Sons of Union Veterans Sword

[SARGE]

Gentlemen,

 

I just returned from the Show of Shows (SOS) in Louisville, KY and thought I would show a nice Civil War Sons of Veterans Sword that I picked up.

 

It is a second style SUV (Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War) sword that was worn after the circa 1889 uniform changes. This example is made in the manner of the so-called US 1860 Staff & Field style sword that was worn after the circa 1872 uniform changes that dictated a nickel or chrome scabbard with three suspension rings. It has the Sons of Veterans logo on the clamshell guard that incorporates a standing sailor and soldier and SV in the design.

 

This particular sword is unique in that it is a presentation to a specific post of the SUV by the Ladies Auxiliary of the Grand Army of the Republic veteran organization. The Women's Relief Corps (WRC) presented this sword to the SUV as evidenced by the etching on the blade. These presentation swords of this type are difficult to find and I was happy to run across it at the SOS Militaria Show.

 

George

 

[SARGE]

Here is a close up view of the guard showing the SV logo. Earlier examples of this sword simply had the entwined letters "SV" on the guard.

 

[SARGE]

A close up shot of the blade etching. This sword was presented by the Women's Relief Corps No.138 of Boston but I have not found this particular Sons of Veterans Camp in the Massachusets area. Any ideas of who Colonel Albert Wood was or where this camp was located?

 

[patchtrader864]

asst. surgeon 29th mass inf 7/31/1862 to 7/24/1863--- surgeon 1st mass cav 7/26/1863 to 11/1/1864 no rank is listed . i also have a sword like this know i have to go look at it . Patchtrader864 👍

[SARGE]

patchtrader864 said:

asst. surgeon 29th mass inf 7/31/1862 to 7/24/1863--- surgeon 1st mass cav 7/26/1863 to 11/1/1864 no rank is listed . i also have a sword like this know i have to go look at it . Patchtrader864 👍

 

Great information Patchtrader. 👍

 

This jibes with the Mass connection for the Simmons of Boston assembler/retailer and the Boston WRC chapter. Here is a view of the other side of the blade showing the WRC presentation information.

 

[usmcraidergirl]

Great sword!

 

A close up shot of the blade etching. This sword was presented by the Women's Relief Corps No.138 of Boston but I have not found this particular Sons of Veterans Camp in the Massachusets area. Any ideas of who Colonel Albert Wood was or where this camp was located?

 

 

I found the Surgeon Albert Wood that was mentioned above but I don't think he is the one that the camp is named after. I found another guy with a connection to Boston and the WRC. And, this guy below went by: "Col. Albert Wood." Here is pretty much what I can piece together from misc. documents about this "Col. Wood."

 

Col. Albert Wood

Colonel Albert Wood was born on August 18, 1801 in Hopkinton, MA. His father [William Wood] served a a private in the Massachusetts Militia during the Revoluntary War. And, I believe the father served for some time after in militia duties and received a "Major" rank. So, I guess it was only natural Col. Albert Wood would follow suit. As an adult, he was a big political mover and shaker in Massachusetts. He was a member of the Massachusetts Legislature's House of Representatives before the war.

 

(By the way, his mother's name is listed as Phebe Wood.)

 

Col. Albert Wood became the postmaster in Woodville, MA after starting a Post Office to transport mail to and from Woodville and Boston (circa 1834). It is my understanding that Col. Albert Wood, his father Major William Wood, and Albert's brother William B. Wood all partnered up in the 1840s with a stone mill, a water works, and a large lot of land near the Boston area. They ended up selling this large land holding for about $25,000 in 1846 to the City of Boston. Col. Wood later bought the water works back in 1859 during a period he was serving as a representative. He then expanded it, including building dams and housing. He took a break to serve in the Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Militia. The Fourth Regiment was part of the Massachusetts Militia and was formed in Boston about April 14, 1861. It was the first regiment to leave Boston to answer the call for national defense troops.

 

After the war, he continued to make a ton of money on his properties and the water works, plus he held several local offices and I believe was even re-elected as a state representative. And remember me mentioning about him being a postmaster and stone mill? His work with these two areas meant he was on the board and actively involved in a good many advocacy groups to improve the Boston and rural Massachusetts postal system and worker rights. He even indicated in the 1880 census he was a "teamster." Not to mention that he was also big in the G.A.R. and advocated greatly about veteran's rights. He died in the mid 1880s I believe.

