This relic is the excavated remains of a stencil commonly used by soldiers to mark their possessions. This brass stencil is broken in two pieces and nearly all the detailed lettering is gone; essentially leaving just the frame. Although not in the condition we would like, it is what it is; a Civil War soldier’s stencil, once used to mark his items.

Recovered at the site of a Union camp on Hansborough Ridge near Stevensburg, VA. This is just a few miles east of Culpeper. The flat ridge saw fighting during the Brandy Station battle and was utilized as a Union camp and field hospital at other times.

This item is from the collection of, and was dug by, the late William G. "Bill" Gavin (1924 - 2010) who was one of the nation's most prominent and esteemed Civil War relic collectors. Following graduation from West Point [Class of 1946], Gavin became a pioneer in applying WWII mine-detector technology to relic hunting. His service to his country included six years in the U.S. Army, followed by a seven-year period in which he was a member of the U.S. Army Reserve. Mr. Gavin shared his Civil War knowledge via the publication of four books and several magazine articles. In 1963 he authored one of the earliest books on relic buckles (Accoutrement Plates North and South, 1861-65), and in the 1970s established the Rectory Museum in Harper's Ferry.  [jet] [ph:L]

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