Swords at Gettysburg

[Tom Elmore]

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)

 

[on again]

according to Captain cowan acount-he returned the sword 1888

 

[Tom Elmore]

Part 2:

Sword of Colonel Richard P. Roberts, 140th Pennsylvania. When Brigadier General Samuel K. Zook fell mortally wounded in the Wheatfield on July 2, command of the brigade devolved onto Roberts as senior officer. Soon Roberts was himself fatally struck by several bullets and fell from his horse. In 1909, former Lieutenant J. Jackson Purman of the 140th's Company A recollected: "Being driven back from this advanced ground, we were unable to carry off his body, which when recovered was stripped of his fine uniform and elegant sword. The sword … was engraved on the scabbard, 'Presented to Capt. R. P. Roberts by the citizens of Beaver, Pa.' At the battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, Capt. D. R. P. Nealy, of the 149th Pa. … discovered and took from the body of a Confederate captain Col. Robert's … belt and scabbard, and thru the courtesy of the late Senator M. S. Quay, who had been Col. Robert's law student, they were sent to the Colonel's daughter at Beaver, Pa. In the clash of battle the sword had fallen from the Confederate captain's hand and could not be found." (Recitals and Reminiscences, by J. J. Purman, National Tribune, March 25, 1909)

Sword of Captain Benjamin M. Piatt, Assistant Adjutant General on the staff of Colonel Regis de Trobriand. Piatt led the 40th New York into Plum Run valley on the afternoon of July 2. His horse being struck by two minie balls in the shoulders and hip, Piatt was thrown violently off when his horse fell. Piatt wrote: "My sword was pitched a dozen yards from me and was picked up by one of the men and returned to me that night." Piatt twice received brevet promotions for gallant and meritorious service, at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. After the war he joined a law firm in Cincinnati, Ohio, however, in April 1885, he committed suicide, reportedly because of an inability to meet a debt. He left a wife and several children. (A Thrilling Battle Picture, by Major Ben M. Piatt, New Orleans Republican, January 9, 1876; National Tribune, April 23, 1885, p. 5)

Sword of Lieutenant Louis H. Sanger, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 17th U.S. Infantry. Sanger was placed with the battalion and became an irritation to the company commander, Captain Dudley H. Chase, who later recalled: "A lieutenant temporarily attached to my company astonished me as we were going down the slope [of Little Round Top on July 2], silent and grim, by leaving his place in the line and running along the rear of the company yelling, 'Give 'em H---, men! Give 'em H---!' Twice I ordered him to desist, telling him I was in command and to keep quiet. When we made the run across the marsh [Plum Run], the lieutenant was particularly vociferous, swinging his sword, etc., and in the center of the marsh he fell and was covered with mud. His sword scabbard had gotten between his legs and tripped him. All who saw his misadventure laughed." (Chase quoted in, A History of Regular Infantry Operations in the Civil War's Eastern Theater, by Timothy J. Reese, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 1990, p. 243)

Sword Of Colonel Charles Frederick Taylor, 42nd Pennsylvania Infantry (also known as First Rifles or Bucktails). Born on February 6, 1840, to Joseph and Rebecca Way Taylor, Charles attended the University of Michigan for two years. In 1861, he was elected captain of Company H and rose to command the regiment. At sunset on July 2, his brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves charged westward from Little Round Top, and Taylor was mortally wounded on Houck's Ridge, dying on the spot. Taylor's sword and other personal effects were evidently recovered and sent to his parents. In 1881, they presented his sword to the Grand Army of the Republic Post No. 19 in Philadelphia, which bore the name of their fallen son. (Colonel of the Bucktails: Civil War letters of Charles Frederick Taylor, by Charles F. Hobson and Arnold Shankman, Pennsylvania Magazine and Biography, 97, 1973; Wheeling Register, June 11, 1881)

Saber of an unidentified officer, Company K, 3rd Virginia Cavalry. "Hornell [New York], March 7 [1907]. 'C. S. – K 3d Va. 7-2-1863' is the inscription upon a sabre hung today upon the walls of the Forty-seventh Separate Company here, and which members of the company believe to be a valuable relic. Translated, the inscription means: 'Company K, Third Virginia Cavalry; July 2, 1863.' In other words, the inscription on the old sabre, traced by means of a knife-point or some other sharp instrument, was scrawled by an wounded officer of General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry on an eventful night on the battlefield of Gettysburg. The old sabre is hacked as if it had seen much use, although the unruffled parts of the edge are keen; and it bears stains suspiciously like those of human blood. It came into possession of the local military from a dealer in relics in New York, along with half a dozen other sabres and guns. The other day these old weapons were brought forth to be polished and hung upon the walls of the corridor in the refurbished armory here. The polishing process revealed the inscription noted. A strange coincidence lies in the fact that the present Forty-seven Company once was 'Company K, Third New York' Regiment. The boys would give a good deal to know what Confederate officer wielded the old sabre with 'Jeb' Stuart's cavalry, but they do not expect they ever will." (Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia, March 8, 1907, p. 3)