 

As far as children. He married Sophia J. Corbett and I think they had at least three girls. Augusta Wood was the oldest I believe. Mary A. Wood was born about 1843 and then Helen Phebe Wood (later Marshall) was born about 1852. All of Col. Albert Wood's daughters were all involved in the Daughters of the American Revolution....

 

And, guess what? Yep, they were involved in the Women's Relief Corps in the 1880s and 1890s. (No shock there given while alive dad was pretty involved in the Union veteran groups, like the G.A.R. - that went hand and hand with the WRC in the Boston area.)

 

 

Col. Albert Wood Camp

The best I can tell is that this camp mentioned starts showing up in the 1880s after the previously mentioned Col. Albert Wood's death. Remember this daughter Augusta? Augusta Wood married a Henry Newton Comey in 1866. Comey was in the Union Army during the Civil War and present at a good many battles. I believe he was cited for valor a couple times (hence how he got an officer rank quickly) and seriously wounded at least two times, so pretty much came home a war hero. And, of interesting note, he was present as a guard during the hanging of the Lincoln conspirators. He was HIGHLY involved in the G.A.R. after the war.

 

SV camps like Col. Albert Wood Camp would have been sponsored by the local G.A.R. chapter. The local G.A.R. chapter would likely have been the one the late Col. Albert Wood belonged to and also the one at at least one son-in law (i.e. Henry Comey) would have belonged to. So, one can probably guess that Henry Comey helped set up the post in honor of his late father-in-law. I also bet that Col. Albert Wood's daughters, who were high society and active members in Daughters of the American Revolution and the Women's Relief Corps, pulled a few strings in naming the camp and getting this sword presented.

 

Just a guess but the Col. Albert Wood Camp seemed to start in the 1880s about the time the Women's Relief Corp No. 138 was founded. I'm wondering if the sword wasn't presented during the ceremony in 1890 marking the 25th Anniversary of the end of the Civil War..... Perhaps we'll never know.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Raidergirl

[Bugme]

Wow, I'm not even into edged weapons and swords and this one impresses me! What great background, that some of the other members have found for you on this one. I love watching items go from not much information to the whole story in a matter of a few posts from some of the very knowledgeable collectors and historians on this forum! Great acquisition!!! 👍

[SARGE]

Bugme said:

Wow, I'm not even into edged weapons and swords and this one impresses me! What great background, that some of the other members have found for you on this one. I love watching items go from not much information to the whole story in a matter of a few posts from some of the very knowledgeable collectors and historians on this forum! Great acquisition!!! 👍

 

I agree! 👍

 

Thanks for the research on Wood and his family Raidergirl. It sounds like this is the right fellow. The Boston connection is strong and I bet you are right about his daughter and WRC No.138. The sword came from Simmons in Boston so that keeps it all in the immediate area.

 

[patchtrader864]

🤔 no COL. Albert Wood or any Albert Wood listed with the 4th mass . [militia] during the civil war. what gar post #? patchtrader864

[usmcraidergirl]

patchtrader864 said:

🤔 no COL. Albert Wood or any Albert Wood listed with the 4th mass . [militia] during the civil war. what gar post #? patchtrader864

 

Yeah, I did a soldier search and even looked for names similar and similar combination. But, I only found the previously mentioned Albert Wood, the surgeon. Oddly a guy in Boston also went by "Col. Albert Wood" (i.e. the guy mentioned about) but when I checked him out he was very different from the identifiers on the surgeon.

 

I found this other "Col. Albert Wood" and the connection with the Fourth Regiment in the book by Jeanne Lloyd titled "The Minister's Double" (online link: The Minister's Double). That book talks about Col. Albert Wood and then also about his ancestors. It specifically says "was Col. of the Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Militia." No other details given, though. I tried double checking through Ancestry.com documents and the guy really did go by Col. Albert Wood. For instance, in A.M. Bridgman's book A Souvenir of Massachusetts Legislators, it speaks of former representative Albert Wood of Hopkinton, MA (the guy I gave info in the previous post about) as "Col. Albert Wood, grandfather of Representative Wood, was a member of the House from Hopkinton in 1857" (from A Souvenir of Massachusetts Legislators).

