Percussion cap tin with caps, dug at Devil's Den, Gettysburg, ex-Rosensteel collection

This is another rare piece coming out of the large Gettysburg collection I acquired.  It is a Civil War soldier’s revolver percussion cap tin still having some of the original .31 caliber caps in it; it has a diameter of 1 ½”. This piece was recovered by Iva Rosensteel at Devil’s Den, Gettysburg.

Iva was the sister of George Rosensteel, who was the founder of the Gettysburg National Museum and the famous Electric Map. John Rosensteel opened his “Round Top Museum” of Gettysburg artifacts in 1888 (see pictures). This is one of the items they had listed in their inventory log book having the number “49”.

The Rosensteels were, of course, the most famous artifact collecting family in Gettysburg and the bulk of the relics on display at today's Gettysburg National Park Visitor Center come from the Rosensteels.

There is a creek in this area of the battlefield known as “The Valley of Death”. The official name of the creek running through the Valley of Death between Devils Den and the Round Tops is Plum Run, but it gained its second name after the slow stream ran red with the blood of fallen soldiers for a few hours in July 1863.

With the heavy rain on July 4th, 1863, it overflowed the banks and drowned some wounded men who had not been collected yet – reportedly all Confederates. The valley was littered with so many bodies that it was over a week after the battle ended before the fallen men could all be buried.

In my book “Battle of Gettysburg – The Relics, Artifacts & Souvenirs”, I show similar pieces that were recovered at Gettysburg and go into more details on the Rosensteels (see pictures). As expected, the tin is in rusted condition but still remains stable and is just as found. Because of the thin metal, very few of these tins survived, and almost unheard of still containing original caps.

Although not exactly a very rare piece by itself, the recovery location is the driving force behind its value. Devil’s Den relics are very hard to come by – being that now it is illegal to dig on the Gettysburg battlefield, now the only surviving relics are in museums or private collections.

This Gettysburg relic not only has wonderful provenance, but it was also found at one of the most famous locations on the battlefield.  It comes in the glass top display case pictured. A certificate of authenticity will be provided with this artifact.