 

[on again]

Part 2:

Sword of Colonel Richard P. Roberts, 140th Pennsylvania. When Brigadier General Samuel K. Zook fell mortally wounded in the Wheatfield on July 2, command of the brigade devolved onto Roberts as senior officer. Soon Roberts was himself fatally struck by several bullets and fell from his horse. In 1909, former Lieutenant J. Jackson Purman of the 140th's Company A recollected: "Being driven back from this advanced ground, we were unable to carry off his body, which when recovered was stripped of his fine uniform and elegant sword. The sword … was engraved on the scabbard, 'Presented to Capt. R. P. Roberts by the citizens of Beaver, Pa.' At the battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, Capt. D. R. P. Nealy, of the 149th Pa. … discovered and took from the body of a Confederate captain Col. Robert's … belt and scabbard, and thru the courtesy of the late Senator M. S. Quay, who had been Col. Robert's law student, they were sent to the Colonel's daughter at Beaver, Pa. In the clash of battle the sword had fallen from the Confederate captain's hand and could not be found." (Recitals and Reminiscences, by J. J. Purman, National Tribune, March 25, 1909)

Sword of Captain Benjamin M. Piatt, Assistant Adjutant General on the staff of Colonel Regis de Trobriand. Piatt led the 40th New York into Plum Run valley on the afternoon of July 2. His horse being struck by two minie balls in the shoulders and hip, Piatt was thrown violently off when his horse fell. Piatt wrote: "My sword was pitched a dozen yards from me and was picked up by one of the men and returned to me that night." Piatt twice received brevet promotions for gallant and meritorious service, at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. After the war he joined a law firm in Cincinnati, Ohio, however, in April 1885, he committed suicide, reportedly because of an inability to meet a debt. He left a wife and several children. (A Thrilling Battle Picture, by Major Ben M. Piatt, New Orleans Republican, January 9, 1876; National Tribune, April 23, 1885, p. 5)

Sword of Lieutenant Louis H. Sanger, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 17th U.S. Infantry. Sanger was placed with the battalion and became an irritation to the company commander, Captain Dudley H. Chase, who later recalled: "A lieutenant temporarily attached to my company astonished me as we were going down the slope [of Little Round Top on July 2], silent and grim, by leaving his place in the line and running along the rear of the company yelling, 'Give 'em H---, men! Give 'em H---!' Twice I ordered him to desist, telling him I was in command and to keep quiet. When we made the run across the marsh [Plum Run], the lieutenant was particularly vociferous, swinging his sword, etc., and in the center of the marsh he fell and was covered with mud. His sword scabbard had gotten between his legs and tripped him. All who saw his misadventure laughed." (Chase quoted in, A History of Regular Infantry Operations in the Civil War's Eastern Theater, by Timothy J. Reese, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 1990, p. 243)

Sword Of Colonel Charles Frederick Taylor, 42nd Pennsylvania Infantry (also known as First Rifles or Bucktails). Born on February 6, 1840, to Joseph and Rebecca Way Taylor, Charles attended the University of Michigan for two years. In 1861, he was elected captain of Company H and rose to command the regiment. At sunset on July 2, his brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves charged westward from Little Round Top, and Taylor was mortally wounded on Houck's Ridge, dying on the spot. Taylor's sword and other personal effects were evidently recovered and sent to his parents. In 1881, they presented his sword to the Grand Army of the Republic Post No. 19 in Philadelphia, which bore the name of their fallen son. (Colonel of the Bucktails: Civil War letters of Charles Frederick Taylor, by Charles F. Hobson and Arnold Shankman, Pennsylvania Magazine and Biography, 97, 1973; Wheeling Register, June 11, 1881)

Saber of an unidentified officer, Company K, 3rd Virginia Cavalry. "Hornell [New York], March 7 [1907]. 'C. S. – K 3d Va. 7-2-1863' is the inscription upon a sabre hung today upon the walls of the Forty-seventh Separate Company here, and which members of the company believe to be a valuable relic. Translated, the inscription means: 'Company K, Third Virginia Cavalry; July 2, 1863.' In other words, the inscription on the old sabre, traced by means of a knife-point or some other sharp instrument, was scrawled by an wounded officer of General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry on an eventful night on the battlefield of Gettysburg. The old sabre is hacked as if it had seen much use, although the unruffled parts of the edge are keen; and it bears stains suspiciously like those of human blood. It came into possession of the local military from a dealer in relics in New York, along with half a dozen other sabres and guns. The other day these old weapons were brought forth to be polished and hung upon the walls of the corridor in the refurbished armory here. The polishing process revealed the inscription noted. A strange coincidence lies in the fact that the present Forty-seven Company once was 'Company K, Third New York' Regiment. The boys would give a good deal to know what Confederate officer wielded the old sabre with 'Jeb' Stuart's cavalry, but they do not expect they ever will." (Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia, March 8, 1907, p. 3)

