Hi everyone,
So first things first, a huge shout out to @scooter748driver for letting me know that there was an auction featuring my favorite collectible that ended today. I've never participated in an auction before but looking through I found these items and was intrigued.
Now I have to start by mentioning that this isn't going to be the super rare topographical engineer insignia I'm after, I'm still working toward that but in the mean time this is a very nice addition so come with me while I share what I've found out.
As they say variety is the spice of life, well I've found some interesting variations in these insignia with the added bonus of being identified! Captain George W Rockwood of the 15th Massachusetts infantry to be exact. Born August 16th 1822 in Charlton Massachusetts to Samuel Rockwood and Susanna Harwood. He married Sarah Jane Pratt August 3rd 1845.
Upon enlisting July 1861 he identified as a painter but one month later he was already promoted to captain of the 15th. By October 21st during the Battle of Ball's Bluff he was captured as a POW and while captive he contracted malarial fever and pneumonia forcing him to resign by January of 1863 after being paroled. At the close of the war he had come back by way of the 4th Massachusetts heavy artillery as a first sergeant.
His insignia here is just one of his shoulder boards with a variant of hooks for attaching to the uniform and his hardee eagle. The boards are regulation size and are of a velvet field, a good sign of early boards. The bullion border is the correct quarter inch width for civil war construction and the back is open exposing the stitching. The eagle seems to be customized and is not the standard construction. It's reminiscent of the eagle badges used on the 1851 shakos and has two fastening hooks. It's got an added touch not always found on eagle badges and that's the red threads. They simulate the eye and tongue and of the eagle. Sometimes thread is used and other times different color glass beads are used. If you want to see those glass eye variations let me know. The other special variation not only is how the insignia is shaped like the eagle but how each star is backed in white. It also has only 11 out of the usual 13 stars. Again tiny endless variations! I've found an image of my officer and while I can't see his hat insignia there's a good chance that the board he's wearing in the image is the same board.
So first things first, a huge shout out to @scooter748driver for letting me know that there was an auction featuring my favorite collectible that ended today. I've never participated in an auction before but looking through I found these items and was intrigued.
Now I have to start by mentioning that this isn't going to be the super rare topographical engineer insignia I'm after, I'm still working toward that but in the mean time this is a very nice addition so come with me while I share what I've found out.
As they say variety is the spice of life, well I've found some interesting variations in these insignia with the added bonus of being identified! Captain George W Rockwood of the 15th Massachusetts infantry to be exact. Born August 16th 1822 in Charlton Massachusetts to Samuel Rockwood and Susanna Harwood. He married Sarah Jane Pratt August 3rd 1845.
Upon enlisting July 1861 he identified as a painter but one month later he was already promoted to captain of the 15th. By October 21st during the Battle of Ball's Bluff he was captured as a POW and while captive he contracted malarial fever and pneumonia forcing him to resign by January of 1863 after being paroled. At the close of the war he had come back by way of the 4th Massachusetts heavy artillery as a first sergeant.
His insignia here is just one of his shoulder boards with a variant of hooks for attaching to the uniform and his hardee eagle. The boards are regulation size and are of a velvet field, a good sign of early boards. The bullion border is the correct quarter inch width for civil war construction and the back is open exposing the stitching. The eagle seems to be customized and is not the standard construction. It's reminiscent of the eagle badges used on the 1851 shakos and has two fastening hooks. It's got an added touch not always found on eagle badges and that's the red threads. They simulate the eye and tongue and of the eagle. Sometimes thread is used and other times different color glass beads are used. If you want to see those glass eye variations let me know. The other special variation not only is how the insignia is shaped like the eagle but how each star is backed in white. It also has only 11 out of the usual 13 stars. Again tiny endless variations! I've found an image of my officer and while I can't see his hat insignia there's a good chance that the board he's wearing in the image is the same board.
Forum Host
Bringing the