Civil War Sword bayonet, recovered at Fort Harrison, same as one found on the Ironclad Monitor

This is another nice piece being offered, it is an excavated Civil War saber bayonet. It is the full heavy brass handle and 4 ½” of the blade remaining (snapped off, not rusted off). The overall measurement is 3 1/4” x 9 1/4” and it weighs 1-pound, 4-ounces. I acquired it directly from the digger who recovered it years ago at Fort Harrison, Virginia.

On September 29, 1864, 2,500 Union forces over ran and captured Fort Harrison. It was the strongest Confederate Fort on the Richmond-Petersburg line. The next day Lee personally organized a major effort to retake the fort but failed.

Fort Harrison consisted of a semi-circle of earthen works facing the Union lines. When the Union forces took it over, they built earthen works facing the opposite direction, thus completing a circle. The Union renamed Fort Harrison to Fort Burnham, after the Union General killed in the September 29th attack.

There are examples of this item in all the relic books as well as one that was recovered from the Ironclad “Monitor” and on display in the Mariners Museum in Virginia (see pictures). The Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum also has several in their collection (see pictures).

During the Civil War, most soldiers on both sides used socket bayonets, saber bayonets were considered somewhat rare (see pictures of complete bayonet). This is part of what makes this a unique relic.