American Historical Ephemera & Photography, Featuring Property from the James Milgram, M.D., Collection of Broadsides, Ephemeral Americana & Historical Documents

3 x 7 1/2 in. silk ribbon with lettering and illustrations printed in blue (fold lines, few scattered spots, frayed top and bottom edges). A souvenir ribbon from the 4 February 1894 reunion in New Orleans involving the Washington Artillery and Albany Burgesses Corps, illustrated with two roaring tigers representing each unit's mascot. 

The Washington Artillery, which was originally organized ca 1838-1840, mustered into Confederate service on 26 May 1861. The first four companies of the elite Louisiana gunners were assigned to the eastern theater and fought in every major battle of the Army of Northern Virginia until the very end of the war. A fifth company served with the Army of Tennessee. Armed mostly with cannons captured in 1861 from the Baton Rouge Arsenal, the five companies of the Washington Artillery participated in over 60 engagements, including Antietam, Perryville, Gettysburg, Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Fredericksburg, First Manassas, Nashville, and Cold Harbor. 

The Albany Burgesses Corps was organized in Albany, NY, in 1833 to serve as a uniformed light artillery company as part of the state militia. In April 1861, the Corps volunteered to fight with the Union army, serving as Company R of the 25th New York Infantry, a 3 month state militia regiment. It was one of the first companies to volunteer its services in the United States during the war.