Brass Scabbard Tip dug at Excelsior Field, Gettysburg (SOLD,BG)

This is another nice piece being offered, it is the brass tip from the leather scabbard of a US bayonet. It was dug years ago from the Peach Orchard in the area of Excelsior Field, Gettysburg (see map).

As General Sickles Union line broke, Confederates knocked General Graham off his horse and captured him as a prisoner. The “Excelsior Brigade” of New York regiments were positioned in the Peach Orchard and along the road. The 73rd New York Infantry (the Second Fire Zouaves, a regiment of New York City volunteer firemen) also entered into the battle to fill the sudden gap in the Union line. They faced Barksdale’s soldiers from the 13th Mississippi in an area of the orchard now known as “Excelsior Field”.

This is a nice compete solid piece with its original patina, only a little flattened. It is from one of the hardest fought areas of the battlefield. It comes in the glass top display case pictured.