November 15 & 16, 2022 Extraordinary Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/15/2022
Shepherd, sometimes listed as “Sheperd,” enlisted in Company D of the second iteration of the First Maryland Battalion in Richmond on August 29, 1862 “for three years or the war” and was 1 of just 59 survivors in the ranks when the regiment surrendered at Appomattox in 1865. He does not appear in the earlier version of the unit, which had begun forming in April 1861, mustered in for 12 months in June, and mustered out about August 17 1862, with veterans becoming the core of a new First Maryland in October 1862, redesignated the Second Maryland in January 1864. The only absence noted in his file is hospitalization for debility at Chimborozo Hospital from July 31 to August 17, 1864, after which he returned to duty. The regiment saw heavy service in the Army of Northern Virginia, first at the Second Battle of Winchester and then Gettysburg where they lost 56 killed, 118 wounded and 15 captured, amounting to a staggering 48% casualty rate. In 1864-65 they fought at North Anna, Cold Harbor, where they recaptured trenches taken by Union troops, and Petersburg, with particular fighting at the Weldon Railroad, Peebles Farm, Hatchers Run, Fort Gregg and Fort Davis, and were then in Lee’s retreat. Shepherd’s parole at Appomattox noted he had been a resident of Anne Arundel County and was headed back there. Records indicate he was born about 1842, married in 1871, and is listed in 1880 as a farm laborer. In attacking Culps Hill at Gettysburg they exemplified the Civil War in facing the Union 1st Maryland Eastern Shore, whose Colonel wrote: “The 1st Maryland Confederate Regiment met us and were cut to pieces. We sorrowfully gathered up many of our old friends and acquaintances and had them carefully and tenderly cared for.”. Theirs was the first Confederate monument erected on the field, a symbol of remembrance when brothers took up arms against one another. This British P1853 Tower percussion rifled musket was manufactured by C.W. James, an English government contractor, and dated 1862. 39" barrel in .577 caliber, nominal 24 bore, with blade front sight and military ladder rear sight graduated to 900 yards. Barrel is Birmingham proof marked on left side above woodline. Marked on lock with "1862" / "TOWER" forward of hammer with British Crown behind hammer. 1 piece stock in typically seen configuration with brass nosecap, trigger guard, and buttplate with iron barrel bands. Stock is extremely faintly marked with C.W. James roundel on right side, "J" furnisher marked ahead of buttplate tang, and buttplate tang marked "740" / "A" along the axis. Trigger guard is inscribed and reads “Pvt. Richard H. Shepard / Co. D 2nd Md Regt / C.S.A.”. Left side of stock is hand carved with his initials "RHS". Complete with unmarked socket bayonet. Accompanying this lot is a folder containing notes on configuration, a summary of Private Shepard's service history, various photos of the gun, copies of muster rolls, receipt roll for clothing, hospital records, prisoner roll, record of paroled prisoners, as well as a copy of pg. 176 of "A Band of Brothers: Photographic Epilogue to Marylanders in the Confederacy" by Daniel D. Hartzler in which this musket is photographed. CONDITION: Good, with barrel turned a speckled gray patina with heavy freckling near breech. Brass components were cleaned in the past but have regained a pleasing mellow patina. Stock is very good as lightly sanded and finish added, with repaired cracks near front barrel band and small crack near front of trigger guard. Mechanically fine. Bore is lightly frosted with crisp rifling. Bayonet is very good with light freckling throughout and a protective layer of varnish added. This is a wonderfully inscribed musket that was carried by a soldier who experienced the true divide of the Civil War while fighting against his brethren during one of the decisive battles that shaped that Nation.