IRON BRIGADE OFFICER'S GETTYSBURG MANUSCRIPT, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND GAR COMMANDER’S MEDAL

Group of three items identified to Charles H. McConnell, Company B, 24th Michigan Infantry, that includes:

1. Gold and enamel GAR Post Commander’s Medal, approximately 4 3/4 x 2 1/4 in. at its widest point. The medal features an eagle-over-crossed-cannons suspension pin attached to an American flag overlaid with a miniature shoulder strap, below which hangs a gold drop adorned with a diamond at each of its five corners. The verso is engraved: “Charles H. McConnell / Commander / 1897 / Re elected Dec 24 1897 / Resigned Feb 22 1898 / Presented / By His Comrades Of / Columbia Post N 706.” Housed in a period wooden frame.

2. Postwar manuscript account of the Battle of Gettysburg, circa 1896-97, and a custom-bound regimental history of the 24th Michigan Infantry.

The manuscript, apparently in McConnell’s hand, is titled: “The First and Greatest Day’s Battle at Gettysburg, from the Standpoint of a Private Soldier in the Iron Brigade.” 18 pp., approximately 8 1/2 x 11 in. Written on the letterhead of “Headquarters Columbia [GAR] Post 706 Department of Illinois,” which names “C.H. McConnell, Commander,” and on the letterhead of “The Economical Drug Company,” with “C.H. McConnell” printed as President and Manager. The manuscript is housed in a custom blue clamshell enclosure.

3. Custom-bound edition of O. B. Curtis’s History of the Twenty-Fourth Michigan of the Iron Brigade, Known as the Detroit and Wayne County Regiment. Illustrated. (1891), bearing McConnell’s ownership signature, “C.H. McConnell / 1883,” and containing ten original photographs of McConnell, presumably added by his hand. These include what appear to be wartime CDV-sized albumen photographs, as well as later images of McConnell in civilian dress and GAR uniform. One photograph showing an elderly McConnell in uniform is captioned below: “Sergeant Charles H. McConnell / Delivering his paper on ‘The First and greatest day’s Battle of Gettysburg.’ At the Reunion of the 24th Michigan Infantry. Detroit, Michigan. Dec. 13. 1897.”

Irish-born Charles H. McConnell (ca. 1841–1916) was 21 years old when he enlisted as a corporal in Detroit on 24 July 1862. He was mustered out on 30 June 1865 after three years of service in one of the Civil War’s most distinguished regiments. The 24th Michigan joined the celebrated Iron Brigade on 8 October 1862, shortly before the Battle of Fredericksburg. It was at Gettysburg, however, in July 1863, that the regiment faced its severest trial, suffering, alongside the 1st Minnesota, some of the highest casualties of any Union unit engaged in the battle. On 1 July, the 24th Michigan played a critical role in holding McPherson Ridge, where nine color bearers were killed or mortally wounded, and two more wounded, on the first day alone. After Gettysburg, the regiment continued to serve in major engagements, including the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, and the Siege of Petersburg. At the war’s close, the men of the 24th Michigan Infantry were chosen to serve as honor guard at President Lincoln’s funeral.

After the war, McConnell married and eventually moved from Detroit to Chicago. There he became commander of Columbia Post No. 706, one of Chicago’s most prominent GAR posts, known as the city’s “silk-stocking” post for its especially distinguished and well-to-do membership. The post was active in veteran encampments nationwide with McConnell himself becoming a well-recognized representative of GAR members, Gettysburg veterans, and reconciliation with former Confederate foes. Charles H. McConnell died on 17 March 1916.

Note: This lot cannot be packaged and shipped in-house. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Books, Bibles, Soldiers' Bibles, Prayer Books, Ephemera, Pamphlets, Publications, Booklets, Memoirs] [Relics, Militaria] [Medals, Corps Badges, Badges]