Silver unofficial badge of the Veteran Reserve Corps. New York: B.T. Hayward, 1864-1865. Approx. 1 x 1 1/8 in.

Provenance: Howard "Howie" Madaus Collection

The Veteran Reserve Corps, designated the Invalid Corps prior to 18 March 1864, was initially composed of soldiers who were deemed unfit to perform heavy duties by way of injury or illness. These men would relieve other units of, among other responsibilities, guard and provost duties, effectively freeing up regiments for combat. The corps would be largely dissolved at the close of the war. 

From the collection of author, historian, and extensive collector, Howard “Howie” Madaus (1943-2007). Accompanied by a small envelope with a description of the badge handwritten by Madaus.

The ambition of Madaus’ badge collection was to assemble representative examples of every major type of Civil War corps badge worn by the various branches of the Union Army, including specimens from each division of every army corps, along with numerous rare and previously undocumented varieties. In both its breadth and depth, his private holdings likely surpassed those of many public institutions, and a portion of the collection is now offered here for the first time at public auction. 

Howard Madaus was a distinguished scholar and curator whose expertise in American military history and flags earned him national recognition. An active member of the Company of Military Historians, the American Society of Arms Collectors, the North-South Skirmish Association, and the Maryland Arms Collectors Association, he built his reputation through decades of dedicated scholarship. From 1968 to 2003, he served as assistant curator of history at the Milwaukee Public Museum, later becoming curator of the Cody Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, and finally Chief Curator of the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

In addition to his museum work, Madaus authored numerous influential books and articles on firearms, the Civil War, and American flags. His groundbreaking Battle Flags of the Confederate Army of Tennessee (1976) established him as a national authority, followed by major studies such as The Flags of the Iron Brigade (1997) and The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord & Conflict (2006). His expertise reached broad audiences through appearances on the History Channel, A&E, and PBS, and over the course of his career he emerged as one of the foremost authorities on United States Civil War flags.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Relics, Militaria] [Medals, Corps Badges, Badges]