Civil War Soldier’s Side Knife, recovered at Monocacy Battlefield, Maryland

This is another nice piece being offered, it is an excavated Civil War soldier’s side knife. It has an overall measurement of 7 ½” and was recovered yeas ago from the Monocacy Battlefield in Frederick, Maryland.

The Battle of Monocacy was fought on July 9, 1864, about 6 miles from Frederick, Maryland, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early defeated Union forces under Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace. The battle was part of Early's raid through the Shenandoah Valley and into Maryland in an attempt to divert Union forces from their siege of Gen. Robert E. Lee's army at Petersburg, Virginia.

The battle was the northernmost Confederate victory of the war. Afterward, the Union troops retreated to Baltimore, Maryland, and the Confederates continued toward Washington. But because the battle had delayed Early's march for a day, Union reinforcements had time to get to the Union capital before the Confederates. Early launched an attack on Washington on July 12 at the Battle of Fort Stevens, but the Confederates were unsuccessful and retreated to Virginia.

This knife has been coated for preservation, and it is now a solid piece. Monocacy is not considered a major battlefield, so artifacts from this site are rare. It comes in the glass top display case pictured.