[CIVIL WAR] GILPIN, Levi L. (1844-1931). A group of 3 items identified to Corporal Levi L. Gilpin, 51st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, comprising:

Civil War enlisted man's sack coat or four-button fatigue blouse. Unlined, blue wool, approx. 28 1/2  in. length, 22 1/2 in. sleeves, kidney-shaped left interior breast pocket, roll collar, and split cuffs. Buttons with Union eagle and shield motif. Heavily worn condition indicative of extended wear in the field. Visible hand-stitching and patching. Evidence of entry and exit bullet holes in upper right sleeve.

[With:] Handwritten letter dated 25 September 1929 and signed by Gilpin ("Levi L. Gilpin") describing his enlistment and gunshot wound: "Levi L. Gilpin went into camp in Camp Meigs in the Tuscarawas County Ohio, Fair Grounds. September 20, 1861 as a Private in Company E. 51st Regiment O.V. Inf. and re-enlisted as a Veteran Volunteer in same company and Regiment January 4th 1864 at Shell Mound, Tennessee, and was soon promoted to Corporal. On June 23rd 1864, in the battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, I was wounded by a gunshot wound in the right arm about three inches above the elbow joint and was discharged January 10th 1865 because of a permanently crippled right arm...." Housed in modern plastic display case. Light toning and creasing evident, unexamined outside frame.

[Also with:] Charcoal portrait of Gilpin housed in decorative wood frames, 13 1/2 in. x 16 1/2 in. (sight) matted and framed to 26 1/4 x 30 1 4 in. (heavily toned, unexamined outside of frame). Handwritten ink inscription below portrait on period tag affixed to mat reads: "Levi L. Gilpin, Corporal, Company E, 51st Regiment, Ohio Veteran Vol. Inf. / Photographed on his 35th Birthday." Verso with handwritten summary on wooden board of Gilpin's Civil War service indicating he was "at the battle of Perryville, Ky. and was actively engaged at the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and the engagements of the Atlanta Campaign from Tunnel Hill to Kennesaw Mountain inclusive beside several smaller engagements in Kentucky and Tennessee in which the Regiment lost men or killed and wounded." 

Gilpin and the 51st OVI were steadily engaged throughout much of the war and participated in significant battles of the Western Theater. As described in his letter and on the portrait, Gilpin was shot in his right arm during a skirmish near Kennesaw Mountain on June 23, 1864. Following his discharge in January 1865, Gilpin moved to Indiana to live with his parents and remained in Indiana until his death. Like many soldiers he was justifiably proud of his service. However, unlike many soldiers who returned home and discarded their wartime possessions, Gilpin chose to preserve many of his Civil War accoutrements.

The Gilpin archive is well known in Civil War collecting circles having first been displayed in its original presentation in the early 1980s at the Ashland Civil War show. Over the past four decades the original Gilpin archive of personal effects was supplemented with other period arms, accoutrements and equipment that were correct and appropriate for the display, but were not part of the original Gilpin archive. The sack coat, handwritten letter, and framed portrait offered here were previously offered by Hindman Auctions, Sale 960, Lot 533, at which time that consignor related that the items were positively identified to Gilpin, and descended directly through the Gilpin family. The lot was acquired by the current consignor at Sale 960.  


The Civil War and American Militaria Collection of Bruce B. Hermann