Gorgeous & Rare Small-Sized (Pre-War) OVM Oval Buckle -- From the Vicksburg
Campaign
I've only seen a few of these OVM's from the Vicksburg
Campaign, and they are rare and desirable enough to be found from anywhere.
It is one of the few Union plates as rare as any Confederate plate, and also
reflected in their very high dollar value. This one has a beautiful
chocolate-brown facial patina--the kind you always want to see on a dug plate!
With very little ground action from being an early find, the "OVM" (Ohio
Volunteer Militia) letters stand-out literally across the room. The plate
has the most minor hairline freeze-crack or two, and small thin spots around a
few parts of the edge, but as you can see in the photo's, it doesn't detract
from the natural beauty and display of the piece at all, and is completely
stable and "solid". One arrow hook remains solidly intact--the other
broke-off, and is clearly the reason why this little plate was discarded by the
soldier. We find a few of these OVM's and Ohio State Seal Breastplates
scattered about the Vicksburg Campaign from the many Buckeyes who marched, bled,
and camped all over. This one is about as pretty as any I've seen from
this area.
$1098
Click On Thumbnails Below For More Pictures
Freshly-Dug CS
"Egg Oval" Complete Belt Buckle
Dug by Tommy
Philpot Within General Patrick Cleburne's Position in Liberty Gap, TN
It's dug pieces like this that give us relic
hunters HOPE! This little gem has was found a couple of months ago within
one of those "old hunted-out spots" at Liberty Gap, Tennessee, by Tommy
Philpot. Best of all, it can be exclusively ID'ed to the infamous fighting
men within the Division of General Patrick Cleburne--the "Stonewall of the
West"! Cleburne and his stalwart men had to single-handedly defend against
the overwhelming Federal forces massed against them at Liberty Gap on June
24th, 1863, when US General Thomas's army was attempting to find a passage
through the rocky and steep hills of the Cumberland region, and force CS
General Bragg's Army of Tennessee to retreat toward Chattanooga, or better
yet, outflank him and capture Chattanooga itself. There was one
problem...Patrick Cleburne and his men were guarding Liberty Gap. Though
the butternut warriors valiantly held their ground with stolid
determination, and did not break from the frontal assault, they were soon
outflanked, and faced either retreat or capture. General Cleburne was
quickly recognized by his peers and his superiors for his outstanding
tactical skill, leadership, and fighting spirit, starting all the way back
to the stunning victory he singularly achieved at the Battle of Richmond,
Kentucky a year earlier. And neither the Battle of Richmond nor here at
Liberty Gap would be the first times that Cleburne would command a Division
alone and fend-off Union onslaughts. He would later in 1863 achieve his
greatest field accolades by staving-off the Federal pursuit at the Battle of
Ringgold Gap, Georgia, saving Bragg's entire Army of Tennessee after the
debacle of the Battle of Mission Ridge. During the winter of 1863/1864,
when CS General Joseph E. Johnston replaced the failing Bragg as commander
of the Army of Tennessee, Johnston reorganized the army within their winter
camps. Amongst his plans to reorganize and revitalize the Army, he directed
that all previous individual Confederate unit and/or national flags be
replaced with a "standard" size and design rectangular flag with the St.
Andrew's Cross (aka "battleflag"). However, given the fighting élan and
esprit-de-corps that Cleburne and his men had displayed time and time
again--and with their near-mutiny of having to replace their infamous
"full-moon" flags that each regiment in his Division flew (a round white
"moon" in a field of blue background)--General Johnston allowed by special
decree that Cleburne's men may keep and fly their distinctive unit flags.
Now THAT is RESPECT. Yankee's would comment on how they knew they were "in
for it" when they saw they were facing the men with the "full-moon flags"!
This plate has a nice fresh-dug patina, with
the "CS" letters showing very well, given the fact that so many specimens
were softly stamped to begin with. The plate is complete, and there is no
missing brass to the face whatsoever, and no cracking. When found, a tiny
area of the edge was bent upward, but it has been professionally nudged back
by Robert McDaniel (it's the edge to the left of the "C"). As expected with
such recent finds in that highly mineralized soil, the iron telegraph hooks
have been professionally restored by McDaniel, so that they look as good as
the specimens dug 40 years ago. You will not dig one today with the thin
iron telegraph hooks solid and complete. Time, mineralization, acid rain,
etc, are all slowly destroying the delicate artifacts in the ground.
If you'd love to own a nice dug CS belt buckle
that is truly a historic piece, ID'ed to the relic hunter, the location, and
most of all, the infamous Cleburne Division, then you'll love this one at
this price. A pristine example dug 40 years ago will cost you around
$3000. You get all the history, beauty, and those rare and magical "CS"
letters on this beauty for a lot less...
