Civil War Brass Cased religious icon

This is truly a unique item being offered, it is a brass cased, religious pocket icon, measuring just over an inch when closed. The statue inside is the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus – there are no markings.

During the Civil War, many soldiers were religious, especially the Irish, and were known to carry these types of articles. It is thought that carrying such an item would keep the soldier protected. A while back I had one of these that was dug at the Chancellorsville Battlefield and in my book “The Civil War Soldier – His Personal Items”, I have a similar excavated example shown that was dug at the Wilderness Battlefield (see pictures). I go into more detail about the importance of religion with Civil War soldiers.

There are the signs of use but overall, it is in very nice condition - having a beautiful untouched patina. I have only come across a few of these in the past 25+ years. This would make an excellent piece for a soldier’s personal effects display. It comes in the glass top display case pictured.