Exceptional Gold Presentation Sword to General Rufus King

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Treasures of the Civil War: Premier Auction

By Cowan's Auctions

Oct 31, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-10-31 10:00:00 2018-10-31 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Treasures of the Civil War: Premier Auction https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/cowans/treasures-of-the-civil-war-premier-auction-3522
Cowan's is honored to present the Magnificent Sword Collection of William Koch in its two-day firearms, militaria, and American history auction. Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com

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• Lot Description
  Exceptional Gold Presentation Sword to General Rufus King
  
  

  32.5" single-edged slightly curved spear-point blade with 5" false edge and nearly full-length stopped median fuller. 6.75" gold gilt hilt with beaded crown pommel cap and beaded globe finial. Cast gilt grip with stippled surface with six wraps of wide gilt decorative banding, cast as alternating rows of laurel leaves and smooth bands with stars. Flowing gilt upper quillon in the form of a classic helmet plume with a feathery base and forward swept beaded finial. Knuckle guard stippled and gilt with flowing foliate themes and oval center escutcheon set with an amethyst. Obverse grip set with three additional amethysts. Gilt folding clam shell-style counter-guard. Obverse ricasso with Weyersberg King's Head logo. Above the ricasso, the two-line dry needle etching reads non script: Bailey & Co / Philadelphia . Silver washed Damascus patterned blade with gold gilt acid etched panels including a Grecian urn with foliate sprays and additional foliate themes surrounding a large US within a sunburst on the obverse and flowing foliate patterns on the reverse that feature a spread-winged American ragle with a ribbon in its beak that reads E PLURIBUS UNUM as the central panel. Spine of sword etched with flowing vines and gold gilt as well. Scalloped red wool throat washer at hilt. Sword is contained in a gold gilt metal scabbard with highly ornamented brass mounts with beaded boarders that thematically connects with the beading on the pommel cap and quillon of the sword. Upper mount with two rings, bidding mount with a single ring. Scabbard body engraved with flowing foliate scrolls and sprays. Central panel between the two suspension mounts is engraved as follows: Presented to / Ten. Rufus King / By the 19th Ind. Vols at their Camp on Arlington Heights, VA / as a toke of respect for him as a Solider & a Gentleman / March 4, 1862 . Bailey & Company presentation swords are exceptionally rare, and this is a truly stunning example in outstanding condition.
  
  Born in New York City, Rufus King (1814-1876) was the first of four commanders of the feted Iron Brigade comprised of the 2nd, 6th and 7th Wisconsin, 19th Indiana, and 24th Michigan - hardy Midwestern farmers whose fighting spirit would be canonized as a theme of Army of the Potomac lore. King hailed from a highly respected and prosperous family with roots going back before the Revolution. Rufus King is inextricably linked with the famed Iron Brigade. Much of the Iron Brigade's vaunted reputation can be attributed to the plethora of Civil War Centennial literature that reintroduced the American Civil war to a broad base of captivated readers in the early 1960's. In fact, the Iron Brigade missed the entirety of the Peninsula campaign and was not engaged in any of the swirling Seven Days' fighting during June and July 1862. Rufus King commanded the iron brigade for only a short time before being promoted to division command and, in reality, it was the second brigade commander, John Gibbon, who " must get much of the credit for the high degree of military efficiency " attributed to the brigade. It was also Gibbon who equipped the brigade with its trademark 'Black Hats', the iconic Hardee hat with upturned brim favored by the Regulars.
  
  Rufus King excelled in the organization of the early Iron Brigade drawing upon his West Point education - he was Class of 1837 commissioned into the elite topographical engineers - and the four years he soldiered as Adjutant General of New York from 1839 to 1843. Setting aside his avocation as editor of the Milwaukee Sentinel after the bombardment of Fort Sumter, King became among the first of the volunteer brigadier generals when he was commissioned on May 17, 1861. King's Brigade as it would be known was not born until October 3, 1861 when the three Wisconsin regiments were joined with the 19th Indiana in Washington, D.C. to form the nucleus of future Iron Brigade. The 2nd Wisconsin had been in the eastern theater the longest, from June 20, 1861, and was the only regiment to see action at 1st Bull Run. Later in the summer the 6th Wisconsin arrived in Washington on July 28, then the 19th Indiana on August 5, followed by the 7th Wisconsin on September 21. Governor Randall of Wisconsin had originally planned to send an all-Wisconsin brigade to the east but its formation never materialized due to the pressing need to forward regiments to the front as quickly as they mustered in. As the late-comer in October 1862, the 24th Michigan was never associated with General King's brigade. King drilled and perfected his regiments during the fall and winter ensconced in the Washington Defenses. When the spring campaigning season arrived, the four original regiments would constitute the 3rd Brigade, McDowell's Division, in the 3rd Corps. When Rufus King was promoted to division command in early April 1862 - a month after this sword was presented - he effectively took leave of his Wisconsin and Indiana soldiers several months before General John Gibbon would lay the groundwork for their "Iron Brigade" sobriquet. The 19th Indiana was commanded by Solomon Meredith and would go on to amass a knot of battle honors but it is not known what, if any, special arrangement may have existed between General King and the Hoosiers that would have prompted the men to purchase this elaborate and costly presentation sword. While the likely existence of a period newspaper account of the sword presentation is presumed, one could not be readily located.
  
