IRON RIFLE-MUSKET BUTT PLATE – RECOVERED AT BARLOW’S KNOLL, GETTYSBURG BY KEN BREAM

IRON RIFLE-MUSKET BUTT PLATE – RECOVERED AT BARLOW’S KNOLL, GETTYSBURG BY KEN BREAM

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$200.00

Quantity Available: 1

Item Code: 224-776

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This dug iron butt plate was found by Ken Bream at Barlow’s Knoll, north of the town of Gettysburg. On the afternoon of July 1, 1863, Brig. Gen. Francis C. Barlow pushed his First Division, XI Corps, forward onto this rise, then called Blocher’s Knoll. His exposed position was struck by the Confederate brigades of John B. Gordon and George Doles. Barlow fell severely wounded, and the Union line collapsed back through town toward Cemetery Hill. Some of the hardest fighting of the first day happened here, and relics from the knoll are tied directly to that engagement.

The plate is the classic curved iron pattern used on rifle-muskets of the period. It has the graceful concave sweep from heel to toe and the upper tang that ran along the top of the stock’s comb. The double mounting screw holes in the body are open and clean. The end of the tang carries a heavy mass of rust and ground encrustation. The plate keeps its full original outline, with a well-rounded toe and both side edges largely intact.

Condition: Very good for a dug iron relic. Appears to have been electrolysis cleaned. The plate is solid and stable, with no breaks, cracks or major losses to the body. The surface has an even brown patina with scattered light-to-moderate pitting over the face. There are areas of grayish-white mineral deposits from the soil, heaviest around the screw hole and the toe. Along the edges are minor irregularities and small spots of edge erosion, mainly on the upper left side below the heel. The tang end is heavily encrusted. The plate keeps its natural curved profile, and the tang stands at a sharp angle to the body as seen in the side view. Listed as lot #66 form the Ken Beam auction of 10-29-21 and comes with auction sheet. This is an honest, displayable battlefield piece that has clearly been in the ground.

Approximate dimensions:

  • Overall length of plate body (heel to toe, measured flat): about 4 1/2"
  • Maximum width: about 1 3/4"
  • Tang length (from bend to end): about 2 1/4"
  • Screw hole diameter: about 1/4"

 

Mr. 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 Eisenhower’s. For many years, he was the Gettysburg Dog Enforcement Officer.   [stp/ld][ph:L]

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