Excavated Enfield Musket Sight, Gavin Collection

This is another rare piece being offered, it is the rear sight from a Model 1853 Enfield musket. It is very rare to find an excavated sight which is complete and still moves. There is an example of this sight in Civil War Artifacts - A Guide for the Historian, by Howard Crouch (see pictures). It was recovered many years ago at the Fair Oaks, Virginia Battlefield by William Gavin.

On May 31, 1862, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston attempted to overwhelm two Federal corps that appeared isolated south of the Chickahominy River. The Confederate assaults, although not well coordinated, succeeded in driving back the IV Corps and inflicting heavy casualties. Reinforcements arrived, and both sides fed more and more troops into the action. Supported by the III Corps and Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick's division of Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner's II Corps (which crossed the rain-swollen river on Grapevine Bridge), the Federal position was finally stabilized. Gen. Johnston was seriously wounded during the action, and command of the Confederate army devolved temporarily to Maj. Gen. G.W. Smith. On June 1, the Confederates renewed their assaults against the Federals, who had brought up more reinforcements, but made little headway. Both sides claimed victory. Although the battle was tactically inconclusive, it was the largest battle in the Eastern Theater up to that time (and second only to Shiloh in terms of casualties thus far, about 11,000 total) and marked the end of the Union offensive, leading to the Seven Days Battles and Union retreat in late June.

This item is from the collection of the late William G. "Bill" Gavin (1924 - 2010), who was one of the nation's most prominent and esteemed Civil War relic collectors. Following graduation from West Point [Class of 1946], Gavin became a pioneer in applying WWII mine-detector technology to relic hunting. Along the way, he became an avid historian whose collection, with its origins dating back to the 1930's, was enhanced by his acute knowledge of battlefield troop movements.

Mr. Gavin shared his Civil War knowledge via the publication of four books and several magazine articles. In 1963 he authored one of the earliest books on relic buckles Accoutrement Plates North and South, 1861-65, and in the 1970s established the Rectory Museum in Harper's Ferry. He was also the owner of “Happy Retreat”, the 18th century home of Charles Washington, youngest brother of George Washington, located in Charles Town, WV.
 
This piece is in excellent excavated condition and comes with the glass top display case pictured. (SOLD)