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This item WAS NOT SOLD. Auction date was 2002 May 10 @ 10:00UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
CIVIL WAR TIFFANY PRESENTATION SWORD 3RD MINNESOTA. Presentation grade Tiffany sword inscribed on the guard "PRESENTED TO HENRY C. LESTER COL. CMDG IIID REGMT MINN VOL by the LINE OFFICERS of his regiment in the field April 14th, 1862 in token of their high regard and confidence." A fine Tiffany sword, with coin-silver wire-wrapped grip, terminating in a torso and helmet of a gladiator, the guard cast with floral and martial motifs with "US" visible in a pierced ground, the quillon a snarling lion, all with gold wash. The blade is stamped "Collins and Co. Hartford, Conn" and acid-etched "Tiffany and Co. NY" with "1861" on the reverse. The blade is acid etched, on one side with a cupid, and floral and martial motifs surrounding "U.S." The other side is etched with a cupid holding a standard, various floral and martial motifs and a full-standing figure of an officer. Overall length, including hilt, 38.5." The scabbard is nickeled brass, with elaborate gilded mounts, the topmost marked "Tiffany & Co." on a raised ribbon, below which is engraved in a shield "H.C. Lester Col. 3rd Regt M.V." The drag is elaboratedly chased with an eagle, a patriotic shield, and various geometric motifs. The brilliance of Lester's sword is diminished only by his subsequent conduct in action against Nathan Bedford Forrest that led to his dismissal from service in December 1862. The unfortunate affair took place at Murfreesboro, Tennessee on July 13, 1862 and has recently been revisited by author Gerald J. Prokopowicz in his book All For The Regiment: The Army of the Ohio, 1861-1862. The 3rd Minnesota was part of a novice 800-man force that included part of the 9th Michigan Infantry, a Kentucky battery and two Pennsylvania cavalry companies assigned to the defense of the critical Murfreesboro railroad junction. The senior Colonel, William W. Duffield of the 9th Michigan, was technically in command, but answered to both Brig. Gen. Ormsby Mitchell (commanding the Third Division, Army of the Ohio) and Brig. Gen. Ebenezer Dumont at Nashville. Further complicating matters, General Don Carlos Buell, had recently assigned another Brigadier, Thomas Crittenden, to take direct command of all Union troops at Murfreesboro on June 30. The strategic importance of Murfreesboro, and the vulnerability of the Union lines-of-communication, were not lost on Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest who set out from McMinnville on July 9 with the express purpose of destroying the railroad and supply depot. Forrest reached Murfreesboro on July 12 with about 1400 horsemen, and proceeded to reconnoiter the town's defenses in preparation for the attack. Incredibly, he found the camps of the 9th Michigan and 3rd Minnesota separated by more than a mile, and the main roads unguarded by cavalry pickets. Unbeknownst to Forrest, the chaotic state of affairs inside Murfreesboro were still being sorted out with the arrival of Crittenden that day, and the return of Duffield from detached service. Without hesitating, Forrest attacked at dawn on the morning of the 13th and quickly overran the camp of the Pennsylvania cavalrymen. Nearby, 250 men of the startled 9th Michigan returned a desultory fire from scattered pockets. Colonel Duffield was captured in the first rebel charge. Forrest withdrew his main body, and proceeded to lay siege to Murfreesboro's courthouse -- defended by Company B of the 9th Michigan. After several hours of fighting, the courthouse was set afire and the Michigan defenders surrendered. Elsewhere in town, General Crittenden and his staff were taken prisoner, along with isolated pockets of 9th Michigan men still holding out. Hearing the sound of battle not far away, Lester drew up the 3rd Minnesota with a battery in support, and advanced a short distance toward town before encountering Forrest's cavalry screen that caused him to halt and deploy skirmishers. Forrest's men were driven away, but Lester remained stationary despite pleas from Lt. Colonel Parkhurst in charge of about 150 Wolverines who continued to resist. As Lester deliberated, his recently vacated camp went up in flames behind him. At noon, Forrest demanded the surrender of the remnants of the 9th Michigan. After consulting with his officers and the wounded Duffield, Parkhurst acquiesced. Forrest now concocted a ruse to force Lester's surrender and end the battle. He sent word to Lester inviting him to confer with the captured Colonel Duffield in Murfreesboro. Colonel Lester's route into town was lined with as many gray horsemen as Forrest could muster giving the uncertain, perhaps bewildered, Lester the impression that he was hopelessly outnumbered. Lester claimed to have consulted with Duffield and was allowed to return to the 3rd Minnesota. He referred "the matter of surrender to my officers" as Duffield, the superior officer, was alleged to have suggested. The question was put to a vote with five opting to fight, four voting to surrender and two abstentions. Lester was apparently not willing to risk a decision on a five to four vote and insisted upon a second vote, this time by secret ballot. The subsequent discussion must have become venomous. Two indignant company officers refused to participate and returned to their men in line of battle. Another officer questioned Duffield's authority in the matter, at least insofar as Colonel Lester had presented it. In the end the secret ballot favored surrender, and the 3rd Minnesota passed into captivity without having lost a man in the fight. The repercussions were severe and immediate. Forrest paroled the officers and men and they marched to Camp Chase with utter contempt for Lester. Letters written by participants record how the "Minnesota boys spent a good share of their time in cursing Col Lester for his cowardice." The two votes had also divided the company officers. Instead of the Tiffany sword and their previously inscribed "high regard and confidence" in their Colonel, he was dismissed from the service in December 1862, being the only officer held to account for the debacle at Murfreesboro. General Crittenden was absolved of any responsibility in a January 1863 court of inquiry -- after Lester was out and could no longer testify. "That devil Forrest" soon became the scourge of middle-Tennessee and the bane of every Union commander he encountered. Without hyperbole it can be said that Forrest's subsequent reputation was born on Henry Lester's sword as the northern press got wind of the story and inflated Forrest's mystic qualities. Was Colonel Lester's conduct at Murfreesboro grounds for dismissal or was he a convenient scapegoat? Arguably, Henry Lester did not demonstrate the leadership qualities necessary for command, but taken as a whole his conduct and actions in the prevailing circumstances should have been defended in light of obvious mitigating factors. Hilt with minor loss of original gilding and several blackened areas that can likely be cleaned. The blade is gleaming, with an overall "frosty" appearance remaining to etching, with just hints of scattered pitting near ricasso. The lower two-thirds of the scabbard has lost its nickel-plating and is very lightly pitted. A superior sword. PLEASE NOTE: THIS LOT WILL BE SOLD ON EBAY LIVE AUCTIONS BETWEEN 4:00-5:00pm EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME ON MAY 10, 2002. REGISTER NOW TO BID LIVE ONLINE THE DAY OF THE SALE! (EST 15000-20000)
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United States
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11:00 AM Day of Sale.
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