LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 December Signature Texana Auction #661  / 

56464

Troiani: Private, US Corps. of Engineers.

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Militaria Start Price:1,150.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 - 2,000.00 USD
Troiani: Private, US Corps. of Engineers.
<B>Don Troiani: </B></I><B><I>Sapper Private, U.S. Corps of Engineers, 1847.</B></I></B></I><BR> Gouache on paper, 10" x 14.75" within matted frame.<BR>Prior to the outbreak of the Mexican War, there had been no enlisted troops in the Corps of Engineers since 1820. However, on 15 May 1846, Congress added a "Company of Sappers, Miners and Bombardiers" to the Corps, consisting of 10 sergeants, 10 corporals two musicians, and 72 privates, commanded by a captain and two lieutenants of engineers (one of which was George B. McClellan, who would later command the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War). Joining Winfield Scott's army in time for the siege of Vera Cruz, they were soon dubbed the "pick and shovel brigade" by infantrymen. The joke was soon reversed, as the engineers were responsible for supervising infantry troops detailed to provide the "muscle" labor of siege warfare. The engineer company was finally able to prove their fighting abilities during the Battle of Cerro Gordo, when they joined Colonel Harney's assault on the main Mexican works. From that point on, the company was placed in the vanguard of the army's advance and fought at Contreras and Churubusco. Its crowning achievement in combat would occur during the capture of Mexico City. During the September 15, 1847 assault on heavily-fortified San Cosme Gateway, the engineer troops, supported by some infantry, "broke through the walls from house to house" with picks, crowbars and axes until they reached the rooftop command of the Mexican battery, which they then enfiladed with a heavy fire, helping bring about the retreat of the enemy. Unlike the majority of foot soldiers in the U.S. Army, who were clothed in sky blue jackets and trousers and carried flintlock muskets, the elite Company of Sappers, Miners and Pontoniers were clothed in a uniform consisting of a dark blue jacket, with black velvet collar and yellow and red trim and sky blue trousers with black edging and armed with the new Model 1842 percussion musket. Their forage caps bore the brass castle device of the Corps of Engineers. Don Troiani, acclaimed as the best living American artist specializing in historical subjects, has depicted a private of this famous unit as he might have appeared during the taking of San Cosme Gateway. <BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Framed - with Glass, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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