James E Burns MVM Shooting Medals – Witness At Sacco-Vanzetti Trail

This group of three medals belonged to James E. Burns, who was a soldier in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, and over his time had been awarded medals for both championships with rifle and pistol competitions .  This group includes a bronze medal with “Douglas Trophy” engraved on the pin brooch, and it was given by the 6th Mass Infantry, and is not named.  The next medal is a 2nd Class bronze Marksman’s Badge dated 1889, with a second bar for 1890.  The last is silver dated 1906, and is identified at the “Rogers Trophy.”

The largest of these is the first in line at 2.5 inches in height (Douglas Trophy).

Condition is very good.

In a famous 1921 Sacco & Vanzetti trial, Burns was called in as a witness for the Defense, an expert in ballistics, working at the time as Ballistic engineer, for the United States Cartridge Company.

In his own words, this is how Burns described himself to the defense attorney in the Sacco- Vanzetti Trial: ”

“…… I like shooting and I have followed the rifle game in the militia. I have been in the militia eighteen years, followed the rifle game, shot on the Massachusetts team and won distinguished marksmanship in the United States with the rifle; with the shotgun, an expert, and shot on the Eastern team against the West in 1893 and beat them. Pistol, I won the championship of Massachusetts.”

His testimony can be seen at: (https://www.famous-trials.com/saccovanzetti/792-burnstestimony).

“The and Vanzetti Trial: for a generation of Americans, the names of the two Italian anarchists are forever linked. Questions surrounding their 1921 trial for the murders of a paymaster and his guard bitterly divided a nation. As the two convicted men and their supporters struggled on through appellate courts and clemency petitions to avoid the electric chair, public interest in their case continued to grow. As the end drew near, in August 1927, hundreds of thousands of people–from Boston and New York to London and Buenos Aires–took to the streets in protest of what they perceived to be a massive miscarriage of justice.” 

Taken from the site with a great history on this historic trial, with so much more information. (https://www.famous-trials.com/saccovanzetti/766-home).

Three nice MVM medals with a little side history to go with them.