Civil War Shenandoah Valley Relics Excavated Shells

Excavated shell and shell fragment excavated from the Shenandoah Valley. Presented with handwritten note reading: “Bullet from the Shenandoah Valley / Bought at New Market Battlefield Museum.”

The Shenandoah Valley was a major Theater throughout the entirety of the war seeing hundreds of skirmishes and 20 major battles, notably including Grant’s Valley Campaign in 1864 in which he sought to press the Confederacy by dominating the strategic and agriculturally significant valley. The Battle of New Market on 15 May 1864 opened the Campaigns, when Franz Sigel launched the invasion by leading an army to threaten the flank of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Confederate General John C. Breckinridge rallied all available forces, including a cadet corps from Virginia Military Institute (VMI) who played a memorable and prominent role in the Confederate’s victory. The provenance related by the accompanying note suggests that these relics may have been from this battle, however, the Shenandoah Valley was riddled with conflict and may be from other engagements.

An opportunity for an excavated relic from the theater which was home to so many legendary battlefields.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Gettysburg, Relics, Ephemera] [Daguerreotype, Ambrotype, Tintype, CDV, Albumen, carte-de-visite, Salt print, Cabinet Card] [Civil War, Union, Confederate]