Mrs. (General) T. M. Anderson inscribed presentation grade - Railroad Lantern Another offer from our 50+ year accumulation of treasures, this important gold wash, presentation grade lantern is cut inscribed on the globe to ’Mrs. T. M. Anderson’ and was gleaned from a vintage rail road collection where it was attributed to Elizabeth Van Winkle Anderson who, turns out, was the wife of Brig. Gen. Thomas McArthur Anderson. Offering evidence of age and period use with some metal cracking, a small ding in the base rim and some burner staining on the inside of the chimney, this M. M. Buck & Co., St. Louis marked lantern remains in pleasing condition retaining its original bright presentation grade gold wash finish and with no chips, cracks or imperfections in its inscribed globe . (Our photo illustrations will offer the best physical description of this beautiful old lantern.) The name M. M. Buck & Co. will be familiar to vintage railroad collectors with the more standard version of this lantern illustrated as The Boss model conductors lantern in their 1880 and 1900 catalogues.
Married to Elizabeth ’Lizzie’ Van Winkle in 1869, Thomas McArthur Anderson enlisted as a Private in the 65th Ohio Volunteers at the outbreak of the Civil War and, through the influence of uncle, General Robert Anderson of Fort Sumter fame, was commissioned to 2nd Lieutenant of the 5th US Cavalry. Promoted to Captain, he served through the Civil War with the 12th US Infantry. was twice wounded, brevetted to Major for his conduct in the Wilderness Campaign, then to Lt. Colonel for exemplary service at Spotsylvania Court House. After the Civil War he remained in the Army, rising to Colonel, in command of the 14th Infantry. In 1898, with the temporary rank of Brigadier General, he commanded the first troops to reach the Philippines. In command of the 1st Division, he saw action in the battles of Santana, San Pedro, Passe, and Guadalupe in the early months of the Philippine Insurrection. He was promoted to Brigadier General in March 1899 and retired from active service in January 1900. Both interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Mrs. General Anderson’s obituary noted that she had ’shared her husband’s distinguished military career with him both at home and abroad’.
A desirable lantern for the railroad collector this attractive presentation grade offering will carry special interest for the historian and Americana enthusiast. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! 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. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!

 

vintage military button - LADIES HATPIN This attractive all original hatpin is reminiscent of a time when ladies wore fanciful feathered or furred hats requiring a long shafted pin. There is more than one account of one of these hefty pins offering more than the security of my lady’s hat as the long sharp shaft provided a quick and easy deterrent. This example was fashioned from a vintage infantry uniform button, back marked OAK HILL CLOTHING CO. BOSTON. Now relatively scarce except in older collections these uniform button keepsakes were once a relatively common find in antique shops and estate sales. ALL ITEMS ARE CURRENT & AVAILABLE UNLESS MARKED SOLD!! Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques !
 

G. Butler & Co., Sheffield - Hoof Hook combination - FOLDING KNIFE A style most frequently referred to by Civil War collectors as a Cavalryman knife, this neat period jack-knife is maker marked G. Butler & Co – Sheffield and offers two knife blades, a leather awl for harness adjustment, corkscrew, screwdriver and the all-important folding hoof hook for horse hoof and shoe stone removal. While this example remains in desirable as found and condition, with good evidence of period use it remains in pleasing shape, fully functional with no cracks in the hard rubber grips and tight at the joints. An especially nice personal item these folding pocket or saddlebag tools were subject to hard use in the period seldom surviving in any kind of reasonable condition.
note: Reaching back to 1768 when Sheffield artisan William Butler was granted his BUTLER cutler mark, the business had been taken over by George and James Butler by 1814. Doing business as G. & J. Butler the firm name of G. Butler & Co. came into use in 1843. In 1853 G. Butler & Co. displayed their wares in the New York Cutlery Exhibition.

As with all direct sales, we are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with refund of the purchase price upon return as purchased! Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques !

 

Indian Wars era - 1st Lieutenant CAVALRY STRAPS All in nice original condition yet with good evidence of age and originality our photo illustrations will offer the best description of this attractive pair of Indian War era cavalry straps. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! 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. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!


 

Blacksmith forged - 18th century artisan - Compass / Divider Hand crafted from black iron the branches of this pleasing 18th century compass / divider measure approximately 5 7/16 inches in length. With good evidence of age and originality this compass remains in exceptional condition with eye appealing age patina and good evidence of the skill of an 18th century blacksmith as he plied his trade. A desirable companion tool laid in with other tools of the 1700s craftsman. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! 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. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
 

