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50th Anniversary Reunion - Battle of Gettysburg


SCF-Collector
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Well, this is a shame but the archivist at the Hagley Library says that she's looked for any reference to Gettysburg in the BB&B collection and the only thing that she found was this in a ledger book:

 

post-152774-0-98639400-1496429176_thumb.jpg

 

It says "Joint catch and stem" and "Sell bronze xx ea."

 

IOW, nothing about 1938.

 

She said that the records are much more complete for anything that had a precious stone in it.

 

There are many boxes and she looked in what she thought were the most logical places - but there are a lot more records to go through. So I still plan to get up there when I can.

 

 

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My GG Grandfather served with the 54th Pennsylvania Infantry during the war, and although his unit didn't fight at Gettysburg he was part of a group of Pennsylvania Veterans that were invited to attend the 50th Anniversary. I'd like to take a trip to the Pennsylvania archives someday to see if I could dig up anything.

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  • 2 weeks later...
SCF-Collector

Thanks for the update from the Hagley Library Bob. It might not have been what we were hoping for, but it might still have been an information "score".

 

The sketch in the document you posted, I think, might just lend some support to a piece of mine that I've posted before. How's this for similar?

 

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It's so distinct, from the large-to-small-back-to-large lettering to the shape and catch/loop configuration. That top bar is from this previously posted piece.

 

post-1293-0-57392700-1497836056.jpg

 

The Red Cross Service medal that is the drop of this medal was made by BB&B. It's marked on the reverse BB&B / Phila / Bronze.

 

What I think is that someone had these tops made by BB&B to go with the Red Cross Service medal for the Nurses that served at the 1913 Gettysburg Reunion. I don't see on the document who ordered the item, but I'd be willing to bet it was for the Red Cross Nurses. The resemblance is uncanny - and it's a rather unique design for the top bar. Maybe it was used for other pieces - who knows - but it sure seems to fit my theory regarding the RC piece.

 

What do you think?

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What I think is that someone had these tops made by BB&B to go with the Red Cross Service medal for the Nurses that served at the 1913 Gettysburg Reunion. I don't see on the document who ordered the item, but I'd be willing to bet it was for the Red Cross Nurses. The resemblance is uncanny - and it's a rather unique design for the top bar. Maybe it was used for other pieces - who knows - but it sure seems to fit my theory regarding the RC piece.

 

It sure looks like it to me. I'm glad something good came of that research. Baby steps forward...

 

I'll probably see you later today.

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  • 1 year later...

Today I found these newspaper articles about the 1913 Delaware badge and it may shed some light on the difference between Mickey's example (post #125) and mine (post #126). It seems that my badge may be that of a member of the general staff.

post-152774-0-86601800-1536729096_thumb.jpg

 

Apparently, I have to put the second image in another post...

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  • 7 months later...
JCBrownABNPFDR

I'm rather new at this so I'm hoping this is the right place. I was searching through an antique store in a neighboring town and informed the lady that I was looking for older military medals, etc. She asked if I was interested in reunion items. Well to be honest, I don't look for American Legion, VFW or other organizational medals and that is what I thought she was referring to. But I learned a long time ago to ask them what they had instead of saying "No". I am glad I took the time to see. She had this veteran's medal from the 75th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg. As the woman talked, she informed me that there was another medal and she knew the dealer that had acquired that one. I contacted the other dealer and was able to acquire the Attendant medal in the original box. The veteran medal is named to Thomas Rufus McGuyer. Mr. McGuyer was quite possibly the youngest veteran at the reunion since he was 17 when the war ended. He had enlisted in a Texas Home Guard unit that was apparently formed to protect the county if the Union decided to invade. He probably never had a uniform and it's doubtful that he ever left his home county. But he was still considered a Confederate soldier and veteran.

post-228890-0-74868800-1555452496.jpg

post-228890-0-27993800-1555452524.jpg

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SCF-Collector

Fantastic Find! Super-rare because it's a Confederate Veteran from the 75th - AND it's a pair. I all my years collecting the 75th I've now seen a total of 6 Confederate medals, and this the first pair I've seen. There were only just over 600 Confederates in attendance.

 

The roster in Paul Roy's book shows your Veteran as Thomas Rufus McGuyer, address Rt. 3, Cooper Texas.

 

You're probably right about his record/service. I don't see him even listed in the Civil War Database. I'll have to check Roster of Confederate Soldiers books when I get a chance. There might be some information there on him.

 

Congrats on a great find!

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What a neat badge and story. A good lesson for collectors to listen intently and look at stuff you think you have no interest in.

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  • 5 weeks later...

FYI, I recently bought "War, Memory, and the 1913 Gettysburg Reunion" by Thomas R. Flagel (Kent State University, 2019) and was disappointed to find that it includes almost no references to veterans' badges.

 

One passage (pg 65) says, "In the ongoing search for familiar faces among the crowds, men strode about with various medallions, patches, and ribbons pinned to their tunics." And there were a couple of other fleeting references to State-issued badges. For instance (pg 17), "After a veterans' state commission approved his application to attend, he received a package in the mail containing his badges [sic], identification tags, a camp pass, and a label for his one allowed bag." (It isn't clear whether by "A veteran" here he was referring to a specific man or he was supposing incorrectly that the process was the same for every State.)

 

Sigh.

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  • 1 month later...

I have a question. Do they fake UCV badges? Id like to add an example of one to my collection, but I dont want to get ripped off.

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They do fake UCV, and other CS Veterans, badges. Particularly the UDC Cross of Honor badges so be careful. Know what you are buying before you lay down your money.

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SCF-Collector

They fake anything of value! Back in the heyday of UCV prices they were making excellent fakes of the UCV National medals - all the way up to the ID'd high-end pieces.

 

With that said, the risk today depends on what type of UCV item you're interested in acquiring. The prices on UCV pieces has come down considerably so I'm not aware of anyone actively reproducing Natiional UCV medals, but the ones from the 90's are still in circulation, so you still need to be careful. On the high-end - specifically ID'd pieces - you definitely need to be careful. There are ways of telling the good from the bad, but it can be tough sometimes.

 

Caution is always advisable when purchasing Veteran pieces, but there are plenty of reputable sources out there - and lots of quality pieces that need new homes! If there's something of specific interest to you let us know. There's plenty of expertise in this forum to help you find what you're looking for.

 

 

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