American Historical Ephemera & Photography

Army issued Civil War soldier’s mess cup made of tinned iron and soldered construction, 4 in. diameter, 4 1/8 in. high (item shows wear but has no dents or holes). Handle is stamped with “US”, and is secured with two rivets at top and one at the bottom. On the cup bottom there appears to be scratched the name Amos. 

[With:] Civil War leather Navy fuse (box) pouch, which can hold four packages of fuses and measures approx. 3 ½ x 3 ½ x ¾ in. (deep) with the front cover 4 ½ x 4 ¼ in. (pouch shows wear). Box has a stamped identification inside an oval on the front stating “Navy Yard N.Y. 1864” - with anchors flanking the date. The leather closure tab on the bottom of the box is present, as is the brass button used for securing. A 1 ½  x 2 ½ in. belt loop is included on the back. 

[With:] Civil War leather pistol cartridge box, which has two loops in the back that were used to secure it to a utility belt (nice condition with modest wear). Inside the pouch is a divider for placing rows of cartridges. The front flap measures approx. 6 ¾ x 5 in., while the back measures 5 ¾ x 4 in. Pouch contains leather strip and brass button for closing case. There is no manufacturers identification. 

[With:] Civil War era bone handled three-tined fork, purportedly belonging to Major Jeremiah Rorher (1827-1910) of the 127th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. Carved on the handle is “USA” along with a five pointed star, a nice example of soldier folk art. Fork measures approx. 7 ½ x ½ in. (shows some aging). Rorher fought in the Civil War battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

[With:] Civil War soldier traveling mirror, which has a top lid and a bottom lid that houses the mirror. The lids appear to be made of zinc and measure 3 in. diameter and ¼ in. height. The top lid has an American eagle with a shield across its chest, the “E Pluribus Unum” logo, and an olive branch and arrows in its talons – just like the Great Seal of the U.S. Interestingly, the front lid also has “A Paris” stamped on it, indicating that the item was produced in France. The bottom lid has a geometric design. (Front lid still retains its original red paper, mirror in good condition overall, but the mechanism that connects the top and bottom lids is missing, lids show aging).

[Also with:] 2 spurs identified as Union and Confederate examples, which were dug from the battlefield. The Union spur is accompanied by an old typed note stating that it was found on the battlefield of Spotsylvania Courthouse. The Union spur measures approx. 3 ¼ in. across and 4 ¾ in. high, and is missing its rowel. The Confederate spur, also missing rowel, measures approx. 3 ¼ x 4 ¼ in. and is accompanied by an old identification tag stating “Crude Confed. Spur”.

 

Together, a group of 7 items.