1st Virginia Light Artillery / 38th Battalion Va. Artillery - MARKING STENCIL Best described here by our illustrations, of this 2 5/8 X 1 3/8 inch personal marking stencil, our research of Peter McCurdy (the only Peter McCurdy to serve in the 1st Virginia Artillery) produced digital views of period Confederate rolls (see: Fold3.com) documenting his service in the 1st Virginia Light Artillery and <38th Battalion Virginia Artillery from his enlistment in Richmond on July 14, 1861 through April 18, 1865 when he took the Oath of Allegiance. Entering as a Private, McCurdy promoted through the enlisted ranks to 1st Sargent in June of 1864. He was commended for gallantry as a member of the 38th Battalion which was closely associated with George Pickett’s command through a goodly part of the war the 38th providing four batteries of field artillery to the command. (see: Pickett's Men: A Fragment of War History by Walter Harrison)
In wide use by Civil War Union troops, the personal marking stencil was, if currently existing examples are any guide, it seems these now coveted by collectors personal items were in very limited use by Confederate soldiers. Most likely the limited number of Confederate use examples was simply a reflection of period availability in the resource starved South. Accordingly this obviously repurposed example was made available to Sgt. Peter McCurdy by a stencil cutters addition of Co. I 1st Va. A. to an existing pre-war stencil. While period records, especially Confederate field records, are frequently lacking in such details as middle initials, the middle initial J would indicate that the original may have been provided by the recruit by a family member. We have seen only one other repurposed personal marking stencil in our years and surprisingly enough it is for a resourceful Yankee. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! 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. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!


 

Civil War ‘Brothers in arms’ - ¼ plate TINTYPE We’ll let our illustrations do the talking for this nice Civil War ¼ plate tintype except to advise that it came out of the state of Maine and is as nice as it looks. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! 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. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
 

18th early 19th century beef bone & walnut – BEVEL GAGE Best described by our photos, this early handmade bevel gage was fashioned from bone and American walnut secured by wooden pins and a period indicative iron pin and square nut at the pivot end. Showing good evidence of period construction with an eye appealing natural age patina, this piece measures 5 1/6 long by ¾ wide by 3/8 of an inch thick and remains in pleasing functional condition. A neat piece for the early tool collector or Americana enthusiast. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! 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. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
 

Civil War Razor Strop & Razor of Surgeon W. A. Child – 1st, 4th & 10th Vermont Infantry A classic style that will be familiar to old time Civil War collectors, (see: Lords Civil War Collectors Encyclopedia Vol. I p. 226) this Edward Sanders (see period Business Directories) razor strop / travel case will like its included razor be best described by our photo illustrations except to advise that the group is period identified SURG. W. A. CHILD 10 REG. VT. INF. and came to us from an old and well established Vermont related Civil War collection. Both the strop, case and ivory mounted razor remain in pleasing condition while offering good evidence of careful period use and carrying.
Willard A. Child initially enlisted on April 26, 1861 to be commissioned as Assistant Surgeon, Field & Staff 1st Vermont Infantry. Mustering out with the early Civil War regiment on August 15, 1861, Child quickly reenlisted on the very same day and was commissioned as assistant Surgeon of the 4th Vermont Volunteer Infantry. Discharged for promotion a year later he was commissioned to the Field & Staff of the 10th Vermont Infantry as Regimental Surgeon. Surgeon W. A. Child mustered out with his 10th Vermont at the close of the Civil War. During his time with the hard fought 4th and 10th Vermont Surgeon Child’s regiments saw action at Antietam, Orange Grove, Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Winchester Va., Fisher’s Hill, Cedar Creek, Petersburg Siege, Sailor’s Creek and more. Casualty records tell us Surgeon Child would have experienced no fewer than 500 of the mates killed or wounded during his tenure with the 4th and 10th Vermont Infantries.

