LARGE LOT OF CUSTER ERA 7TH CAVALRY UNIFORMS & MATERIAL.

LARGE LOT OF CUSTER ERA 7TH CAVALRY UNIFORMS & MATERIAL. This lot was the property of John Walsh. Mr. Walsh was apparently a Private, having enlisted in the 7th Cavalry, Company M, on 15 March 1871 and was discharged 16 March 1876, just three months before the infamous Custer massacre at the Little Big Horn. Mr. Walsh remained active in the Veterans of the Indian Wars organization and attended several of their meetings & reunions. Mr. Walsh was apparently stationed at Ft. Lincoln, SD and rode with General Stanley’s Yellowstone expedition in 1873, the fight at Tongue River, August 4, 1873, the fight at the Big Horn, August 11, 1873 and was with Gen. Custer’s Black Hills expedition in 1874. These campaigns are listed as his “RECORD OF SERVICE” on the back of his discharge paper and signed by Capt. French, commander of Company M. On the front of the discharge paper Capt. French listed his character as excellent and had no objection to his re-enlistment, to which Mr. Walsh apparently did not avail himself. There are numerous newspaper clippings regarding Mr. Walsh & his service including one as a very old man but still wearing his 7th Cavalry uniform. Others speak of his Custer service. There is a reproduced photo of Custer’s troops, with all of his supply wagons, artillery, etc. apparently taken at Ft. Hayes, KS in 1874. There are two other photos, a tin type of a young soldier in field uniform wearing his sword and holding a Sharps carbine with eagle waist belt and carbine sling with a kepi having the Company M 7th Cavalry emblem on the top. The other is a CDV size of apparently the same young man in dress tunic holding his sword in his left hand and his parade helmet with long aiguillette. Another CDV is of Maj. Gen. Custer. Another picture is about a 4″ x 6″ of Mr. Walsh wearing his uniform tunic and kepi with 7th Cavalry crossed sabers and his Indian Wars Veteran medal. Also enclosed is a map “Big Horn and Yellowstone / Expedition of 1876 / By General Charles King”. Another item is a directory of the National Indian Wars Veterans, San Francisco, 1920, which lists Mr. Walsh on p. 23. Another inclusion is a very rare copy of “Rice’s Township Map of Dakota and the Black Hills 1876” in color. Also included is a small booklet regarding the Custer Battlefield printed by the Burlington Railroad. Another photo is of five old veterans with Mr. Walsh amongst them.

More importantly are the following items that were the property of Mr. Walsh. First we have his 7th Cavalry kepi with crossed sabers and a “7” on the front with the company designation missing. Then we have his blue &yellow dress tunic with small “7”‘s on the collar. It has nine eagle buttons down the front and three smaller ones on each sleeve cuff with yellow epaulets and yellow flashes on the tail at the back with more eagle buttons. Also we have a pair of blue wool pants that are marked on the inside band “United States Marines”. This appears to be the uniform that Mr. Walsh was wearing in one of the newspaper pictures and a photo. Additionally included is a leather dress helmet with long yellow aiguillette and a long yellow horsehair tassel. It has a gold washed eagle on the front with crossed saber buttons on each side securing the chinstrap. There is also his Indian Wars Period, brass, eagle buckle with silver wreath and his sword belt with matching numbered tab. Additionally there is his carbine sling with metal snap hook and roller D-ring along with the sword hangers to the belt. There is also the Walsh family Bible with John Walsh listed as having been born June 6, 1852. There are the following books accompanying; A TROOPER WITH CUSTER, Brininstool, CAVALRY TACTICS 1841, ON THE PLAINS WITH CUSTER, Sabin, 5th Edition, and a small booklet from 1926 by the National Custer Memorial Association. Additionally there is a small black fedora with “NIWV” badge on the front and a red & black hatband with acorn ends. There is also a 10″ x 8″ photo of a group of veterans posing with most of them wearing their NIWV fedoras with Mr. Walsh in the front row wearing this uniform and kepi. There is also a rare 1st production Dyer patern, Mod 1874, carbine cartridge pouch, marked “U.S./WATERVILET/ARSENAL” with two belt loops on the back. We also have a glass top case containing souvenirs from the battlefield allegedly obtained by Mr. Walsh. They consist of a couple of horse’s teeth, some bone fragments with a complete small bone. There are two Benet primed 45-70 rnds and two Benet primed 45 revolver rnds. Also in the case is Mr. Walsh’s National Indian War Veteran’s reunion ribbon, a 50th anniversary Custer Battle Medal & Ribbon, his original Indian Wars Medal and nine eagle uniform buttons. There is also an Indian Wars veteran enameled lapel pin, a steel watch chain, a sword hook and a cardboard cap box. Lastly included is Mr. Walsh’s burial flag. It appears to be a 48-star flag, neatly folded in a triangle. This lot represents some of the more fascinating authentic accoutrements from the famous 7th Cavalry to come to market in many years. While Trooper Walsh was fortunate enough to have left the military prior to June 25, 1876, he still saw frontier service and participated in several campaigns in that area. CONDITION: Uniform is fine with no apparent mothing with slight staining & soiling to the lining. Kepi shows moderate to heavy wear with re-stitched sweatband and the liner a little loose. Fedora is dusty but fine. Helmet has been pressed out of shape and has a dent in the top but is complete. A couple of books have loose spines, the Bible a cracked spine; otherwise everything else is very fine. 4-54132 (45,000-75,000)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2005

