|
Home
>
Worthopedia – Price Guide
>
Militaria & Weapons >
VERY RARE! ORIGINAL CIVIL WAR FORAGE CAP/KEPI GROUPING
|
Terms and Conditions for using our site |
VERY RARE! ORIGINAL CIVIL WAR FORAGE CAP/KEPI GROUPING
Sold For:
 or Sign In to see what it's worth.
This is a rare and original Civil War Officer’s Grouping being offered from my private collection. I had it for just about twenty years and it belonged to an Illinois officer which I have no name or information on. The first piece is a Model 1858 Union Forage Cap. It has the chin strap present with the brass slide and Infantry “I” buttons on each end. On the inside is a dark brown sweat band with a black quilted lining. It has some scattered mothing with some fabric loss around the back and sides, exposing some of the interior buckram. It has the black leather visor which is completed with the sewed binding. An interesting thing about this cap is on the left side, just above the button, there appears to be what might be considered as some battle related damage. I can’t say for sure because I never really wanted to pull on it or disturb the area, because the fabric is hard on both the inside and out. A close up shows that there is some staining to the fabric (see pictures). Of course this is just speculating as to whether this is actually blood or not….but I am sure that nowadays it could be tested if desired. The next two pieces are officers Shoulder Straps. One is for an Infantry First Lieutenant, indicated by the light blue fabric. The second one is for a Captain, with the black material indicating that he was part of the Staff. The Lieutenant strap is well worn from the officer spending a great deal of time in the field. The Captain strap remains in nice condition. The next piece is a Union coat-size Infantry “I” button. The face still shows quite a bit of the original gold gilting. The reverse has the shank remaining and has the maker “SCOVIL MFG. CO. WATERBURY”. Some miscellaneous pieces are a 1” wide leather belt about 4” long; a roller buckle with some leather still attached to it; a small section of dark blue cloth; and a couple other pieces of leather. (The belt may have been used to keep the box closed) The final item is the original box which this all came in. It measures approximately 14 ½” x 10 ½” x 6” and is made of wood and covered with black oil cloth. It has a leather handle on the top and on the front is an old lock plate without the key, so the top of the hasp was pried open at some time. Overall the box is solid but the oil cloth is lifting on a couple of areas. No doubt this grouping had special meaning to this Civil War officer if he made it home. He could have started out as an enlisted man or NCO, moved up to an Infantry officer, and finally promoted to a field grade Staff Officer. If he was indeed wounded, maybe he kept the Forage Cap as a souvenir and the button from his coat. Another scenario could be that he was killed during the Civil War and these pieces were sent home to his next-of-kin. Regardless of what happened, it is truly a great grouping. If I broke this grouping up I am sure it would be easier to sell, however it would just be wrong to separate these pieces after being together for almost 150 years. For the past 20 years I used this grouping in exhibits at historical societies, museums, historical events, etc., and it was something that always brought a lot of attention and admiration. This isn’t surplus pieces which show up now and then from the old Bannerman’s Island , but items that were truly used during the Civil War. I am listing it with "NO RESERVE" and have recently lowered the selling price by several hundred dollars. Please feel free to ask any questions and take a look at my other Civil War items in my EBay Store and on auction.....thanks for looking. Checks, m/o, PayPal, and credit cards through PayPal accepted.
Items in the Worthopedia are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.
View Similar ItemsMore Items from eBay
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Joining is free and gives you access to our Community & Forums.
If you are interested in our pricing data or other paid memberships, try our Full 7-day Free Trial Here.
By creating an account you agree to our Terms & Conditions
