Section of a leather Civil War holster, picked up on Gettysburg Battlefield

This is another nice item being offered; it is a leather section of a Civil War holster. It measures 5” x 4” and still has the brass closing finial attached (see picture of a complete example). It was recovered many years ago from the Gettysburg battlefield.

The section is from the collection of the Peter Miller GAR Post #551. The Post was located in York Springs, Adams County, Pennsylvania and was named after Private Peter Miller of Company K, 1st Pennsylvania Reserves, who was killed in action at South Mountain on September 14, 1862, and is now buried in Sunnyside Cemetery, York Springs.

Not much is known about the Post other than it closed sometime before 1925. In a letter from a collector, he explains how he and his father found the relics from the Miller Post #551 in the 1970’s at the home of Civil War veteran David Starry. At the time when the items were purchased, the house was occupied by Starry’s descendants. Mr. Starry had served in the 165th Pennsylvania Infantry and the 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry during the war and afterward joined the Peter Miller GAR Post #551.

With most of the local Pennsylvania GAR posts, the relics on display at their halls were from the Gettysburg battlefield. This was a time before metal detectors and many items from the field were just “eye balled”, didn’t really have to dig much. Anything leather, such as this piece, has always been rare to recover from a  battlefield, they just didn’t survive long in the outdoor elements. It comes in the glass top display case pictured and a Certificate of Authenticity will be provided.