Virginia - Wilderness Battlefield - South Carolina Currency - Civil War deals Bullets

Original 1862 hand signed “Two Dollars” note issued by “Bank of the State of South Carolina” in Charleston, South Carolina. The note was engraved by “Bald Adams & Co. New York” and has the hand inscribed serial number “20”. The central vignette is of the State house with Calhoun at right and Elmore at left. It has the red "TWO" overprint.

The Bank of the State of South Carolina was chartered in 1812 with the assets of the state and operated as an arm of the State Treasury. After the Civil War, the bank joined in the defeat and was formally closed during 1869. Notes issued before December 20, 1860, were deemed to be legitimate by the Reconstruction government and were exchanged for twenty-year state bonds, but those issued during the Confederate Era were considered worthless. However, as governmental control shifted back to South Carolina, an act was passed in December of 1879 that allowed for any of the bank's post-secession notes to be redeemed for 50% of face value, also payable in bonds.

Original lead ammunition excavated from the Wilderness Battlefield near Fredericksburg, Virginia. The bullets at left are all Federal issue; 1. .58 Williams Cleaner used to clean the black powder fouling out of the rifle barrel. There were three to six packed with the regular rounds. 2. The .52 Sharps was a breech loading carbine used primarily by the cavalry. 3. The .58 Springfield was the standard round for all .58 rifles used by the Federal forces. In 1862 the diameter of the .58 was decreased by a fraction to accommodate the .577 Enfield Rifle.
From upper right they are Confederate issue; 1. A .69 caliber round ball for the smooth bore musket, 2. A .54 caliber for the Mississippi rifle or the Austrian Lorenz rifle. The Lorenz rifle was the third most widely used rifle during the Civil War. The Union recorded purchases of 226,924 and the Confederacy bought as many as 100,000. The round was used by both sides. 3. The .58 Gardner at the bottom was made at the Richmond Arsenal in Virginia. They were the only Confederate Armory to make this style bullet. All of these rounds would have used a paper cartridge. The white patina is due to oxidation in the ground.

The Wilderness, near Fredericksburg, Virginia, was the first battle in 1864 between General Grant's “Army of the Potomac” and General Lee's “Army of Northern Virginia”. It was the beginning of what would be called Grant's “Overland Campaign” to take the Confederate capitol at Richmond.

The scene “Battle of the Wilderness” was reprinted from the lithograph by Kurz & Allison. Kurz and Allison were major publishers of chromolithographs in the late 19th century. They built their reputation on large prints published in the 1880-90 period depicting battles of the American Civil War. This was a period of recollection among veterans, and the company was trying to capitalize on this sentiment. In all, a set of thirty-six battle scenes were published from designs by Louis Kurz, himself a veteran of the war. They did not pretend to mirror the actual events but rather attempted to tap people's patriotic emotions.

The hand made solid Oak frame is 12” x 16” (glass) in size. The matting is medium brown. All of the frame and display work was done in our cabinet shop here in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The frame is ready to hang deals. The wire is recessed which allows the frame to rest flat back to the wall as in a museum mount. The “bumpons” on each back corner protect the wall and keep the frame level.

All of the artifacts are guaranteed to be original as stated. A hand signed and dated “Certificate of Authenticity” will be issued by Collectors Frame with a photograph and description of the items purchased.

Please see our "About Collectors Frame”, below the reviews on the front page, for more information on the framing and artifacts.
e2718