LOT #72312 |
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"To Capt. A. Doubleday 1st Artillery U. S. Army, April 12, 1861", is the Engraved Legend on the Rim of the Presentation Mount ... (Total: 2 Items)
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Sold on Jun 29, 2008 for:
$10,157.50
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Description
"To Capt. A. Doubleday 1st Artillery U. S. Army, April 12, 1861", is the Engraved Legend on the Rim of the Presentation Mount of this Bronze Fort Sumter Medal. A total of ten of these extremely rare second class medals were awarded to the officers under Major Robert Anderson's command when the fort was attacked on April 12, 1861, Doubleday being Anderson's executive officer. A single first class medal was awarded to Anderson himself (which will be offered in a Heritage Auction later this tear) with 24 smaller third and 51 fourth class medals presented to the garrison's NCOs and enlisted men. The design production and issuance of these medals was approved by the New York Chamber of Commerce on 6 June 1861, with the actual presentation of the medals scheduled for May 1, 1862. After considerable research we are of the opinion that the way the medal is currently exhibited, in the exquisite heavy brass table mount inscribed on the top edge, is the way it was presented to Doubleday on that date (or shortly thereafter). The ring in which the medal is mounted can be removed from the base, the medal being pressed into place. The entire mount is beautifully made and unquestionably period.Abner Doubleday, of course, aimed and fired the first shot from Fort Sumter in response to the Confederate bombardment. He was appointed brigadier general on February 3, 1862 and major general in March 1863, primarily as a result of his gallant conduct at Antietam. At Gettysburg, on July 1, upon the death of General John Reynolds, Doubleday found himself in command of the 1st Corps, although fighting bravely, and holding their ground in the morning, the Corps was finally overwhelmed by vastly superior Confederate numbers, and forced to retreat through town to defensive positions on Cemetery Hill. Doubleday remained in regular army service until his retirement in 1873. Interestingly, while stationed in San Francisco in 1870 he patented a cable that still runs in the city today. His most enduring legacy, however, is related to baseball, the game he is credited with inventing in Cooperstown, New York in 1839. The medal and mount are both in superb untouched condition with a very pleasing patina. A remarkable piece of Civil War history in the context of both its importance to the Civil War, and its relationship to the history of baseball.
Auction Info
2008 June Signature Civil War Auction #6002 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
June, 2008
29th-30th
Sunday-Monday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 1
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,158
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
19.5% of the successful bid per lot.
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