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period Civil War pattern - 13 star LAPEL FLAG Popular in the patriotic fervor of session and the outbreak of the American Civil War, such little printed flags were worn as a popular expression of patriotism and solidarity with the original 13 colonies. This example offers the unusual vertical 3-2-3-2-3 thirteen star pattern of the time and while remaining in solid condition shows good evidence of age and period construction from the material used and water base printing with distinctive moisture staining to the period common mourning style pin fastener. We found 2 of these tucked away for decades in a period stationary box and are offering them here individually priced for the collector / historian who would like one.
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Spencer Browning &Co. Telescope of - Civil War - CONFEDERATE BLOCKADE-RUNNER - Lieut. John Wilkinson Housed for some years in our own Maine related Civil War collection (see in part: MaineLegacy.com) simply because CS Navy Lieut. John Wilkinson’s CSS Robert E. Lee was captured by the Maine made ship USS Iron Age, we have decided, as we pare down, to offer this piece to a more appropriate home. Acquired some years ago when it emanated out of Halifax, Nova Scotia where Lieutenant Wilkinson lived for a time after the War, this 41 ½ inch drawn, Spencer Browning & Co. – London Improved marked telescope bears the clearly period inscription Lt. John Wilkinson C.S.N. on the drawer. Measuring approximately 12 5/8 inches closed, this historic Confederate Navy relic remains in pleasing to look at condition, functional with good optics. Entirely brass with no covering and some minor period dings and scrapes under the patina as evidence of period use but in nice as found and uncleaned condition with a natural overall light patina. While this could be easily remedied (but we wouldn’t) the telescoping sunshade will only partially advance. Good provenance for war time presence by this manufacturer is offered by Federal prize court records offering a number of telescopes marked Spencer Browning & Co. found in the cargos of Confederate ships attempting to run the Union blockade. (see: the outstanding Confederate / English Civil War reference: The English Connection by Pritchard & Huey) It is of interest to also note here that the American Civil War Museum (formerly The Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond has in its collection, the scratch inscribed Spencer Browning & Co. telescope of CSS Shenandoah commander James I. Waddell. (Museum Catalog # 0985.13.00164)
A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, John Wilkinson resigned his commission as a lieutenant in April 1861, and accepted the same rank in the Confederate service. Captured in the fall of New Orleans, Wilkinson was exchanged in August 1862 and traveled to England to take command of the Confederate blockade-runner Robert E. Lee which was to become one of the most successful of the war. (see: The Narrative of a Blockade Runner by Captain John Wilkinson 1877 ) Good fodder for some additional research, we know that Wilkinson was in Nova Scotia and Lieut. Richard H. Gayle was in command of the Robert E. Lee when she was captured on November 9, 1863. We can reasonably surmise that Wilkinson had kept his well-usedSpencer Browning & Co telescope as a personal item when he later commanded the raiders Chickamauga and Chameleon and carried it with him to Nova Scotia where he lived in Halifax for a while after the war before returning to Virginia, where he died in 1891. How his telescope got left in Halifax where it was recovered by a local antique picker decades later has been lost in time. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! 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. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!



 

signed CDV - Col. F. B. Woodall 151st Illinois Infantry displays his TROPHY CONFEDERATE SWORD In his boastfully inscribed Presented by F. B. Woodall, Col. 151st Ills. CDV, Col. French B. Woodall of the151st Illinois (a.k.a. Woodall’s Infantry) proudly displays what is, by close examination a Confederate Staff Officer sword with staff grade waist belt and hangers. As the potential significance of the Colonel’s proud display and penned presentation fostered some research, we found that Woodall’s service record pointed directly toward the hard fought Confederate Brigadier-General William T. Wofford and his surrender to Col. Woodall at Kingston Georgia on May 12,1865. The surrender of C.S.A. Brig. Gen. Wofford and his 10,400 troops was the last significant Confederate command east of the Mississippi to surrender to Union.
First enlisting in May of 1861, French Woodall was mustered out of the 16th Illinois Infantry as 1st Lt. in May of 1864. The veteran re-enlist and was commissioned as Colonel of the new one year 151st Illinois on February 23. 1865. As unglamorous as the combat service of the late Civil War 151st Regiment was young Col. Woodall would find his place in history when he received order by Brig. Gen. H. M. Judah to carry terms and take surrender of rebel Gen. Wofford and his command. Accepting the surrender of the firebrand Confederate Gen. Wofford with command battle credits at such as Yorktown, Seven Pines, 2nd Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness and more, would surely have included the traditional passing of the vanquished rebel’s sword to the victor. The well documented surrender of Gen. Wofford to the Illinois Colonel had to have been the highlight of his Civil War service, surely worthy of a trophy photo shoot.
As a tragic post script we add here that after the war Woodall worked as an insurance clerk in New York where his body was found in the bay near Governor’s Island June 11, 1869. He had been robbed and bludgeoned to death. According to a contemporary news article He was known to have about him, a set of shirt studs with green stones, pearl sleeve buttons and a handsome knife, besides (the period considerable amount of) about $100.00 in money. Initially buried in New York, Col. Woodall was later moved to be interred in Arlington National Cemetery, plot section 1 grave 696.
NOTE: A printed copy of our research notes with resource links will be provided with this image.
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antique hunting or SOUNDING HORN With practical use as broad as the imagination, such sounding or signal horns as this example were in common use for centuries making the age of this example impossible to state exactly except to advise that it clearly dates to the 19th century or earlier. Fashioned from natural cow horn with good evidence of age with period use and carrying, the best physical description of this nicely hand shaped calling horn is best provided by our photo illustration except to advise that it is entirely original even to the remains of its original hide sling and is solid with no cracks. . Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! 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. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!


 

Civil War vintage Mother of Perl - 19th CORPS BADGE Best described here by our photo illustrations, this attractive 19th Corps badge was hand cut from sea shell (mother of pearl ) and remains in excellent condition yet with good evidence of age and originality to its original pin fastener set in with period sealing wax. An appropriate piece for wear by any Civil War 19th Army Corps soldier or by his sweetheart or mother back home. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! 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. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
 

19th century penned HOPS BITTERS RECIPE Guaranteed to please would be the product of this 5 X 4 ¾ inch Hops Bitters recipe laced with a half-pint of Alcohol. This period penned prescription will set well in any Civil War period medical or personal item grouping. As with all direct sales, we are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with refund of the purchase price upon return as purchased! Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques !