Carved wooden crutch. Overall approx. ## x ## in.

Attributed to Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens (1812-1883). Though a defender of slavery and passionate states rights advocate, Stephens was initially not pro-secession. He became the leading voice of "moderate Confederates." Always a sickly man, he suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica, migraines, colitis, bladder stones, and myriad other health issues. Perpetually underweight due to his ill health, Stephens often weighed less than 100 pounds. He was often described as a "cadaverous" figure wrapped in a multitude of layers, and he defined his idea of happiness as "to be warm".

The crutch here is a interesting relic of the physically frail, but mentally robust, vice president of the Confederacy. A crutch with similar provenance (perhaps this crutch's match) is held by the American Civil War Museum.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Relics, Ephemera, Veterans' Organizations, UCV, United Confederate Veterans, Politics]