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	736A.	$80,500.00	LARGE LOT OF CUSTER ERA 7TH CAVALRY UNIFORMS & MATERIAL. This lot was the property of John Walsh. Mr. Walsh was apparently a Private, having enlisted in the 7th Cavalry, Company M, on 15 March 1871 and was discharged 16 March 1876, just three months before the infamous Custer massacre at the Little Big Horn. Mr. Walsh remained active in the Veterans of the Indian Wars organization and attended several of their meetings & reunions. Mr. Walsh was apparently stationed at Ft. Lincoln, SD and rode with General Stanley’s Yellowstone expedition in 1873, the fight at Tongue River, August 4, 1873, the fight at the Big Horn, August 11, 1873 and was with Gen. Custer’s Black Hills expedition in 1874. These campaigns are listed as his “RECORD OF SERVICE” on the back of his discharge paper and signed by Capt. French, commander of Company M. On the front of the discharge paper Capt. French listed his character as excellent and had no objection to his re-enlistment, to which Mr. Walsh apparently did not avail himself. There are numerous newspaper clippings regarding Mr. Walsh & his service including one as a very old man but still wearing his 7th Cavalry uniform. Others speak of his Custer service. There is a reproduced photo of Custer’s troops, with all of his supply wagons, artillery, etc. apparently taken at Ft. Hayes, KS in 1874. There are two other photos, a tin type of a young soldier in field uniform wearing his sword and holding a Sharps carbine with eagle waist belt and carbine sling with a kepi having the Company M 7th Cavalry emblem on the top. The other is a CDV size of apparently the same young man in dress tunic holding his sword in his left hand and his parade helmet with long aiguillette. Another CDV is of Maj. Gen. Custer. Another picture is about a 4″ x 6″ of Mr. Walsh wearing his uniform tunic and kepi with 7th Cavalry crossed sabers and his Indian Wars Veteran medal. Also enclosed is a map “Big Horn and Yellowstone / Expedition of 1876 / By General Charles King”. Another item is a directory of the National Indian Wars Veterans, San Francisco, 1920, which lists Mr. Walsh on p. 23. Another inclusion is a very rare copy of “Rice’s Township Map of Dakota and the Black Hills 1876” in color. Also included is a small booklet regarding the Custer Battlefield printed by the Burlington Railroad. Another photo is of five old veterans with Mr. Walsh amongst them. More importantly are the following items that were the property of Mr. Walsh. First we have his 7th Cavalry kepi with crossed sabers and a “7” on the front with the company designation missing. Then we have his blue &yellow dress tunic with small “7”‘s on the collar. It has nine eagle buttons down the front and three smaller ones on each sleeve cuff with yellow epaulets and yellow flashes on the tail at the back with more eagle buttons. Also we have a pair of blue wool pants that are marked on the inside band “United States Marines”. This appears to be the uniform that Mr. Walsh was wearing in one of the newspaper pictures and a photo. Additionally included is a leather dress helmet with long yellow aiguillette and a long yellow horsehair tassel. It has a gold washed eagle on the front with crossed saber buttons on each side securing the chinstrap. There is also his Indian Wars Period, brass, eagle buckle with silver wreath and his sword belt with matching numbered tab. Additionally there is his carbine sling with metal snap hook and roller D-ring along with the sword hangers to the belt. There is also the Walsh family Bible with John Walsh listed as having been born June 6, 1852. There are the following books accompanying; A TROOPER WITH CUSTER, Brininstool, CAVALRY TACTICS 1841, ON THE PLAINS WITH CUSTER, Sabin, 5th Edition, and a small booklet from 1926 by the National Custer Memorial Association. Additionally there is a small black fedora with “NIWV” badge on the front and a red & black hatband with acorn ends. There is also a 10″ x 8″ photo of a group of veterans posing with most of them wearing their NIWV fedoras with Mr. Walsh in the front row wearing this uniform and kepi. There is also a rare 1st production Dyer patern, Mod 1874, carbine cartridge pouch, marked “U.S./WATERVILET/ARSENAL” with two belt loops on the back. We also have a glass top case containing souvenirs from the battlefield allegedly obtained by Mr. Walsh. They consist of a couple of horse’s teeth, some bone fragments with a complete small bone. There are two Benet primed 45-70 rnds and two Benet primed 45 revolver rnds. Also in the case is Mr. Walsh’s National Indian War Veteran’s reunion ribbon, a 50th anniversary Custer Battle Medal & Ribbon, his original Indian Wars Medal and nine eagle uniform buttons. There is also an Indian Wars veteran enameled lapel pin, a steel watch chain, a sword hook and a cardboard cap box. Lastly included is Mr. Walsh’s burial flag. It appears to be a 48-star flag, neatly folded in a triangle. This lot represents some of the more fascinating authentic accoutrements from the famous 7th Cavalry to come to market in many years. While Trooper Walsh was fortunate enough to have left the military prior to June 25, 1876, he still saw frontier service and participated in several campaigns in that area. CONDITION: Uniform is fine with no apparent mothing with slight staining & soiling to the lining. Kepi shows moderate to heavy wear with re-stitched sweatband and the liner a little loose. Fedora is dusty but fine. Helmet has been pressed out of shape and has a dent in the top but is complete. A couple of books have loose spines, the Bible a cracked spine; otherwise everything else is very fine. 4-54132 (45,000-75,000) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2005 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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