This is a M1839 cartridge box plate used by Union infantry throughout the war both as an ornamental badge on the cartridge box flap and a practical way to it hold down if left unlatched in the heat of combat. It was recovered in May 1959 in the West Woods at Antietam, by Syd Kerkis, one of the legendary early relic hunters and collectors, and author of “Plates and Buckles of the American Military 1795-1874,” a book that led the way for subsequent relic hunters, collectors, students, and authors. The plate is still in Kerksis’s original collection envelope annotated by him with the date and location of the find, along with the specific note that he found it, if we read his writing correctly, “under (a) cedar tree.”

The plate is a beautiful specimen with very pleasing patina, unmarred face and back, with excellent rim, and the two iron wire fastening loops are still present, though showing expected corrosion, which also shows as brown lines following the course of the wire embedded in the lead solder filled back, showing smooth surface, with mottled gray, white and light brown colors.

The Battle of Antietam needs no introduction to students of the Civil War, either as the bloodiest day of the war, or for its significance to the war’s course and conduct. The fighting in the West Woods primarily involved the attack by Sedgwick’s Division of Sumner’s 2^nd Corps in an effort to improve gains made by the 1^st and 12^th Corps on the Union right, but the massed formations of the attack were ambushed, for lack of a better term, by three Confederate divisions and forced back with heavy casualties, with the fighting soon shifting toward the center of the field as Union commanders sought to stabilize the situation and make some progress.

This is a regulation accoutrement plate in superior condition, with tight provenance from a renowned early collector and author, and recovered at the scene of critical fighting in one of the most famous battles of the war.   [sr][ph:L]

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