Rare - Fourteenth Army Corps Badge, dug in Charleston, SC

This is another nice piece being offered, it is a Civil War excavated 14^th Corp Badge, shaped like an acorn. It is field-made from melted lead bullets and measures 1 ½” x 1 3/8”. The reverse has the remains of some type of an attachment. This unique piece was dug a few years back in Charleston, SC.

The 14th Corps formed part of the Army of the Cumberland in the western theater of the war. Due to the poor supply lines of the Army of the Cumberland in Chattanooga, Tennessee after the battle of Chickamauga in 1863, the soldiers of the 14th Corps were forced to forage for food from local crops and nuts. Thus, the acorn was designated as the official badge of the Corps on April 26, 1864.

Major General William T. Sherman approached the city of Savannah at his famous “March to the Sea”. Sherman had taken Atlanta, Georgia, as part of the Federal 1864 spring offensive. He began his southeast advance in mid-November. His 62,000-man army was divided into two "wings."

The left wing was commanded by Major General Henry W. Slocum and consisted of Brigadier General Jefferson C. Davis's XIV Corps and Brigadier General Alpheus S. Williams's XX Corps. Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick commanded the cavalry. After occupying Savannah on Dec. 21, 1864, they went on to occupy Charleston on February 14, 1865. This is probably when this corps badge was lost or discarded.

Dug Corps badges are very hard to come by, and this one still remains in solid condition. It comes in the glass top display case pictured.