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- Jan 16, 2015
This thread was inspired by unique stories involving swords carried by officers of both armies in the Gettysburg campaign. A sword was a symbol not only of the individual bearer, but often also represented his family and community in the larger cause for which he served.
Part 1:
Sword of 1st Lieutenant Thomas P. Shields, Company G, 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry. On June 30, the 18th was attacked at Hanover, Pennsylvania and it seems that during this engagement Lt. Shields became separated from his command and afterwards encountered Captain William A. Graham of Company K, 2nd North Carolina Cavalry, who had been detached to gather horses in the area. Graham later wrote: "An officer in blue dashed out of the woods into the road about forty steps from me. I saw him first and covered him with my pistol and told him to advance, and took his arms. On his sword was engraved: 'Lt. Shields, 18th Penn. Cav., presented by the ladies of Alleghany City.' I asked him his name and command and why he was there. He replied, 'We attacked Stuart on the pike and were routed.' … On getting to the wagon train I gave one of my men who was driving a wagon [Shields'] sword to keep until we got across the Potomac; a day or two afterwards a portion of the train was captured and he gave up the sword. … I hope it found its way back to Lieut. Shields." (The News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, February 7, 1904, p. 4, by Capt. W. A. Graham, K/2 NC Cavalry; Civil War Service Index, Fold3)
Sword of an unidentified Confederate staff officer. From an 1885 newspaper article: "The New Haven Colony Historical Society has among its relics … a Confederate sword from the battlefield of Gettysburg … An interesting history is connected with this sword. At the close of the battle, Surgeon Bissell, Fifth Connecticut Regiment, while riding over the field, saw the dead body of a Confederate staff officer … lying upon some stones. Dr. Bissell took the sword from the officer's body and carried it to camp." Evelyn Lyman Bissell was assistant surgeon of the 5th Connecticut, which fought on Culp's Hill. His mention of a staff officer is intriguing since Major Benjamin Watkins Leigh, a prominent staff officer serving Major General Edward Johnson, was killed on Culp's Hill the morning of July 3. Although Leigh's sword was reportedly collected and turned into headquarters by a soldier from the 7th Ohio, we cannot exclude the possibility that the sword picked up by Assistant Surgeon Bissell had belonged to Major Leigh. (The Virginia Free Press, Charlestown, West Virginia, April 16, 1885).
Prussian sword of an unidentified Union officer. From a 1914 newspaper article: "Another splendid war relic has been added to the collection in the Maine Naval Reserve Armory on Portland Pier, as Thomas Nixon of the First Division has presented the organization with an old sword picked up on the battlefield of Gettysburg early in the spring of the year following the famous struggle between the Blue and the Gray. The sword has a history of which the Maine Naval Reserve may well feel proud as the gentleman who found the sword, recognized it as the one his father had bought in Prussia, and after using it in the Serfs war the latter part of the year 1834, brought the weapon to this country when he embarked on the staunch sloop Star of the West which set sail for America the latter part of 1836. According to the brief history of the sword in possession of the Naval Reserve, the owner of the sword answered Lincoln's call for volunteers in 1860 and was assigned to Scott's regiment and the sword took an active part in the defense of Washington. (Daily Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine, April 6, 1914, p. 6)
Sword of an unidentified Confederate officer from Pickett's Division. On July 3, a young officer, followed by a number of enlisted men, crossed the Federal line opposite the southern border of the clump of trees and advanced toward the right gun of Captain Andew Cowan's New York battery, perhaps 25 yards away. The officer waved his sword in the air and shouted, "Take the gun." Cowan's guns at that point were waiting, loaded with canister, and when they were simultaneously discharged, all of the Confederates fell. The young officer's sword became the possession of Captain Cowan. The scabbard was made of brass and bore the number "425" and the name of the maker, "Horstman." The sword itself appeared to be older. The blade was of very fine steel, and the hilt was mother-of-pearl, surmounted by a figure of the goddess of liberty. The guard represented a Palmetto tree and bore the date "1776." (The Philadelphia Press, July 3, 1887, p. 2; Brake Collection, U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA)
Sword of Captain Isaac Nicoll, Company G, 124th New York. On July 24, 1863, Nicoll's father (John) wrote: "On the eve of Captain Nicoll's departure with his regiment, which was raised in this county [Orange County, New York], the ladies of this town [Blooming Grove] presented him with a handsome sword. It was not a formal presentation, simply accompanied by a letter. This was in the month of September last [1862]." Isaac Nicoll had raised a company in Blooming Grove and became its captain on September 5, 1862, backdated to his enrollment on August 20. He took part in the charge of his regiment at Devil's Den on the afternoon of July 2 and died soon after being struck by three minie balls. His body was wedged between two rocks in the triangular field at the furthest point of the regiment's advance. His father afterwards recovered his body and separately his diary, which was picked up by 2nd Lieutenant Ransom W. Wood of Company I, 20th Georgia. Wood exhibited the inscribed diary for his comrades during a dinner provided by Mr. and Mrs. George Hoover near Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, on the retreat, and was induced to relinquish it to Mrs. Hoover who forwarded it to John Nicoll. Perhaps Wood also retrieved Isaac Nicoll's sword at the same time he collected his diary, but he did not mention it to the Hoovers. (Historical Reminiscences of the War, by Jacob Hoke, Chambersburg, PA: M. A. Foltz, Printer and Publisher, 1884, pp. 99-100)
