Longstreet led a devastating counterattack that routed the Union army at the Second Battle of Manassas in August. He also played vital roles at the battles at Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg. Longstreet's most controversial service was at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, where he openly disagreed with General Lee on the tactics to be employed, and reluctantly supervised several unsuccessful attacks on the Union forces who held the high ground. Sent to the Western Theater to aide General Braxton Bragg, his troops launched a ferocious assault on the Union lines at Chickamauga that carried the day. Returning east, he ably commanded troops during the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864, where he was seriously wounded by friendly fire. He later returned to the field, serving under General Lee in the Siege of Petersburg, and in the Appomattox campaign. Longstreet enjoyed a successful post-war career working for the U.S. government as a diplomat, civil servant, and administrator. His support for the Republican Party, and his cooperation with his old pre-war friend, President Ulysses S. Grant, as well as critical comments he wrote about General  Robert E. Lee's wartime performance, made him anathema to many of his former Confederate colleagues.  Consequently, his detractors focused on Longstreet's  actions at Gettysburg as a principal reason for why the South lost the Civil War turning him into their personal scapegoat, actions that would prove unjustified. Longstreet's reputation has undergone a reassessment, and many Civil War historians now consider him among the war's most gifted tactical commanders.  General James Longstreet died in Gainesville, Georgia, on January 2, 1904, six days before his 83rd birthday. Bishop Benjamin Joseph Keiley, who had served under Longstreet during the war, said his funeral Mass. Longstreet's remains are buried in Alta Vista Cemetery in Gainesville.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Half view pose wearing his double breasted Confederate general's frock coat. Imprint on the front mount, "Gen. Longsteet." Back mark: The Monumental Photograph Company, No. 178 W. Baltimore St., Baltimore, Md. Light age toning and wear. Desirable pose with Maryland back mark.

Flat Coin Button Excavated at Gettysburg

 

CDV, Admiral Andrew H. Foote $75.00

 

44th Mass Veteran - Horstmann Brothers & $525.00

 

CDV, General James Longstreet $395.00




<b>Confederate Lieutenant General


Governor of Kentucky


From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>


(1823-1914) He was born at Glen Lily, his family's estate near Munfordville, Kentucky. His closest friend in Munfordville was Thomas J. Wood, who would become a Union Army general opposing Buckner at the Battles of Perryville, Ky., and at Chickamauga, Ga. during the Civil War. He graduated from West Point in the class of 1844, and later returned to the Military Academy to serve as an assistant professor of geography, history, and ethics. He was wounded and brevetted for gallantry in the Mexican War Battle of Churubusco, and was again cited for gallant conduct at the Battle of Molino del Rey, and was appointed a brevet captain. He fought in the Battle of Chapultepec, the Battle of Belen Gate, and the storming of Mexico City. At the conclusion of the war, American soldiers served as an army of occupation, and Buckner was accorded the honor of lowering the American flag over Mexico City for the last time during the occupation. Appointed adjutant general of Kentucky by Governor Beriah Magoffin in 1861, he tried to enforce Kentucky's neutrality policy in the early days of the Civil War, but when the state's neutrality was breached, Buckner accepted a commission in the Confederate Army. When his C.S.A. commission was approved, Union officials indicted him for treason, and seized his property. He was appointed a brigadier general on September 14, 1861, and saw action at Fort Donelson, Tenn. where he was forced to surrender the fort to his old friend and West Point classmate, General Ulysses S. Grant who demanded an  "unconditional surrender."  He was confined at Fort Warren prison in Boston for 5 months. After his release, he led a division in General Braxton Bragg's Kentucky campaign, and a corps at the battle of Chickamauga. He later received promotion to lieutenant general to rank from September 20, 1864. Near the end of the war he became chief of staff to General Edmund Kirby Smith in the Trans-Mississippi Department, and he later traveled to New Orleans, and arranged terms of surrender on May 26, 1865. The terms of Buckner's parole in Shreveport, Louisiana, on June 9, 1865, prevented his return to Kentucky for three years. He remained in New Orleans, worked on the staff of the Daily Crescent newspaper, engaged in a business venture, and served on the board of directors of a fire insurance company, of which he became president in 1867. Buckner returned to Kentucky when he was eligible in 1868, and became editor of the Louisville Courier newspaper. Like most former Confederate officers, he petitioned the United States Congress for the restoration of his civil rights as stipulated by the 14th Amendment. He recovered most of his property through lawsuits and regained much of his wealth through shrewd business deals. Buckner had a keen interest in politics and friends had been urging him to run for governor of Kentucky for years. Delegates to the 1887 state Democratic convention nominated Buckner unanimously for the office of governor, and he won the general election against his opponent William O. Bradley, and was appointed the 30th Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1887-1891. On a visit to the White House in 1904, Buckner asked President Theodore Roosevelt to appoint his only son as a cadet at West Point, and Roosevelt quickly agreed. His son Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. would later serve in the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant General, and was killed at the Battle of Okinawa, making him the highest-ranking American to have been killed by enemy fire during World War II. Buckner became the last surviving Confederate soldier with the rank of lieutenant general. He died on January 8, 1914, and was buried in Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 7/8 card. The card mount has been trimmed. Early war, half view wearing his Kentucky State Guard uniform. Back mark: Charles D. Fredricks & Co., 587 Broadway, New York. This image came from the Surgeon and General Bernard J.D. Irwin collection. There is a period ink inscription written on the front mount, Maj. Genl. S.B. Buckner, C.S.A. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Maj. Genl. S.B. Buckner, C.S.A. This is image No. 182 in the Irwin collection as indicated on the reverse of the card. Rare. (because of the provenance).


