'61 Finally authenticated (And a couple of other things)

[Guest TankerHC]

So I picked up the Authentication paperwork yesterday and the appraised value documents today. Every time I come up here I spend as much time with these people, learning what I can because I know of no one else with these kinds of credentials. Spent all day yesterday and most of today with them. Learning a lot, Ill never know what they know, but I now know what they look for is not what I and other people look for in guns, relics, documents. I also now know when there is that kind of credibility at stake, you do not make definite statements without going over a piece thoroughly, and if it cannot be authenticated, they will not put their signature on it. But when they do, they can back it up. Have been learning a lot of things, (Some weird, like how these experts can tell a fake patina on a gun without even looking at it). 

 

So this is just a copy of the authentication document. After going over it thoroughly, you can read what it says. The "Lacking" is concerning the shield. Through photographs, it was suspected of being XII Corps, after looking close up, the shield would have been more heart shaped, which is an indicator of it more likely having been a IX Corps shield. That;s a verbal, but without the shield actually being there, putting their signature on it. Not happening. But definitively, it was carved out for the shield (Whatever shield) by a soldier, because the wax was placed there after turn in to the Armory. 

 

I mentioned that someone did something to the stock. The stock is original to the gun. But the stock was sanded, The normal sanding done after turn in, but someone in the last 30 or 40 years sanded it and re-varnished over the original armory sanding. He could tell because the Armory didnt do a lot of sanding, only what was needed. Someone sanded the upper part of the stock. Normally it would have come out of the Armory with sharp edges, someone sanded the upper edges until they were no longer sharp. But it removes almost no value from the gun, because of the stock being original and the fact that on most of these Norfolks, the stocks are either considered junk, or are incorrect. 

 

Here is the document. If I ever decide to sell it, Ill show the complete document with signatures. 

 

So here is a photo everyone has already seen.

 

 

Authentication document.

 

 

 

Picked these up today to add to my collection. Will be adding more documents in the future. 

 

The story behind this one. During the Battle of Gettysburg, Brigadier General John W Geary (A Pennsylvanian) served as Division Commander under Major General Henry Slocum's XII Corps. General Geary was ordered to withdraw to another position enroute to Culps Hill but to leave one Brigade with Brigadier General George Greene commanding on Culps Hill (Kulp, correct spelling, they were Germans). The Kulps, Stauffels and Fentz familes were all related. Their farms were close and while moving through the farm lane, and onto Culps Hill Geary's Brigade destroyed the Stauffel's Farm (Stovall Farm) and as they always did, promised to pay for damages after the battle. One side note is that Geary failed to move to his position and actually moved completely off the field and away from the battle with his other two Brigades. This normally would have been a big public embarrassment, but word never got out on what he did, because fortunately he wasnt needed where they sent him anyway. Geary did eventually meet up his lone Brigade with his other two Brigades and led a major engagement on Culps Hill that night. General Geary fought at other major Battles as Division Commander, including Chattanooga. (XII Corps).

 

Part II

 

General John Hartranft, another Pennsylvanian. was pretty prominent. General Hartranft was awarded the Medal Of Honor for his actions at Bull Run. General Hartranft had some early embarrassment when his unit walked off the field because their enlistments expired in the opening hours of Bull Run. (1st Mananas). Hartranft also led the attack across Burnsides Bridge at Antietam. He also led the 51st Pennsylvania at Vicksburg, Knoxville and Spotsylvania, at Petersburg he stopped Lee's offensive and attack at Fort Stedman forcing Lee to evacuate Petersburg. Hartranft was assigned as Special Provost during the trial of the Lincoln assassins and conspirators.  He asked for some clemency for Marry Surratt, and when none came spent time with her. Of course she was hanged. Hartranft today would be a Democrat (But not a liberal), but he was a Republican. And during RR strikes in Pennsylvania although he sympathized with the Railroad workers, he didnt believe mob rule was the way to go so he called in the militia. The militia did not perform to the Generals expectations, so he set out to modernize and train the militia into an Army. This militia became the base that led to the Pennsylvania National Guard. 

 

After the war Henry Stauffel (Correct spelling) did not get paid for his damages. Prior to the war, General Geary was appointed Territorial Governor of Kansas and after the war was elected to two terms as Governor of Pennsylvania beginning in 1867. He was also appointed Governor of the Utah Territory but refused the post. General Hartranft was was also elected Governor of Pennsylvania after Geary, served as Commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard and served as Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. His has monuments in his honor at Vicksburg and Petersburg and his statue of him on a horse stands next to the Pennsylvania State Capital. 

 

While Hartranft was Governor, in 1871 Stauffell went to him to get paid. This document is one of the best (If not THE best) preserved of it's type. It is a certificate of claim for war damages by the State of Pennsylvania signed by both General Hartranft and General Geary. Two signatures, two Generals, Two Governors of Pennsylvania, Governor of Kansas Territory, one Recipient of the Medal Of Honor, Provost for the Lincoln trial, Organizer and Commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard, a General who stopped Lee's final advance at Petersburg.

 

For others. General Geary was a Mason at Sight. He held to the tenets during the War with Mexico and was a member of Lodge 255 which is right up the road from where I am sitting right now. He is also the Brother who refused to put the War for the Union side against Freemasonry and posted Federal Troops to protect the Soloman Lodge during the Battle for Savannah. They were going to reprimand him for that, but he did not care. He refused to drop the tenets and principles because he believed that the tenets and principles of Freemasonry had relieved the misery of many parts of the Country during the War regardless of what side you were on. To me at least that makes this document that much more important. 

 

You might have to be a CW "buff" to care but for those who are, this is a pretty good document. 

 

 

This next one I "got" because I was looking for a Confederate related document. Confederate "Authentic" documents and anything else authenticated Confederate is hard to come by. But as 2 real document experts told me today, it doesn't get any more Confederate than this. One of these people owns 1800 Civil War related documents and all authentic and with provenance. This is one of them.

 

Here is the story.  Lt. Frank B. James (Brevet Major), (Union) 52nd Ohio Volunteers fought through many major campaigns. During the Chattanooga-Ringold Campaign, just outside Ringold the 52nd Ohio ran into the 33rd Alabama. After the fighting was over that day he walked over to a dead Confederate Alabama soldier and took this document out of his knapsack. This is a handwritten songsheet from that dead Confederate of the Bonnie Blue Flag. It has provenance, is documented with eyewitnesses, and in the collecting arena is considered "Fine" as an acquisition. After the war a book was written about the fighting at the Dead Angle at the Kennesaw Mountain Battle, a quote was taken from Major James. That is the quote below the document. 

 

Tomorrow before I leave here I will be making (Trying to make) a deal on the rest of everything Major James brought back. Seems he was also a document collector, off of dead Confederate Soldiers he fought against. I think IIRC there are about a dozen documents, photographs including his wedding photograph and his first house, but the big one is his battle map outlining all of his engagements and tracing his entire service on the map through every campaign. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bigun]

Thanks for posting. Very interesting read. History is more real from the point of view of someone who was there than someone who just writes about it.

Edited April 9, 2014 by bigun

[hipower]

Awesome tale. From start to finish, this has been quite the quest for you. Sincerely happy that it all came together for you. 

[Monkeyman2500]

Wow Tanker, what a great rifle and great stories to boot.