Civil War Union Officer Group
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GUEST:
Well, today I brought in a collection of Civil War items that my sister and I inherited from our great-great-uncle, who served in the 27th Illinois Volunteer Infantry in Company A.
APPRAISER:
When did he serve?
GUEST:
He originally went in for 90 days in 1861, and then when he was discharged there, he went back to Quincy, Illinois, and along with three other people, in six days they recruited 100 men to become Company A of the 27th Illinois Volunteer Infantry.
APPRAISER:
What we have is his Civil War staff officer's sword. And it's officially known as the Model 1850. We have the "US" in the guard. And like many of the swords during the time, this one was actually made in Germany and brought over for sale to well-to-do Union officers. It would have been a privately purchased sword. It's in the original metal and brass scabbard. And we have a photograph of him holding the sword. We've actually got two images of your ancestor, one a little bit earlier, and one when he was a captain. He rose through the ranks as he stayed in during the war. The 27th faced some fierce battles. Do you know which battles they were in?
GUEST:
Well, one of the significant ones early on was the Battle of Belmont. And they were also in the Siege of Island Ten. My uncle was... great-great-uncle was one of the volunteers that laid on the gunboat Pittsburgh when it went through the blockade. And then later on they were at Missionary Ridge. They were at Chattanooga.
APPRAISER:
They saw some severe fighting. They lost... I think it was in the neighborhood of 188 men. Because they served that whole campaign down through Atlanta, and very hard-fighting regiment. This image is kind of cool, because we have his sash. The photographer tinted the sash. Originally the sash that we have here would have been a bright crimson color. And it has aged, because of the dyes in the material, to this pretty tone that we have today. What about the document-- what is this?
GUEST:
He was promoted to captain, field promotion, and then later on the actual document was created, signed by Governor Yates, promoting him to captain.
APPRAISER:
And that's nice to have with this sword, because this is the sword that would go with that rank. And it's beautiful condition. They're pre-printed, nicely filled in, and it is signed by the governor. And it's just a wonderful group to have all the pieces, because so many times you'll see a sword, you'll see a sash, but we don't know who they belong to. And with this one, we not only know who it belonged to, we've got an image of him wearing it, which, to a collector, is a very special thing. As a group, it's something that I would insure for about $4,000.
GUEST:
Okay. That's what we needed to know.
Appraisal Details
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