2005-11
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/31/2005
A very ornate Model 1850 field officer's sword that belonged to Col. William P. Richardson of the 25th Ohio Volunteers. The sword measures 40" overall with a 33" blade bearing a U.S. motif thereon. The guard is brass and also bears a "U.S." cast into it. The scabbard is metal with brass mounts and drag, the top mount engraved with a shield and "U.S." along with a contemporary inscription: "Col. W. P. Rds. 25th a.v.I.". The middle mount has a floral design on it, and the drag has been engraved with a scroll containing the motto: "One Destiny". Richardson was severely wounded in the right shoulder at the battle of Chancellosville and he was wearing this sword when another bullet hit the scabbard, most likely saving his leg. The scabbard shows the impact of the bullet that damaged the lower hanger mount, and a small 3/8" x 112" square outline of cloth pattern is embossed in the metal, caused by the weave of his sash! The force of the bullet was so great that it split the metal of the scabbard from the drag all the way to the top and bent the lower hanger support. A solder repair was done to the scabbard in an attempt to save the battlefield momento. Richardson must have also had the sword unsheathed directing his troops when the bullet hit as there is no damage to the sword itself. Richardson was forced out of the war for eight months as a result of his wound and was made brevet brigadier general for war service in 1864. He later served as commander of the Camp Chase military prison in Ohio, a position he held for the remainder of the war. Included is an extensive archive containing Richardson's military records, copy photographs of the general, and letters of provenance tracing the sword's history from it's purchase from an ancestor to the present. A rare identified item with a battle scarred history.
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