Original Civil War Soldier’s Blackjack, as in museums and books

This is truly a rare and unique piece being offered, it is a Civil War Soldier’s Blackjack. It measures 9” long and has a diameter of 1 1/4” on the “business” end of the piece. It weighs 5-ounces, and the outside is covered in woven leather. There is one on exhibit in the Civil War National Museum in Harrisburg, PA (see pictures).

It is well documented that blackjacks were carried by some soldiers during the Civil War, maybe as a last line of defense or a rowdy card game. In the Time/Life Silver series, there is a very similar blackjack which belonged to a Confederate soldier from Louisiana and was found on the Gettysburg battlefield (see pictures). That same blackjack is also pictured in the book “J. Howard Wert’s Gettysburg Collection” (see pictures). In my book “The Civil War Soldier – His Personal Items”, I show blackjacks and discuss them in more detail (see pictures).

It is all intact, only a couple of small separations of the leather from age. Like I said, these crude weapons are rare, and examples such as this are impossible to find. What a great curiosity this would be with a display of a soldier’s personal effects.