SMALL-SIZE US CARTRIDGE BOX PLATE RECOVERED FROM CRAWFORD FARM, CS HOSPITAL, GETTYSBURG

SMALL-SIZE US CARTRIDGE BOX PLATE RECOVERED FROM CRAWFORD FARM, CS HOSPITAL, GETTYSBURG

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$500.00

Quantity Available: 1

Item Code: 224-763

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Call 717-334-0347,
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This is a dug example of the small-size US oval belt plate, the scaled-down version of the standard Army oval plate, that was found by Ken Bream at the former site of the Crawford Farm (near present day Plank and Scott Roads toward Sachs Bridge). It has a stamped brass front shell with raised “US” letters, set inside a raised double-line border that follows the oval edge. The back is filled with lead, as on the full-size plates, with two iron loop attachment points cast into the filler. One hook is now missing after ground exposure. Small US plates of this pattern were made before and during the Civil War and saw use with mounted troops and on various accoutrement belts. They turn up far less often than the full-size 3 ½-inch plates.

Condition: The front shell has an even, dark brown ground patina. Both letters are strongly defined and the border lines are visible around most of the oval. There is a small bubble in the shell at the upper right of the “S” and another at the left of the “U,” and light surface roughness typical of an excavated plate. They are most usually associated with reaction with the iron loop cast on the inside. The edge of the shell shows minor irregularity on the ends, but are intact, with no splits or separations visible. On the reverse, the lead filler has a heavy reddish-brown ground stain and iron-oxide staining, with patches of gray lead showing where the surface has flaked, mostly along the left and lower edges.

Ken Bream was a 1970 graduate of Gettysburg High School and life-long relic hunter and collector. The Breams were neighbors of the Small family; Ken’s parents managed the Stuckey’s Restaurant that was once located opposite the Peach Orchard at the northwest corner of the intersection of the Emmitsburg & Wheatfield Roads. During the late 1960s through the early 1970s Ken worked on the Eisenhower Farm as a groundskeeper, maintenance man, and general helper for the Eisenhowers. For many years, he was the Gettysburg Dog Enforcement Officer.

Listed as lot #40 in the Bream Auction sold on 10-29-21 and comes with auction sheet.

Overall, a solid, honest dug plate with a good look and Gettysburg Battle connection.  [stp/ld][ph:L]

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