| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 113.1 | Corps badges | STUDIO::REILLEY | | Wed Jan 19 1994 14:44 | 18 |
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The Maltese cross was the CORPS Badge used for the V Corps ( I -think-
the 20th ME was in the V Corps, I'm at work & don't have all of my
books handy).
Each Corps in the Union army had a specific badge or insiginia to
differentiate them from the other Corps. For instance, the I Corps
badge was a round Circle, the II Corps badge was the Trefoil, etc.
Within each Corps, the -color- of the badge designated which Division
a regiment was part of - usually red was the 1st Division, white
was the 2nd Division, and blue for the third division. If there was a
4th Division (very rare) I believe they used green for their Corps
badge.
Tom
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| 113.2 | More on Corps Badges | NEMAIL::RASKOB | Mike Raskob at OFO | Thu Jan 20 1994 12:22 | 28 |
| RE .0, .1:
Tom is correct as to the badge colors by division. The corps
badges were introduced in early 1863 in the Army of the Potomac by Joe
Hooker, as part of his reorganization and morale-boosting efforts. It
is likely that most units were wearing them at Gettysburg, but almost
certainly not all. The idea eventually spread to the western armies,
and sometime in late '64 or early '65 there was an "official" badge
designated for each corps in the Union army.
I also think 20th ME was in the V Corps. The VI Corps of the AOP
was one of the few corps to have four divisions, BTW.
The idea for corps badges _may_ have originated with MG Phil
Kearney, who commanded a division under McClellan. He had the men in
his division wear a red, roughly diamond-shaped patch. The men
referred to the unit as the "red diamond division". I'm pretty sure it
was the III Corps of the AOP which adopted the diamond as their badge
(it had Kearney's old division in it).
If you look closely at TNT's "Gettysburg", you will notice that the
infantry marching up when General Reynolds relieves Buford's cavalry
are wearing black hats rather than forage caps (representing the famous
Iron Brigade - 1st Brigade, 1st Division, I Corps of the AOP), and that
some at least of the hats have the red circle corps badge on them.
MikeR
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| 113.3 | Colt Model 1860 | RUNWAY::HAHN | | Thu Jan 20 1994 12:58 | 13 |
| At the recent Manchester N.H. gun show, I happened across a Colt M-1860
with a 4 digit serial # (all matching). Inlayed in the grip was a
Silver Maltese Cross about 3/8 " across. Below this was a small silver
shield or crest which once would have contained an initial since
worn off. The dealer bought it from a dealer who bought it from a
man who said it belonged to a soldier from the 20th Me.
If price were any indication of authenticity, the $2000.00 price
tag makes it so to the wannabelievers.
I am a novice collector although a student of history for some time,
seeking advice on the collecting of civil war era firearms and related
items.
Anybody know what a avg Colt M-1860 bring these days.?
Thanks for answering my earlier questions.
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| 113.4 | | TOPDOC::AHERN | Dennis the Menace | Fri Jan 21 1994 12:33 | 10 |
| RE: .2 by NEMAIL::RASKOB
>If you look closely at TNT's "Gettysburg", you will notice that the
>infantry marching up when General Reynolds relieves Buford's cavalry
>are wearing black hats rather than forage caps (representing the famous
>Iron Brigade - 1st Brigade, 1st Division, I Corps of the AOP), and that
>some at least of the hats have the red circle corps badge on them.
Originally, they were black and white, but Turner colorized them.
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| 113.5 | Be careful... | STUDIO::REILLEY | | Fri Jan 21 1994 12:49 | 17 |
|
re: 113.3 and the $2,000.00 Colt....
The following is from a fellow reenactor & former DECie:
>It has been a long time since I've seen an original in a gun shop.
>They show up at gun shows fairly often, though. An 1860 in good shape
>is worth around 400-500 bucks. One that is documentable to an outfit
>like the 20th Maine could easily just bump the decimal point a digit
>to the right. One documentable to someone like Chamberlain could move
>the decimal another notch.
>
>The 1860 is pretty common, and I've seen shootable guns in the low 400's.
>Unfortunately, the percussion Colt's are *THE* most often faked of all
>American arms. Be Oh! So careful!
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