Civil War Belt Buckle

Things a soldier would carry other than firearms, ammo, or uniforms. Meaning equipment such as ammo pouches, bayonets, holsters, oil cans, cleaning equipment, etc.

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Niner
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Location: Lower Alabama

Civil War Belt Buckle

Post by Niner » Fri Mar 24, 2023 6:48 pm

About thirty or so years ago Dixie Gun Works, a major BP supplier of all sorts of related things, offered what was said to be a replica of a belt buckle found at a site near Mobile where the 21st Alabama Regiment had been during the Civil War. The maker was said to have been a reenactor who found an original and then made a mold and was offering reproductions. I bought one.

Recently, I found a facebook page dedicated to the "Campaign of Mobile" during the Civil War. Several of the participants were popular history writers, state employed park officials, etc. I posted about the buckle I found and wondered if anyone had a reason to believe it was genuine. Well... nothing much other than such were among the several designs made during the war. One "authority" said some like it was a reproduction of one model cast in Georgia. Nobody seemed to know what kind of uniform belt buckles the regiment had actually.

However, today a guy posted that a relative dug one up last year in his back yard located in a relatively new subdivision within a few miles of the conflict sites of Spanish Fort and Blakely. Blakeley is the modern spelling. I'll attach the photo of the one I have as a reproduction and the one the man posted on the site. The genuine image first. My reproduction second.

There were other Confederate Regiments around of course , but at least it's maybe a possibility that Dixie was telling the truth to some extent.
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Niner
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Posts: 11519
Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2003 1:00 pm
Location: Lower Alabama

Re: Civil War Belt Buckle

Post by Niner » Fri Apr 14, 2023 10:13 pm

I neglected to post this link I posted to the facebook string. Seems one like that original buckle was sold by someone who deals in such things....in good condition ...for over $4000.

Scroll down about three quarters of the page linked. Notice the book image in black and white. One found in, or maybe produced, Monroe County Alabama. That's only about a hundred miles away from Mobile an the battles at Spanish Fort and Blakeley.

https://www.journeysendantiques.com/cop ... MjaylC0vGo
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