Rare – Brass Throat from a bayonet scabbard marked “R. DINGEE”, dug at Antietam

This is another nice piece being offered, it is the brass throat from a Civil War leather bayonet scabbard, measuring 2 ¾” x 1 ¾”. What is rare about this piece is that it is maker marked “R. DINGEE / N. YORK”. There is one pictured in “Civil War Artifacts”, by Howard Crouch (see pictures). He states “1830s U.S. Army bayonet scabbard throat with markings of ‘R. DINGEE N. YORK’, an early and prolific maker of many military items”. The one being offered here was recovered years ago by a Sharpsburg resident from the Antietam Battlefield.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee invaded Maryland in the late summer of 1862 and was intercepted by Union General George B. McClellan. Their armies met in the Battle of Antietam (or Battle of Sharpsburg) on September 17, 1862. This would become the single bloodiest day of the American Civil War and all of American military history, seeing nearly 23,000 casualties.

As I said, this is something that seldom shows up and this is an excellent opportunity to add a piece from one of the most famous Civil War battlefields. It comes in the glass top display case pictured.