CIVIL WAR CAVALRY OFFICER’S VEST OF LIEUTENANT, CAPTAIN AND BREVET MAJOR MAURICE LEYDEN, 3rd NY CAVALRY

CIVIL WAR CAVALRY OFFICER’S VEST OF LIEUTENANT, CAPTAIN AND BREVET MAJOR MAURICE LEYDEN, 3rd NY CAVALRY

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$1,250.00

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Item Code: 282-470

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This is a very good condition Civil War officer’s vest from the estate of Maurice Leyden, an officer in the 3rd NY Cavalry, who served from June 1861 through November 1865. The vest is a white, now more buff-colored wool, lined and backed with smoother fabric, with short standing collar, nine-button front, and four exterior pockets- a small watch pocket on the right breast, slightly larger one on the left breast, and two more, one on either side of the lower chest. Seven small-size cavalry officer eagle-C buttons are still in place that were attached through small sewn grommet holes by split rings on the reverse to make them easy to remove for cleaning. Two of the rings are still present. The vest is adjusted on the rear by a cloth belt with brass frame buckle. Seams are tight and there are no holes or tears, but there is some soiling and thin staining to the lining and back from perspiration and wear. Inside the vest Leyden wrote his full name, which is fully visible and legible. This was e part of a large trove of his effects that came out the family about 1998, with most ending up in the Texas Civil War Museum, though this vest, his gauntlets, and at least one reunion ribbon, were separated and are only now offered with the chance of reuniting them with other material from his estate.

The 3rd NY Cavalry was very active near Washington, in the Department of North Carolina and the 18th Corps, and then in Kautz’s cavalry division in the Army of the James with Phisterer listing more than 100 actions to their credit. Leyden’s service included duty as a company commander, battalion Adjutant and five months in Confederate prisons at Libby, Danville and Salisbury after his capture at the Darbtown Road, near Richmond, in October 1864, until his parole in February.

Born in New York in 1836, Leyden was a dentist before the war and continued in that profession afterward, along with the manufacture of dental instruments and other pursuits, including acting as County Clerk for a time. He was active in the G.A.R. and the regimental veterans’ association. He died in 1906. According to Phisterer, he enlisted in the 3rd NY Cavalry at age 24, enrolling June 13, 1861, at Syracuse to serve three years and mustered in as 2nd Lieutenant, Company B, on July 19, but did not receive his commission until December 4, 1861, which gave him rank from July 30, 1861. Some sources refer to him as initially a 3rd Lieutenant to resolve the problem. In any case he was acting Adjutant, 3d Battalion, March, 1863, then commissioned as 1st Lieutenant Co. C on June 29, 1863, with rank from June 12, his official date of muster. He was captured in action Oct. 7, 1864, near Richmond and spent almost six months in Confederate prisons, before been released on parole Feb. 22, 1865. The exact date of his exchange and return to duty is unclear, according to a secondary source was April 1, 1865, which would correspond to official the date of his muster as Captain, Co. B, though his commission had come through on Dec. 22, 1864, and gave him rank from October 10.

The 3rd NY Cavalry was consolidated into five companies in July 1865, with Leyden commanding Co. B. These five companies were transferred into the 1st NY Mounted Rifles in September 1865, and that regiment was in turn redesignated as the 4th NY Provisional Cavalry before mustering out Nov. 29, 1865. For his wartime service Leyden was breveted Major, with an effective date of March 13, 1865. The wartime combat losses of the 3rd NY Cavalry were 3 officers and 29 men killed, another 19 men mortally wounded, and 138 officers and men wounded, who recovered to some degree. Some of Leyden’s letters are available online and make interesting reading. He was not one to easily forgive and forget, witnessing wartime and postwar suffering, and expressing a willingness to shoot Lee if he ever got the chance.

Please see our other offerings from the estate of this interesting cavalry officer.  [sr][ph:L]

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