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50th Anniversary Reunion - Battle of Gettysburg


SCF-Collector
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Sarge, you are correct, looks like the attendant badge she is wearing. Also, I wonder if that is the 1938 Gettysburg Reunion program she is reading in her lap? These items were actually found in the trash at an estate sale. The guy conducting the sale met with the family a week or so before the scheduled sale to sign his agreement papers, etc. There were 4 or 5 large garbage bags setting on the curb in front of the house that the family had filled up with "trash". They told the dealer that they would get rid of the bags before the sale started and he told them, no, he would dispose of the bags. He found over 15 reunion medals plus this attendant medal wrapped in old newspapers in the bags with many photographs. It is amazing what families will throw away. His theory was that the newspapers were in the bottom of a dresser drawer and looked like trash?? Anyway, now they are preserved and I have enjoyed sharing them with others.

 

Tommy

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SCF-Collector

OMG, rescued from the trash????

 

Outstanding image. Classic UCV Officer's coat & a great hat! No UCV wreath or cloth insignia on the hat, but sometimes see them without anything on the hat. The Southern Cross is wonderful. I wonder what that smaller medal next to it might be? Have you put a loop on it to try to identify it?

 

Thanks for posting the pic - fantastic!

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I wonder what that smaller medal next to it might be? Have you put a loop on it to try to identify it?

I had never looked at it closely with a loop, I had always assumed it was a local UCV Camp pin. After looking at it with a loop, it appears to be some sort of Sons in Service pin. You can see two stars on the upper part of the pin and the lower part has what appears to be a cross, possibly a red cross? He is probably a little to old to have sons in WWI but perhaps these guys are his grandsons? I need to do additional research on his family.

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  • 7 months later...

Fascinating thread. I have a modest collection of Gettysburg badges/medals, including eight state badges from 1913 with sources for two more when I can afford them.

Mickey, I work in Gettysburg but tragically missed your display at the show last Fall because I had to work. I have most of the state badges represented in photos here but would love to see your others. I'm looking at your photos here with a loop but it isn't the same :D ! I really like your 1938 souvenir badge with the crossed rifles. I have its mate with a pistol and I've seen one with a sword. If the rifles are infantry and the sword is cavalry, what would mine with the pistol be?

Has anyone talked you into doing any other show? Are you at the Southern Cross Farm in Florida - or another one? If you don't take your show on the road again, I might have to plan my next vacation around you!

 

-Bob

 

(It seems that I don't yet have permission to upload a photo or access your profile).

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SCF-Collector

Thanks for the kind words Bob. A "modest collection" eh? That's how I started out - LOL.

 

Sorry I didn't get to meet you at the show last fall. Seems so long ago, but the display is still stacked in my living room waiting for me to find a place to store and/or display it in its present form. I can't bear the thought of putting it all back into individual trays and storing it away - so it sits. I just uncover it and stare at it now an then <G>.

 

I've seen many variants of those souvenir - rifle, sword, pistol, even a cannon. I suppose you could attribute them to branches of service, but I've always thought they were just trinkets meant to sell more souvenir badges. Of course, I suppose the implied branch affiliation could be the selling point, who knows. FYI, there are other variations of this particular piece as well - different maker labels. I think the basic pin-back image was probably licensed to multiple dealers.

 

No, our Southern Cross Farm is in Virginia.

 

A number of people have tried to talk me into doing my display again, but so far, I've not been talked into it! It was fun, but a lot of work and stressful (trying leaving your lifetime collection sitting in the show area overnight!). Maybe one day, but no plans so far. To be honest, with the anniversary of the Battle and the Reunions passed - I'm not sure it would draw all that much interest except from diehard collectors like us! But maybe one day. Heck, I've added probably 2 dozen pieces to the collection since last fall - so there's more to show anyway! I just can't stop myself!!!! Two in particular I need to find time to post here - 1) only the 2nd example of an undocumented official 1938 badge, and 2) the original draft artwork/board for the cover of the 1938 program. I just couldn't pass those up!

 

Not sure why you can't post pictures or view my profile. Maybe a moderator can help you out?

 

Thanks again for your post.

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Virginia - even better! I can be down there in a couple of hours ;) .

 

Are you familiar with Dave Loose? Part of his collection of 1913/1938 badges and memorabilia is now on display at various private museums around Gettysburg.

 

I can't access your profile because I haven't made enough "approved posts" yet. A moderator offered to help find out why I couldn't upload a photo but now I doubt that I have anything that you'd want to see. (Thanks anyway, moderator!)

 

-Bob

 

PS: And stop hoarding the official 1938 badges! I don't have one yet :P .

