Civil War Horse Martingale/Shield, dug II Corp Camp Taneytown, MD, Gettysburg Campaign

This is a nice piece that was found several years back. It is an original Civil War brass horse martingale/shield. It measures 2 ½” x 2 ¼” and has four tiny holes which would have been for some attachment. They went on the breast strap on the horse for ornamentation. This shield was found at Taneytown, MD at the site of the II Corp Camp.

During the Gettysburg Campaign, thousands of Union soldiers passed through Taneytown to and from the battle. Maj. Gen. George G. Meade arrived early on the morning of June 29th and established his field headquarters on the Benjamin Shunk farm near town. While there, he developed his Pipe Creek Line plan and began placing troops from Middleburg to Manchester. The III Corps commanded by Gen. Daniel E. Sickles arrived in Taneytown on 30 June 1863 and Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's II Corps passed through town on the following afternoon.

This unique piece was probably off of an officer’s horse. Originally it may have had a Regiment number or Eagle on it. There is a beautiful, aged patina to the brass and it is in very solid condition….this is a relic which seldom shows up. It comes in the glass top display case pictured.