RARE – Excavated Riesling Wine Bottle, recovered in 1998 in a Civil War NY Infantry Camp in Virginia

This is a great bottle being offered, it is an excavated Riesling Wine bottle measuring 13 ½” high with a diameter of 2 ½” and has an applied lip. Sometimes they are referred to as “black glass” because they are so dark you can hardly see through them, this one appears to be dark amber or green.  This bottle was recovered on October 11, 1998, at an 1862-1863 Union N.Y. Infantry Camp near Brooke Station, Virginia (see map).

This area is where wagons and ambulances and over 400 artillery pieces marched from Warrenton through Stafford and occupied the Stafford Heights overlooking Fredericksburg. About 75 percent of the army fought in the battle of Fredericksburg from Stafford (December 11-15, 1862).

Riesling was a popular wine which was imported from Germany during the 19^th century. The narrow, lanky shape of the “flutes” were used to bottle Riesling, often in green for the Mosel regions and brown for the Rhine. Riesling is a highly aromatic, green-skinned white wine,  known for producing wines ranging from bone-dry to intensely sweet.

In my book “The Civil War Soldier – His Personal Items”, I discuss in detail the drinking habits of Civil War soldiers and officers, there were instances of some officers leading men into battle while drunk (see pictures).

This bottle is one of several which were recovered by the same digger in the 1990s. With every artifact he dug, he made sure to keep a detailed record of the area and dates of recovery. This is a rare and beautiful bottle - there are no flaws or chips and typical of early glass, having a few air bubbles.