Extremely Rare Confederate Bayonet Scabbard by N Crown & Company of Columbus, GA

American Civil War

19.25" in overall length with a crescent shaped, sewn only belt frog that is nominally 5" in length and 2.5" wide. The scabbard terminates with a 1.125" turned wood finial. The scabbard is Confederate made copy of a US sewn-only Pattern of 1857 bayonet scabbard. It was manufactured with a sewn leather body, a sewn tarred canvas (oil cloth) belt frog and a turned wooden finial at the base of the scabbard body. Period terminology typically referred to tarred canvas as “oil cloth” and it was regularly used as an inexpensive waterproof cloth for the production of things like haversacks and rain gear. As the war progressed and the availability of raw materials like tanned leather became scarcer, the Confederacy experimented with “oil cloth” as an ersatz replacement for leather. The obverse of the tarred canvas frog is stamped with the N Crown & Company makers mark, which appears to read in two lines: N CROWN & Co/COLUMBUS GEO. While it is not clear, the initial “N” is present prior to the name “Crown”. The scabbard currently contains an attic condition US Model 1855 socket bayonet, which is as likely to have been carried in the scabbard as an imported English Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle musket socket bayonet and far more likely to have been used by the average Confederate infantryman than any of the small number of socket bayonets produced in the south by Richmond Arsenal or contractors like Heck & Brody in North Carolina.

The survival rate of accoutrements that used tarred canvas in their production is exceedingly small and to date this cataloguer is only aware of two companies that produced accoutrements of this pattern for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Both were based in Columbus, GA and both produced these accoutrements circa 1863-1864. Other than N Crown & Co., William Brands & Co. also produced these accoutrements. Based on the best available research, the William Brands produced accoutrements are unmarked and Brands used a lead finial for their bayonet scabbard tips, while Crown used a turned wood finial for theirs. As noted, this scabbard uses a turned wooden finial tip.

Going through the surviving records for Crown & Co in the Confederate Citizen Files records groups at the National Archives, the delivery of a total of 6,050 complete sets of infantry accoutrements can be found. These sets included cartridge boxes, cap pouches, bayonet scabbards and waist belts. For all but one receipt for 200 sets delivered on June 29, 1863, cartridge box belts (slings) are also listed. At least one delivery receipt, dated February 29, 1864, includes the notation “old pattern” when describing the accoutrements. The prices for the accoutrement sets were initially $12 per set, eventually increasing to $12.50 per set at the end of 1863. The deliveries took place between late June 1863 and the end of February 1864. The records are found filed under both “N Crown & Co” and simply “Crown & Co”. A folder of copies of these surviving documents accompany the scabbard.

This may be the only surviving example of an N Crown & Company marked bayonet scabbard, and certainly the only example to come to public auction. A small number of N Crown & Co produced cap pouches and cartridge boxes survive, but they are exceedingly rare. This is an opportunity to acquire an extremely rare and important example of a deep south produced tarred canvas socket bayonet scabbard that may be the only surviving example.