Civil War Locket and Change Purse remains, dug Corinth

This is a very interesting piece being offered, it is a Civil War soldier's locket and remains of his change purse. The small locket is made of brass and measures 1" x 3/4" when it is closed - one hinge is still holding so it does open and close.  This piece of the change purse and locket were located together at the Corinth battlefield and it is thought that the locket may have been inside the purse. 

In October 1862, Union troops under Major General William Rosecrans defeated Confederate forces commanded by Major General Sterling Price and Major General Earl Van Dorn at the key railroad junction of Corinth, Mississippi. Hoping to seize Corinth and disrupt Union supply and communication lines, the Confederates attacked on the morning of October 3. Exploiting a gap in the Union defenses, Van Dorn’s forces were able to push Rosecrans’ troops back behind their line of fortifications.

However, Van Dorn’s decision to wait until the following day to press his advantage allowed Rosecrans and his men to regroup. On October 4, the Union repelled the Confederate assault and after hours of fierce hand-to-hand fighting, Van Dorn ordered a retreat.

This really shows the personal side of the war - I am sure the soldier who lost it was very upset, that is if he actually survived. In my book "The Civil War Soldier - His Personal Items", I have a similar locket pictured and go into more detail about how important these little things were to the soldier. There is also a dug change purse in "Civil War Relics", by Howard Crouch (see pictures). These pieces are just as found and I got them directly from the digger. It is an interesting little grouping and a great conversation piece.