Made Inquiry Company K 3rd Virginia Cavalry aka Prince Edward Dragoons had 3 officers at Gettysburg

Dr Peyton Randolph Berkeley (1806-1870) - Find a...

A lineal descendant of Sir William Berkeley. Peyton was captain of Company K, Third Virginia Cavalry.

www.findagrave.com

Capt John Hughes Knight Jr. (1829-1914) - Find a...

Knight served with Company K of the Third Virginia Cavalry in the Army of Northern Virginia. The son of Colonel John Hughes Knight Sr. and Sally Everett Carter Knight. His father was a prominent planter and a member of the legislature. John Jr. attended Hampden-Sydney and became a lawyer and a...

www.findagrave.com

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29367236/richard-colin-stokes 2nd Lt
Question which man lost his sword?

 

[Tom Elmore]

Part 3:

Sword of Brigadier General William Barksdale. Following his mortal wounding while leading a charge on July 2, Barksdale was brought into the Union lines, where his sword was evidently secured and taken to Meade's headquarters. After the battle, Colonel Edmund Shriver, Inspector General, took charge of the sword, along with 31 captured Confederate battle flags, as war trophies. By some means, the sword later came into the possession of Horace Capron, who had commanded a Union cavalry regiment and brigade in the Western theater. In 1867, Capron headed the U.S. Department of Agriculture and three years later became a well-paid advisor to the Japanese government for the development of Hokkaido. In 1874, Capron donated Barksdale's sword to a military museum being formed in Washington, D.C. Three years later, the Ordnance Museum returned the sword to Ethelbert Barksdale, William's brother. Ethelbert had served in the Confederate Congress from 1862-1865, where in the closing days of the war he introduced legislation to arm slaves as a fighting force. (Ed. Shriver, Official Reports, series I, vol. 27, part I, p. 85; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Capron; Vermont Phoenix, Brattleboro, Vermont, July 17, 1874; Daily Times, Columbus, Georgia, February 23, 1877, p. 1; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethelbert_Barksdale)

Sword of Captain John E. Cook, 76th New York. Cook took charge of his regiment on July 1 following the wounding of Major Grover and wrote the official report of his regiment's role in the battle. He evidently lost his sword during the fight, on which information surfaced 28 years later: "Mr. F. W. Richardson, of Newark Valley, N.Y., while on a visit to Gettysburg, Pa., found in a museum at that place a sword, upon which was engraved, 'Capt. John E. Cook, 76th N.Y.,' which belonged to a farmer by the name of John Rosensteel, who lived near the town. The weapon was found by him shortly after the battle. Mr. Richardson, being acquainted with some of the survivors of the 76th N.Y., informed Mr. B. F. Taylor, of Cortland, N.Y, of his discovery, who at once authorized him to secure the sword and forward it to him, together with the bill for the same. The sword was bought, and is now in the possession of Mr. Taylor, who desires to present the same to the daughter of Capt. Cook, who lives in New York or Brooklyn, her husband being connected with a produce commission house in New York. Should this come to the notice of any person who can give her husband's name and address, Taylor will be pleased to restore to the family the sword of his old friend and comrade." (National Tribune, January 29, 1891, p. 4)

Unique curved sword belonging to an unidentified junior Federal officer. Major Peter A. S. McGlashan of the 50th Georgia recalled an incident from the vicinity of the Wheatfield late in the day on July 2: "Our line was stopped a few moments to reform regiments, the exhausted men throwing themselves panting on the ground, when I noticed a young Federal officer, a mere youth, lying severely wounded at the foot of an oak tree, and faintly trying to raise his hand. I went over to him and saw he was a mere boy, looking not over 16, his sword a fancy one, shaped like a Turkish scimitar, evidently some family relic, lay near him where it had fallen out of his hand when he was struck …" (see https://civilwartalk.com/threads/brookes-charge-a-little-too-easy.168613/page-2, posted by @lelliott19)

