Civil War period Baseball bat and lemon peel baseball belonging to Sergeant Major G. E. Tiffany, 15th Massachusetts Infantry, and Veteran Reserve Corp.
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Description
Civil War period Baseball bat and lemon peel baseball belonging to Sergeant Major G. E. Tiffany, 15th Massachusetts Infantry, and Veteran Reserve Corp.
The is approximately 36 1/2 inches long; has been repaired in the period with three iron flat head screws to fix a crack. Tiffany painted his name on the bat, and on a separate line and in a different lettering style, painted “Private.” This is not a rank, but a note to others that it was not for common use.
The bat is very light, with a combination of great old patina, and dings and gauges that may be more recent, like in the past 50 years give or take.
The lemon peel baseball has no markings; brown leather and made with some give (not overly hard; I have been told this was a Massachusetts style ball). All the stitching is tight; light scuffing.
I found Tiffany listed in the 15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, enlisting as a Sgt. Pulled some info on him from a CW data base. He was wounded at the Battle of Balls Bluff, Va, on Oct. 21, 1861 (a New York Time article dated 10/27/61, mentioned him as being wounded in the arm. A brief not in the 15th Mass history says he was a prisoner. He stayed with the regiment until 12/1/63 and transferred to the VRC where he made the rank of Sgt. Major.
To be safe, I checked for other Tiffany’s, and one was found in the 51st Indiana, KIA at Columbus, Tenn. on 11/26/64. But I doubt most strongly that he is the one. I have know about this bat for over 20 + years. It was found by a dealer friend in NH and sold to a Major Civil War collector in the Boston area, where I obtained it several weeks ago. The bat and ball have been displayed at major CW Shows.
A very historic lot for military and baseball history.
USPS POSTAGE: $20.00
Additional information
| Weight | 25 lbs |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 48 × 6 × 6 in |
