Palmetto Armory .54 Caliber Pistol Carried By CSA General William Henry Wallace At the Battle of Antietam and the Great Mine E...

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Palmetto Armory .54 Caliber Pistol Carried By CSA General William Henry Wallace At the Battle of Antietam and the Great Mine Explosion at Petersburg. General Wallace, 18th South Carolina Infantry, was a South Carolinian by birth and came from a long line of warriors from that state, including his grandfather who was a Revolutionary War hero. General Wallace was a planter, a newspaper publisher, a lawyer, and a member of the legislature of 1860, where he voted for the secession convention, which would start the South towards Civil War. After the fall of Fort Sumter, he enlisted as a private in Company A, 18th South Carolina Regiment. Later he was elected to its Colonelcy and led it to Virginia where he took part in the Second Manassas campaign and fought in many major battles in the Eastern Theater. At the Battle of Antietam, General Wallace's 18th South Carolina fought in "Shanks" Evans' brigade where they were engaged severely on the bloody field. His troops then returned to Charleston to defend it against Union onslaught. In the spring of 1864, the 18th South Carolina, under General Wallace, was ordered to the defenses of Petersburg. It was there on July 30,1864 that four companies under General Wallace's command were blown up in the Great Mine Explosion. The Battle of the Crater, as it was known, cost the 18th South Carolina dearly and the valiant survivors of the blast fought decisively to push back the Union advance. General Wallace led his men all the way to Appomattox Court House where he finally surrendered with General Lee on April 9,1865. After the war, he held various judicial offices in South Carolina. This Palmetto Armory pistol was carried by General Wallace during all of the engagements of the 18th South Carolina during the Civil War. On the left stock he has notched it five times, and one can only imagine what that may denote. All the parts are in working order, and it is appropriately stamped, "Palmetto Armory SC", circling a palmetto tree. The lock plate reads, "Columbia, SC 1852". The barrel just below the trigger reads, "1853".

This .54 caliber pistol was made by the famous Palmetto Armory and is marked William Glaze on the side of the barrel. Glaze was commissioned to produce weapons for the State of South Carolina in the 1850s in anticipation of secession. A rare Confederate Palmetto Armory pistol used by one of South Carolina's greatest leaders throughout the Civil War, including the Battle of Second Manassas, Antietam, the Defenses of Charleston, the Battle of the Crater, as well as Appomattox Court House. Superb. Accompanied by his framed charcoal portrait and lengthy family provenance.