Two swords and hatchet of Lieutenant Stephen Flavius Brown, Company K, 13th Vermont. On the march to Gettysburg, Brown was placed under arrest for having overruled a guard placed at a well and helped himself and his men to some water, against orders. For this offense, he was deprived of both his sword and pistol, which was retained in the baggage train. Released from arrest on July 2 to participate in the battle, he borrowed a camp hatchet to carry into the fight, where he took possession of a sword and pistol from a captured Confederate officer. After the battle, having redeemed himself, he was permitted to reclaim his own sword. (Rutland Weekly Herald, Rutland, Vermont, August 10, 1871, p. 4; Pictorial History, Thirteenth Regiment Vermont Volunteers, War of 1861-1865, by Ralph Orson Sturtevant; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13902779/stephen_flavius-brown)

Sword of Major Thomas B. Rodgers, 140th Pennsylvania. Rodgers explained how he was parted from his sword during the encounter with Wofford's brigade near the Wheatfield on July 2: "When we came out of the woods three Confederate battle flags flashed by us, and we were in the hands of the enemy. The guard who escorted us to the rear was in charge of a sergeant, a good-natured fellow, for when he demanded my sword I declined, saying that I would deliver it only to an officer. It was evident that neither of us understood the ethics pertaining to prisoners of war. He argued with me for some time but finally concluded that I was right in my contention, and I kept the sword. After going about half a mile to the rear a handsome young officer of Longstreet's staff rode up and said, 'Sergeant, what is that officer doing with his sword on?' The sergeant explained that he wanted me to give it up, but I had declined to surrender it to anyone but an officer. 'Very well,' he said, 'I am an officer and he can give it to me.' Which of course, I did, glad to be rid of it, as I knew I could not keep it. He must have smiled at the absurdity of the thing. Later that evening we were halted at a farmhouse to get water, where Gen. Longstreet had his headquarters. I saw the young officer exhibit my handsome sword with the remark that he had captured it from a Yankee officer. Of course, I remained discreetly silent." (Account by Maj. Thomas Blackburn Rodgers, St. Louisans Among Gettysburg Heroes, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, March 9, 1913, p. 15, Brake Collection, U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania)

 

[gjpratt]

General Barksdale's sword is now displayed at the SVBF's Market Battlefield Visitor Center & Museum.

 

[lelliott19]

Sword of Major Thomas B. Rodgers, 140th Pennsylvania. Rodgers explained how he was parted from his sword during the encounter with Wofford's brigade near the Wheatfield on July 2: "When we came out of the woods three Confederate battle flags flashed by us, and we were in the hands of the enemy. The guard who escorted us to the rear was in charge of a sergeant, a good-natured fellow, for when he demanded my sword I declined, saying that I would deliver it only to an officer. It was evident that neither of us understood the ethics pertaining to prisoners of war. He argued with me for some time but finally concluded that I was right in my contention, and I kept the sword. After going about half a mile to the rear a handsome young officer of Longstreet's staff rode up and said, 'Sergeant, what is that officer doing with his sword on?' The sergeant explained that he wanted me to give it up, but I had declined to surrender it to anyone but an officer. 'Very well,' he said, 'I am an officer and he can give it to me.' Which of course, I did, glad to be rid of it, as I knew I could not keep it. He must have smiled at the absurdity of the thing. Later that evening we were halted at a farmhouse to get water, where Gen. Longstreet had his headquarters. I saw the young officer exhibit my handsome sword with the remark that he had captured it from a Yankee officer. Of course, I remained discreetly silent." (Account by Maj. Thomas Blackburn Rodgers, St. Louisans Among Gettysburg Heroes, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, March 9, 1913, p. 15, Brake Collection, U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania)

Oh my gosh! I love this story so much. Thank you for sharing it.
The good-natured Sergeant of Wofford's brigade, outranked by a Pennsylvania prisoner.

Any idea who the "handsome young officer of Longstreet's staff" was? The only one I generally think of as "handsome" was Gilbert Moxley Sorrell, but maybe there were others that would have been considered "handsome"?

Tom - I'm also thinking the 44th Alabama & 4th Maine encounter should probably be included in this thread too?

Thread 'Alabamian's Desire to Return a Captured Sword Sheds Light on 44th Alabama and 4th Maine at Devil's Den'

May 26, 2025

44TH ALABAMA
John Simpson Gardner was born August 20, 1840 in Centreville, Bibb County, AL. His father, Jackson Gardner, was born in 1818. Jackson was a Mason; a member of the Presbyterian Church; Sheriff and Justice of the Peace (1853-1856); and Probate Judge of Bibb County for 20 years (1856 to 1876.) In politics, Mr. Gardner was a Whig. In his day, one of the most influential men of Bibb County. The county was very rural and still is. It's split down the middle - divided by the Cahaba River which runs directly through the county seat of Centreville. The 1860 US census...

• lelliott19
• Replies: 30
• Forum: Gettysburg

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