Just kidding. I'm just jealous.

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Mickey, the Adams County Historical Society (Gettysburg) has an original 1938 veteran's medal for "James D. Handock" (#1891) . I don't find him (or anything close, like "Hancock") in Paul Roy's book. I haven't yet found anything resembling a service record for him either.

 

There are lots of newspaper articles about the guy, however, and I even found a couple of photos. He claimed to have been born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1834 and was a veteran of three wars, including the ACW. But in all the times he was interviewed, he only said that he was a Union veteran and never identified his unit. Very suspicious if you ask me. He did claim to be a Colonel who commanded a "transportation unit" of 40,000 men (!), that he was wounded in Gettysburg, that he cussed out U.S. Grant in Wheeling, WV and got away with it, and that he personally witnessed Grant refuse Lee's sword at Appomattox. In one article, he claimed that Lincoln forced Grant to apologize to him (Handock) for the disagreement in Wheeling <g>. A couple of other articles say that he wandered off from the 1938 reunion in Gettysburg and was found sleeping in the streets of Philadelphia.

 

So the guy was certainly colorful! He clearly sought out the press coverage by walking into newspaper offices in a variety of towns to tell his story - and reporters obliged him. He carried lots of those newspaper clippings with him and produced them as evidence of his great deeds whenever he was challenged. So I think he had a wild imagination but it is not clear just how far his fraud might have gone. It would not surprise me to find that he was not a veteran of the ACW at all - which makes his 1938 medal all the more interesting! I'd be interested to know if your sources have any record of Handock.

 

BTW, ACHS also has an attendant medal for "L. F. Murley" (#475). The two medals were found together in a box of accessions so I suppose (but don't know for sure) that they are mates. Just starting my research on who Murley might be.

 

BTW, they also have an 1938 "Distinguished Guest" badge. Very cool.

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Sorry, the attendant medal is "L. F. Mobley" (#475). Apparently, I'm not allowed to edit a previous post.

 

Photos of Handock and Mobley medals, courtesy of the Adams County Historical Society, Gettysburg, PA:

 

post-152774-0-64770200-1405764367.jpg

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The Adams County Historical Society also has a 1913 Oregon survivors' ribbon. I've never seen this one before. Only 82 veterans from Oregon attended the 1913 reunion. The ribbon is now on display at the Seminary Ridge Museum in Gettysburg:

 

post-152774-0-35383400-1405764779.jpg

 

(Sorry, it is a little out of focus because it is deep in a glass display case in poor lighting.)

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SCF-Collector

A spelling error certainly isn't out of the question. I took a quick look at an online database and found two James D. Hancock ' s that survived the war - one Union, one Confederate. It's certainly possible they got the spelling wrong on the medal.

 

Sounds like quite the character. I guess it's possible he had little or even no military service experience and somehow wrangled himself an invite and medal for the 1938 reunion. The record keeping wasn't all that thorough from what I can tell. He certainly seems to have had a gift for "talking" if you know what I mean.

 

The attendant medal can certainly have a completely different last name than the Veteran. I have seen it many times. Of the three pairs in my collection only one of the Attendant medals has the same last name as the Veteran. There were no rules as to who you could name as your Attendant - so it could have been a son-in-law, a nephew, etc. I always figure if they are found together they probably went together. Unfortunately I have yet to find any records listing the Veteran/Attendant pairs.

 

I'm not hoarding - although I do have two of the Distinguished Guest medals <g>. There were only 91 such guests listed in the official proceedings BTW. If it makes you feel any better, I'm thinking about selling one and keeping the other because it is jeweler-engraved to Dr. Edith McBride Dexter, Secretary of Health. These weren't officially engraved - but she apparently had hers engraved after the reunion (I assume).

 

P.S. Don't show up in Virginia unannounced - I'm really protective of my collection <G>!

 

P.S. Had heard his collection was on display - just haven't had time to go look.

 

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SCF-Collector

Wow, thanks for the pic of the 1913 Oregon ribbon! That's only the second example I've seen in over 28 years of searching for anything 1913 Gettysburg. Seems like an odd piece for that organization to have on display, don't you think?

 

What's really amazing about your picture is that as I recall my example is torn in nearly the same manner as this example. Makes me wonder if this perhaps tells us something about how it was mounted/worn. I can tell you it's a VERY thin ribbon - very fragile. Mine was found in a small old frame and I had a tough time getting it out and safely stored for display.

 

 

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A spelling error certainly isn't out of the question. I took a quick look at an online database and found two James D. Hancock ' s that survived the war - one Union, one Confederate.

