CDV, General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick

The first Regular U.S. Army officer to be wounded in action during the Civil War, June 1861

Colonel 2nd New York Cavalry

He was wounded again in the 1864 Atlanta, Georgia campaign

United States Minister to Chile

From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861

(1836-81) Born near Deckertown, New Jersey, he graduated in the West Point class of May...  

CDV, General George G. Meade

Union commander who defeated General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg

(1815-1872) He was born in Cádiz, Spain, to a wealthy merchant and banking family from Philadelphia. He graduated in the West Point class of 1835, and fought with distinction in the Second Seminole War, and the Mexican War where he earned a brevet for gallantry in the battles at Monterey. He served in the United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers, and led construction of lighthouses in Florida and New Jersey from 1851 to 1856, and the United States Lake...  

CDV, General Robert O. Tyler

In the Battle of Gettysburg, Tyler's 130 guns pounded General George E. Pickett's advancing Confederate columns as they attempted to storm Cemetery Ridge, on July 3, 1863

Colonel of the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery

Wounded in action at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Va. in June 1864

(1831-74) A nephew of Union General Daniel Tyler, he was born in Hunter, New York, graduated from West Point in 1853, and entered the artillery branch of the U.S. service. At the military academy he was classmates of future Union generals James B....  

CDV, General Samuel W. Crawford

He commanded several artillery pieces at Fort Sumter during the Confederate bombardment that started the Civil War in April 1861

Severely wounded at the Battles of Antietam, Maryland, and at the Weldon Railroad, Virginia

(1829-92) Born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Medical School in 1850. The following year he accepted an appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army and served at various points on the western frontier until 1860. He was stationed at Fort Moultrie, in...  

Civil War Cannon Friction Primer Excavated at Gettysburg

Recovered at Culp's Hill, Gettysburg

From the famous Rosensteel Gettysburg collection

Excavated friction primer. This is a short copper tube that would have been filled with gun powder, and it has a perpendicular spur that would have been filled with a priming mixture. It was a device used to initiate the firing of a muzzle loading cannon. The friction primer was inserted into the vent of a cannon, and when it was ignited it caused a spark like a match that ignited the powder charge within the cannon chamber which caused the gun to...  

Gettysburg National Museum Commemorative Cover

9 1/2 x 4 1/4, envelope featuring an illustration of President Lincoln at left. Imprint reads, Gettysburg National Museum, Inc., Gettysburg, Pa., World's Largest Collection of American Civil War Relics. Below this is President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and at the bottom is, See The Battle Of Gettysburg Re-Enacted On The Electric Map, "One of America's Greatest Attractions." Circular date stamped, Gettysburg, Pa., Nov. 19, 1963, 3 PM, with a 5 cents U.S. Battle of Gettysburg postage stamp that is stamped in black "Pray For Peace."...  

CDV, General J.E.B. Stuart

Killed at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, Virginia, in May 1864, by troopers of General Phil Sheridan's cavalry

(1833-1864) Born at Laurel Hill Farm, a plantation in Patrick County, Virginia, as James Ewell Brown Stuart. His father, Archibald Stuart, was a War of 1812 veteran, attorney, and Democratic politician who represented Patrick County in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, and also served in the United States Congress. His great-grandfather, Major Alexander Stuart, fought in the Revolutionary War. He graduated #13 in the West...  

Portrait, General Daniel E. Sickles

Murdered Philip Barton Key, II across the street from the White House!

Severely wounded at Gettysburg resulting in the amputation of his leg

Medal of Honor Recipient for heroism at the Battle of Gettysburg

United States Congressman & New York State Senator

(1819-1914) Born in New York City, he was a controversial New York State senator and congressman. He first achieved national notoriety in 1859 when he shot down, in the shadows of the White House, his young wife's lover, Philip Barton Key, II, who was the son of the...  

CDV, General Richard S. Ewell

Lost a leg at the 1862 battle of Groveton, Virginia

(1817-1872) Born in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., he was raised in Prince William County, Virginia, from the age of 3, at an estate near Manassas known as "Stony Lonesome." He was the grandson of Benjamin Stoddert, the first United States Secretary of the Navy; the grandson of Revolutionary War Colonel Jesse Ewell; and the younger brother of Benjamin Stoddert Ewell, an 1832 West Point grad, and a U.S. and Confederate army officer. Richard graduated in the West Point class of 1840,...  

CDV, General Winfield S. Hancock

Commanded the 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg where he was seriously wounded repulsing Pickett's Charge!

United States Presidential Candidate in 1880

(1824-1886) Winfield Scott Hancock and his identical twin brother, Hilary Baker Hancock, were born in Montgomery Square, Pennsylvania, a hamlet just northwest of Philadelphia. Winfield was named after Winfield Scott, a prominent U.S. general in the War of 1812, and the Mexican War, and who was commander-in-chief of the Union armies at the beginning of the Civil War. He...  

Photograph, Jennie Wade of Gettysburg

She was the only civilian killed during the Battle of Gettysburg!

Wet plate photograph, 5 1/2 x 3 7/8, on thick 7 x 5 card mount. Shows a portrait of Jennie Wade at the upper right, the house where she was killed on July 3, 1863, at Gettysburg in the center, and her grave site monument in Evergreen Cemetery, Gettysburg, Pa., at left. Jennie Wade was 19 years old when she was killed in the kitchen of her sister's house, while baking bread for the Union soldiers. A stray Confederate sharpshooter's bullet pierced through two wooden doors and...  

President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address Commemorative Envelope

Honoring the 125th Anniversary of his immortal address at Gettysburg

7 3/8 x 4, commemorative envelope, with vignette of President Lincoln at left, and imprint at center, Commemorating the 125th Anniversary, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, 1863 November 19 1988, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Postmarked, Gettysburg, Pa., 17325, Nov. 19, 1988. There are 2 U.S. postage stamps at the upper right with one of them being the 3 cents commemorative stamp issued to honor the Gettysburg Address, and the second one depicting an American flag with a star...