Part 1:
Sword of 1st Lieutenant Thomas P. Shields, Company G, 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry. On June 30, the 18th was attacked at Hanover, Pennsylvania and it seems that during this engagement Lt. Shields became separated from his command and afterwards encountered Captain William A. Graham of Company K, 2nd North Carolina Cavalry, who had been detached to gather horses in the area. Graham later wrote: "An officer in blue dashed out of the woods into the road about forty steps from me. I saw him first and covered him with my pistol and told him to advance, and took his arms. On his sword was engraved: 'Lt. Shields, 18th Penn. Cav., presented by the ladies of Alleghany City.' I asked him his name and command and why he was there. He replied, 'We attacked Stuart on the pike and were routed.' … On getting to the wagon train I gave one of my men who was driving a wagon [Shields'] sword to keep until we got across the Potomac; a day or two afterwards a portion of the train was captured and he gave up the sword. … I hope it found its way back to Lieut. Shields." (The News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, February 7, 1904, p. 4, by Capt. W. A. Graham, K/2 NC Cavalry; Civil War Service Index, Fold3)
Sword of an unidentified Confederate staff officer. From an 1885 newspaper article: "The New Haven Colony Historical Society has among its relics … a Confederate sword from the battlefield of Gettysburg … An interesting history is connected with this sword. At the close of the battle, Surgeon Bissell, Fifth Connecticut Regiment, while riding over the field, saw the dead body of a Confederate staff officer … lying upon some stones. Dr. Bissell took the sword from the officer's body and carried it to camp." Evelyn Lyman Bissell was assistant surgeon of the 5th Connecticut, which fought on Culp's Hill. His mention of a staff officer is intriguing since Major Benjamin Watkins Leigh, a prominent staff officer serving Major General Edward Johnson, was killed on Culp's Hill the morning of July 3. Although Leigh's sword was reportedly collected and turned into headquarters by a soldier from the 7th Ohio, we cannot exclude the possibility that the sword picked up by Assistant Surgeon Bissell had belonged to Major Leigh. (The Virginia Free Press, Charlestown, West Virginia, April 16, 1885).
Prussian sword of an unidentified Union officer. From a 1914 newspaper article: "Another splendid war relic has been added to the collection in the Maine Naval Reserve Armory on Portland Pier, as Thomas Nixon of the First Division has presented the organization with an old sword picked up on the battlefield of Gettysburg early in the spring of the year following the famous struggle between the Blue and the Gray. The sword has a history of which the Maine Naval Reserve may well feel proud as the gentleman who found the sword, recognized it as the one his father had bought in Prussia, and after using it in the Serfs war the latter part of the year 1834, brought the weapon to this country when he embarked on the staunch sloop Star of the West which set sail for America the latter part of 1836. According to the brief history of the sword in possession of the Naval Reserve, the owner of the sword answered Lincoln's call for volunteers in 1860 and was assigned to Scott's regiment and the sword took an active part in the defense of Washington. (Daily Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine, April 6, 1914, p. 6)
Sword of an unidentified Confederate officer from Pickett's Division. On July 3, a young officer, followed by a number of enlisted men, crossed the Federal line opposite the southern border of the clump of trees and advanced toward the right gun of Captain Andew Cowan's New York battery, perhaps 25 yards away. The officer waved his sword in the air and shouted, "Take the gun." Cowan's guns at that point were waiting, loaded with canister, and when they were simultaneously discharged, all of the Confederates fell. The young officer's sword became the possession of Captain Cowan. The scabbard was made of brass and bore the number "425" and the name of the maker, "Horstman." The sword itself appeared to be older. The blade was of very fine steel, and the hilt was mother-of-pearl, surmounted by a figure of the goddess of liberty. The guard represented a Palmetto tree and bore the date "1776." (The Philadelphia Press, July 3, 1887, p. 2; Brake Collection, U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA)
Sword of Captain Isaac Nicoll, Company G, 124th New York. On July 24, 1863, Nicoll's father (John) wrote: "On the eve of Captain Nicoll's departure with his regiment, which was raised in this county [Orange County, New York], the ladies of this town [Blooming Grove] presented him with a handsome sword. It was not a formal presentation, simply accompanied by a letter. This was in the month of September last [1862]." Isaac Nicoll had raised a company in Blooming Grove and became its captain on September 5, 1862, backdated to his enrollment on August 20. He took part in the charge of his regiment at Devil's Den on the afternoon of July 2 and died soon after being struck by three minie balls. His body was wedged between two rocks in the triangular field at the furthest point of the regiment's advance. His father afterwards recovered his body and separately his diary, which was picked up by 2nd Lieutenant Ransom W. Wood of Company I, 20th Georgia. Wood exhibited the inscribed diary for his comrades during a dinner provided by Mr. and Mrs. George Hoover near Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, on the retreat, and was induced to relinquish it to Mrs. Hoover who forwarded it to John Nicoll. Perhaps Wood also retrieved Isaac Nicoll's sword at the same time he collected his diary, but he did not mention it to the Hoovers. (Historical Reminiscences of the War, by Jacob Hoke, Chambersburg, PA: M. A. Foltz, Printer and Publisher, 1884, pp. 99-100)
Bringing the