  General King has a short career as a division commander. He guarded the line of the Rappahannock during the early summer and did not participate in General McClellan's Peninsula Campaign, nor was he engaged in any of the swirling Seven Days' fighting later in June and July. Subsequently, Lincoln pressed for another drive on Richmond that summer, later to be known as the Second Bull Run Campaign. King's division was part McDowell's Corps in John Pope's army that Lee worried would combine with McClellan and overwhelm him. Splitting his army, Lee ordered Stonewall Jackson's Corps to march rapidly north towards Gordonville to intercept Pope. Meantime, King ordered his old brigade now under Gibbon to take a mixed force and carry out a reconnaissance to ascertain reports of a large body of Confederate infantry moving on Gordonsville. Near the Orange Court House, Gibbon learned that the whole of Jackson's Corps was in the vicinity. Gibbon was then drawn into a brief skirmish with Confederate cavalry screening Jackson, but quickly withdrew so as to report the intelligence to King. Pope had been ordered to pressure the Confederate line of communication between Richmond and Gordonsville and maneuvered two divisions - King's and Rickett's - of McDowell's Corps to prevent a linkage between Jackson and Longstreet. Essentially, General King pulled back without orders exposing Rickett's who, in turn, also withdraw. Jackson's 'foot cavalry" flanked the floundering Pope and captured the large supply depot at Manassas Junction on August 26 putting his corps between Pope and Washington. Pope went looking for a fight with Jackson but couldn't find the Confederates who had gone into defensive positions waiting for Lee to come up. On August 29, Jackson attacked a part of McDowell's Corps near Groveton in order to pin the Federals while Lee advanced with Longstreet's Corps. The reputation of the Iron Brigade was born at Groveton (Brawner's Farm) in the brutal fighting of August 28.The disastrous battle of 2nd Bull Run following on the 29th and 30th with Pope launching a series of attacks only to find himself caught between Jackson and Longstreet. Ultimately, the Federal retreat bordered on a route reminiscent of the disaster a year earlier at 1st Bull Run. Union casualties numbered some 14,000 killed and wounded with army's morale suffering an incalculable loss. Immediately, the fallout and scapegoating commenced. General John Pope was relieved of command and exiled. FitzJohn Porter was court-marshaled and dismissed. A Court of Inquiry brushed off allegations that Rufus King has been drunk (in fact, he was an epileptic with a worsening condition) on the field of battle but did find him guilty of disobeying orders, reprimanding him for dereliction of duty. King never held a significant field assignment again and, with his reputation in tatters combined with failing health, resigned from the army on October 20, 1863. A devout Catholic, King was appointed Minister to the Papal States and held the position in Rome until the end of 1867. He returned to New York City and briefly took up an appointment as deputy collector of customs before his health forced him to retire in 1869. For the remainder of his life Rufus King lived out of the public eye and died on October 13, 1876. The general was buried in Grace Churchyard, Jamaica, New York.

  Rufus King's son, Captain Rufus King, Jr., 4th US Artillery, was a bonafide Civil war hero who would later be awarded (in 1898) a Medal of Honor for White Oak Swamp on June 30, 1862. Following his service Captain King had retired to Arizona and the legacy of the two soldiers intertwined in an article from Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, Vol. 42 in 1888: " The portrait in oil of his father, General Rufus King, looks down upon maps and faded blue prints...the magnificent presentation sword owned by General King displayed by his soldier-author son in the reception room down-stairs... "

  
  
  Provenance: From the Sword Collection of William Koch

  Condition

  Exquisite. Blade retains much of the silver wash and Damascus patterning with all etching remaining clear and crisp and most of the gold gilding remaining intact as well with one some minor wear and loss. Blade with some small, scattered patches of light sauce oxidation and discoloration, primarily at the tip. Hilt exceptional as well, with some minor wear, thinning and loss to the gilding. Scabbard equally wonderful with some minor thinning and loss to the gilt finish. Simply a stunning sword overall.
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