<u>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</u>


<b>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861.</b>


(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.


He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor reads; "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th U.S. Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege."


Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.


The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.


Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.


His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.


His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.


His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.


General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!


The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.

  


<b>Medal of Honor Recipient for gallantry in the battle of Franklin, Tennessee where he was wounded


From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861

</b>


(1828-1902) Born in Cedar Valley, Wayne County, Ohio, he graduated in the West Point class of 1852. His first assignment was on the western frontier where he was engaged in surveying railroads which ultimately led to him fighting Indians. Promoted to captain in 1861, he was on duty at Fort Washita, Indian Territory when the Civil War broke out, and he thus led his men to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Stanley fought in the battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri, on August 10, 1861, after which President Lincoln appointed him brigadier general. He also saw action at New Madrid; Island No. 10; Iuka; Corinth; Stone's River; Murfreesboro; Tullahoma; Chattanooga; and in the Atlanta campaign. Stanley was appointed major general to rank from November 29, 1862. He was wounded in the battle of Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864, earning himself distinction, and  the Medal of Honor for gallantry. While leading a counterattack against the Rebels, General Stanley was wounded in the neck at the same time that he had his horse shot out from under him.  Stanley remained in the United States Army after the Civil War, serving throughout the post-bellum years on the Indian frontier, commanding in the Dakota Territory, in the Yellowstone Expedition, in Texas where he crushed Indian raids, and in Santa Fe where he commanded the District of New Mexico. He later commanded the Department of Texas from 1884-92. From 1893-98 he was governor of the Soldiers' Home in Washington, D.C. General Stanley was interred at the United States Soldiers' and Airman's Home, National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. His only son, David Sheridan Stanley, named after his friend General Philip H. Sheridan, and five of his grandsons would all graduate from The United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Large bust view wearing double breasted frock coat with rank of major general. Back mark: Hoag & Quick's Art Palace, No. 100 4th St., opp. Post Office, Cincinnati, Ohio. Corners of the card mount are very slightly trimmed. This image came from the Surgeon and General Bernard J.D. Irwin collection. There is a period ink inscription written on the front mount, Maj. Genl. David Stanley, U.S.A. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Maj. Genl. David Stanley, Comdg. 4th Corps. There are a couple of more words but I am not sure what they say. This is image No. 65 in the Irwin collection as indicated on the reverse of the card. Excellent photograph. Rare.


<u>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</u>


<b>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861.</b>


(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.


He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor reads; "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th U.S. Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege."


Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.


The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.


Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.


His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.


His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.


His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.


General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!


The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.

  


<b>Led Pickett's Charge, at Gettysburg, on July 3, 1863


With back mark of Tanner & Vanness, Lynchburg, Va.</b>


(1825-1875) Born in Richmond, Va., he graduated last in the West Point class of 1846, and was brevetted twice for gallantry in the Mexican War. Appointed brigadier general, January 14, 1862, he led a Confederate brigade with skill during the 1862 Virginia Peninsular campaign, and was severely wounded at Gaines's Mill. Serving with General James Longstreet's 1st Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, he was present at Fredericksburg and Suffolk, Va., and was promoted to major general, October 10, 1862. Pickett gained immortality at Gettysburg, on July 3, 1863, when his division spearheaded the assault on the strongly defended Union position on Cemetery Ridge. Forever known as "Pickett's Charge," the casualties in the assault were terrible. Pickett later commanded the Department of Virginia and North Carolina. In 1864, he fought in the Petersburg campaign, and in 1865 at Five Forks, Va. Following the war, Pickett feared prosecution for his execution of deserters and temporarily fled to Canada. An old Army friend, General Ulysses S. Grant, interceded on his behalf, and he returned to Virginia in 1866. He could not rejoin the Army, so he tried his hand at farming, then selling insurance. He died at age 50 in July 1875 at Norfolk, Va., from an "abscess of the liver." He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery, in Richmond, Va.


Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Bust view in Confederate uniform. This war time view is apparently him as a major general. Back mark: Tanner & Vanness, Photographers, 124 Main Street, Lynchburg, Va. Ex-Bill Turner collection, the author of "Even More Confederate Faces." Light wear and foxing. Very scarce and desirable Confederate image.

 


<b>Commanded the 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg where he was seriously wounded


United States Presidential candidate in 1880


Known as "Hancock the Superb"</b>



His Childhood, Youth, Education, Military Career, Social and Domestic Life. By Frederick E. Goodrich. Published by B.B. Russell, Boston, 1886. Illustrated front piece of Hancock with a printed signature below his portrait. Tissue paper opposite the front piece. Illustrated. Brown cloth hardcover book, with black and ornate gold leaf trim on the spine, and at the top of the front of the book which includes a bust vignette of General Hancock. There is a large, beautiful printed Hancock signature in black that is embossed into the front cover. The title, "Life Of General Hancock" is in gold. 352 pages. The book measures 5 1/4 x 7 3/4, and it is very tightly bound with colorful end pages. It shows some light wear, and there are a couple of small stains visible on the end pages. Very fine and desirable book about "Hancock the Superb," who was seriously wounded on July 3, 1863, during Pickett's Charge, at the battle of Gettysburg.

CDV, General Simon B. Buckner $150.00

 

CDV, General David S. Stanley

 

CDV, General George E. Pickett $950.00

 

Book, Life Of General Hancock $45.00




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