August 18 & 19, 2020 Edged Weapons, Armor, & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/18/2020
Two excellent examples of wood taken from bullet-struck trees on the Gettysburg Battlefield. These were popular and much-sought after relics that testified not only to the intensity of the fighting, but struck a cord with some veterans and visitors as a comment on the destructiveness of war encountering nature as well. Each piece displays an embedded Minie ball and each bears an original pencil inscription on its find site. A) Bears a small glued label reading: "From / C.W. Davis / 1929 / LMX," and a faint pencil inscription on one end: "Reynolds Woods" and the number "15." This has been re-written more recently on the other end: "Reynolds/ Woods / Gettysburg / Pa." to preserve the find location. This refers to the spot in the first day’s fighting where Major General John Reynolds, commander of the First Army Corps, was shot and killed while directing the deployment of Union troops. B) Preserves the outer section of a tree complete with bark. One end has an old ink inscription reading, “Culp’s Hill.” The base of Minie ball that appears to be a Confederate Gardner with a swage line where the cartridge paper would be clamped. Culp's Hill was the scene of fierce fighting on July 2 and July 3 as Confederates sought to break the right wing of the Army of the Potomac. Only in recent decades has the fighting in the Union center and left come to overshadow that struggle in the public imagination. Mathew Brady, for one, spent a lot of time photographing the bullet-struck trees on Culp's Hill. CONDITION: Excellent. Both examples are from the Charles “Hap” Hazard Collection. SR
Item Dimensions: Larger: 9 - 1/4" x 2 - 1/2" x 3 - 1/2".