Confederate Side Knife dug at Fredericksburg (SOLD,JW)

This is another nice piece being offered, it is an excavated Confederate side knife blade. It has a clipped point, which usually indicates it being a fighting knife. It measures 8 ¾” x 1 ¼”. It was recovered years ago from the Fredericksburg, Virginia Battlefield.

On November 14, 1862, Union General Ambrose Burnside sent a corps to occupy the vicinity of Falmouth near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Lee reacted by entrenching his army on the heights behind the town. On December 13, after pontoon bridges were laid, Union forces crossed the Rappahannock River under fire.

Burnside mounted a series of futile frontal assaults on Prospect Hill and Marye's Heights that resulted in staggering casualties. On December 15, Burnside called off the offensive and recrossed the river, ending the failed campaign.

There are very similar knives in “Artifacts and Relics of the Western Campaigns”, by Stanley Phillips (see pictures). This knife is in nice condition for being dug, there is no flaking and it has been lightly coated for preservation.