View attachment 1350664 Here it is. I would love to add that to my collection!
I thought that your knife looked familiar, and maybe this has been mentioned already, but your knife is on page 65 of Howard Crouch's "Civil War Artifacts, A Guide for the Historian". The fact that it is in this book only means they have turned up on Civil War sites.
This was shown on the first page by worm-slicer. I asked what book it was on reply 24 but never got an answer. Should have quoted him I guess. Thanks for letting us know where the photo came from.
I've given myself a headache looking for this knife online! It couldn't have been mass produced or I would have found one by now. Guess there's no way to prove the age or whether or not it was meant for military use...
At the risk of repeating myself...All Civil War era pocket knives were civilian and
none were ever issued or produced specifically for the military. It just didn't happen. Every single pocket knife carried was a private purchase that anyone could buy. Pocket knives were a very popular and necessary personal item that were carried by most soldiers and civilians alike. Pocket knives only lasted a few years because they were such a common and an often used utilitarian item back then. They were many knife manufacturers in the northeast during the war. The fact is you will never
actually know who carried this knife. You can romanticize it all you want. It may very well have been a soldiers knife at some point but I doubt it and it can never be proven. Not unless it was found on private property and you can trace those property records back to a veteran CW soldier that once owned the place. Even then it is a stretch of the imagination to say the least.
If you want a good little summarization of what Union soldiers carried in their pockets as identified from personal effects cataloged from their remains when their bodies were exhumed at the Gettysburg cemetery to be moved to the new National Cemetery, read this-
Ran Away From The Subscriber: What Did the Union Soldier Carry in his Pockets?: A Material Culture Analysis of the Report of Samuel Weaver, Gettysburg, 1864
You have seen THIS knife 1001 times ?
Yet... not one can be found. heh
I have spent a good amount of time of this piece as to shed the light here...
Which as many of you know...
IF info exists... I would have found it by now.
Regardless of "what" "when" or "where" anyone here thinks the knife is from is moot...
this knife is rare...
Period.
He has seen this "situation" 1001 times. The one he describes in his next statement...
Guys ask for opinions on this and that, and in the end will refuse to accept anything else other than what they believe
Rarity does not always equal valuable and condition always plays a part in that equation too. You can have this sterling silver "CW era" pocket knife for under $200. It's rare too. Bet you can't find another one like it either. I'll go on a limb and say I believe it is post war myself.
Camp-Items
Civil War era Patriotic pocket knife. Sterling silver knife with
central shield motif of Stars and Bars on both front and back of
case. Shield has 13 stars. Front is engraved "Sarah", obviously a
gift from a wife or other loved one to a soldier. Has dings and
dents as would be expected. Blade does not appear to have ever
been sharpened but tip does have a very slight wrinkle. Blade is
complete with three original hallmarks. Catch for blade is broken
(and may be repairable) so it does not stay closed but knife still
displays beautify. Overall length is 3 1/4"
An impressive piece under priced due to condition.
# 1416 $180