 

 

 

And about two dozen more without a middle initial...

 

It's certainly possible they got the spelling wrong on the medal.

 

It is common for the spelling on service records to be wrong - but I really doubt that it is wrong on the medal. It is hard to imagine that he would allow his name to be misspelled in the same odd way by more the a dozen newspaper reporters.

 

 

P.S. Don't show up in Virginia unannounced - I'm really protective of my collection <G>!

 

 

 

Ha! No, I wouldn't do that.

 

-Bob

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What's really amazing about your picture is that as I recall my example is torn in nearly the same manner as this example. Makes me wonder if this perhaps tells us something about how it was mounted/worn. I can tell you it's a VERY thin ribbon - very fragile. Mine was found in a small old frame and I had a tough time getting it out and safely stored for display.

 

​This one seems to be mounted on a card to keep it from falling apart.

 

-Bob

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SCF-Collector

Here is the undocumented 1938 Gettysburg medal I mentioned. It's not listed anywhere in any of the materials I've seen for the reunion, but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that it was made to commemorate the participation of the Pennsylvania National Guard unit in the event. I was 99.9% sure of it when I found the first example, but with the discovery of this example there can be no doubt this medal was produced for the reunion (or just after).

 

post-1293-0-23883200-1405995724.jpg

Here's the back of the drop:

 

post-1293-0-97040600-1405996266.jpg

 

Awarded for Distinguished Active Duty, Gettysburg,

June 15 – July 15, 1938

Provisional Battalion, 19 Officers and 250 Men

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SCF-Collector

There are a couple of interesting things to note about this medal. First, the obvious absence of a top bar. Second, the ribbon is different than the one on all the other documented medals for 1938 that use this particular drop. Here it is side-by-side with the Championship Band medal.

 

post-1293-0-83715800-1405996524.jpg post-1293-0-17786400-1405996538.jpg

 

The absence of a top bar doesn't surprise me - especially after you stare at the ribbon for a little while. Does anyone besides me see any resemblance between this ribbon and say the Army Campaign Medal ribbon?

 

post-1293-0-00063500-1405997460.jpg

 

I believe they might have issued this medal with the same ribbon as the Army Campaign medal. That makes some sense given the purpose of the medal, and when it was made (likely 1938). This was minted for a National Guard unit - so wouldn't that make sense? When I found the first example I thought someone might have "married" the drop with an old Campaign Medal ribbon, but now that I have a second example mint-in-the-box, I'm convinced it was issued this way.

 

One last picture since I have the space - here's the Bailey, Banks, and Biddle logo from the box cover.

 

post-1293-0-98094600-1405997671.jpg

 

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Mickey,

 

I got behind the scenes at the Gettysburg National Military Park museum today and saw all of the 1913/1938 badges that they have in their collection. Only a few of them are on display.

 

In light of the 8th Illinois Cav. ribbon that you attached to the second message in this thread, I thought that you might like to see this one which is in their stacks:

 

post-152774-0-27343000-1406245973.jpg

Courtesy of the GNMP Museum

 

This looks to me like it would be the official Illinois state badge with the company and regiment just written on the top (Lt. Marcellus Jones who took the first shot at GB was in Company E) whereas yours is specific to the 8th Illinois Cav.

 

Interesting, huh?

 

-Bob

 

 

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The GNMP Museum also has this 1913 one from the Army and Navy Medal of Honor Legion:

 

post-152774-0-42200900-1406246807.jpg

Courtesy of the GNMP Museum

 

This one is on display so I couldn't get close enough to examine what the top part of the ribbon might have said.

 

-Bob

 

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I also pulled the 1913/38 files at the GNMP library and found this interesting piece:

 

post-152774-0-35666800-1406247312.jpg

 

For the sake of search engines, it is the quarters and rations card for Pvt. Marcus B. Walker, Co. E, 141st NY Vols. at the 1913 Gettysburg reunion.

 

-Bob

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Last one for now :) ...

 

Imagine my surprise when I found that the GNMP Library file had a photo of my g-g-grandfather's brother, William Thomas Baldwin of the 4th VA Inf. and his first cousin (my 1C4R) , Albert Haller Gibboney of the 22nd VA Inf. standing at the High Water Mark monument during the 1913 reunion:

 

post-152774-0-72116200-1406252284.jpg

 

We have an original of the same photo so I recognized it immediately.

I went by and stood on the same spot today just for the heck of it.

 

Baldwin is clearly wearing a VA Infantry badge. Gibboney's badges are less clear in the photo but one of them is sure to be the same. Oh, how I wish we knew where they were!

 

-Bob

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