 

But again I couldn't find any other military-related history on the guy. WEIRD.

 

Also, no GAR number was given either. Just mentioned he was a member of the GAR. Perhaps if someone knows how to get Massachusetts GAR rosters then maybe that would provide the clue?

[patchtrader864]

🤔 Albert Wood the surgeon was 30 years old from Tewksbury masssachusetts

🤔 the 29th mass had seven companies from the 3d and 4th mass reg

👍 the 29th was part of Meagher's Irish Brigade

🤔 the 4th mass [ miliitia ] reg. existed before the civil war the boston wood may of been the col . of the 4th before the war .Patchtrader864

[usmcraidergirl]

patchtrader864 said:

🤔 Albert Wood the surgeon was 30 years old from Tewksbury masssachusetts

🤔 the 29th mass had seven companies from the 3d and 4th mass reg

👍 the 29th was part of Meagher's Irish Brigade

🤔 the 4th mass [ miliitia ] reg. existed before the civil war the boston wood may of been the col . of the 4th before the war .Patchtrader864

 

That's a thought. Perhaps a contact to a historical archive there in Boston might find the answer...

 

At least now he has plenty to go off of.

[SARGE]

patchtrader864 said:

asst. surgeon 29th mass inf 7/31/1862 to 7/24/1863--- surgeon 1st mass cav 7/26/1863 to 11/1/1864 no rank is listed . i also have a sword like this know i have to go look at it . Patchtrader864 👍

 

Thanks to both of you for your help. 👍

 

If I recall correctly, Asst. Surgeon was roughly equivalent to a Lieutenant rank while Surgeon was often the same as Captain. I will have to look that up but it gives me another avenue of research. I know that these Staff & Field positions (both Surgeons and Colonels) are sometimes hard to find on rosters because they are often on different Staff rolls. Anyway, I appreciate all of your help.

[SARGE]

It was a beautiful day today so I took my bottle of amonia outside and decided to clean up a couple of recently aquired swords. This is the result of careful cleaning on this one. All the old tobacco smoke and grunge is now gone from the sword and there was quite a lot of original gilt left. I am a very happy camper with the result.

 

[SCF-Collector]

Might already have all this information, but just in case.

 

I happen to have a copy of "Roster of Regimental Surgeons and Assistance Surgeons in the US Medical Department During the Civil War". I looked up Albert Woods - only one listed.

 

Surgeon, 1st Mass Cavalry, to November 1864

 

Assistant Surgeon, 29th Mass Infantry - indicates he transferred to 1st Mass Cavalry August 1863.

 

One entry lists his home town as Worcester.

 

There is also a notation for both entries indicating that he was apparently a US Examining Surgeon for the Pension Office.

 

I figured that little tidbit might be worth the entry.

 

P.S. I've got a copy of the 1st Mass Cavalry regimental around here somewhere - but it's in a storage box (ran out of bookshelf space) and I can't lay my hands on it at the moment. When I get a chance I'll take a look and see if there's any additional information there.

[Jerry357]

Hi Guys, Thanks so much for this thread. My Dad recently passed away and I found this sword in his gun collection. It appears to be of the same type you have been discussing. It has S.V. engraved on it as well as W.M. Ketchen Tariffville Conn. at the base. It also has the dates 1861-65 inscribed on it. First question. How did you get the blade so shiney? as you can see mine is quite dull and hard to make out all the engraving. Second question. Any ideas where to start looking into the history of this sword. Im sure much more to come. Im looking forward to the journey. Thanks

 

 

[SARGE]

Jerry,

 

Thanks for showing your SUV sword.  You can glean some information on your sword by reading the description of mine above.  For instance you now know your sword was the second type dating after circa 1889.  

 

As to cleaning, if it were my sword I would not do much to it.  The brass hilt appears to be covered with clear lacquer rather than gilt so I would perhaps clean it with a bit of ammonia (outside only with a mask) so as not to remove the current finish.  I would leave the leather grip alone and only clean it with a soft used tooth brush.  As to the dark blade, I might get a little more aggressive and clean it with 0000 fine steel wool and gun oil.  I would first try gun oil alone and see how it looks.  It will not look bright unless you over clean it IMHO.

 

I hope this helps.