INSCRIBED SWORD BELONGING TO IRISH OFFICER WHO WAS A PRISONER-OF-WAR AND A SURVIVOR OF THE BATTLE OF THE CRATER

M1850 Foot Infantry Officer’s Sword. West Chelmsford, Massachusetts: C. Roby & Co., n.d. Overall length approximately 38 1/2 in.; blade approximately 31 5/8 in. long.

WITH a souvenir Battle of the Crater pin attached to a battlefield Minié ball and a first edition copy of Warren Wilkinson’s Mother, May You Never See the Sights I Have Seen: The Fifty-seventh Massachusetts Veteran Volunteers in the Last Year of the Civil War. New York: Harper & Row, 1990.

The interior of the guard is engraved with the inscription: “John Reade / Milford / Mass.”

Captain John Reade (1824–1897) emigrated from Ireland to Milford, Massachusetts in 1846 and worked as a trader before receiving a commission as first lieutenant in Company I of the 48th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry on 29 November 1862. The 48th MA was plagued by organizational difficulties and a high rate of turnover. Resigning his commission on 7 March 1863, Reade later mustered into Company A of the 57th Massachusetts on 4 January 1864, subsequently transferring to Company K. Thereafter, he saw repeated action, notably at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, North Anna, Cold Harbor, and during the Siege of Petersburg.

Reade was captured by Confederate forces at the Battle of the Crater on 30 July 1864, shortly after the mine explosion. He was imprisoned at Richland Jail, or Camp Asylum, in Columbia, South Carolina, and a memorandum states that he was paroled on 1 March 1865, though period accounts vary considerably. After his release, Reade was brevetted to the rank of captain. He resigned on 17 May 1865 on account of disability and later became active in his local G.A.R. post as well as in the Massachusetts State Senate.

Complete with its metal scabbard. The clean blade is crisply etched with the maker’s mark, “C. Roby & Co / W. Chelmsford / Mass.,” along with botanical motifs, panoplies of flags and arms, a large “US,” and a Federal eagle. The guard has developed a muted patina, and although the leather washer is absent, the brown shagreen grip and Dragoon-style wire wrap remain in very fine condition.

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] [Swords, Knives, Bowie Knives, Knife, Blades]