unidentified Union artillery
From a Seneca County, New York newspaper August 21, 1862:
From the Third Artillery
PRESENTATION OF A SABRE.
Newbern, N.C., Aug. 16, 1862.
Editor Courier: – Allow me, through your columns, to narrate a little incident which may not be wholly uninteresting to many of your readers. Said incident, I think, may be classed under the head of “surprise parties.” I had thought surprise parties were wholly domestic institutions, yet during my sixteen months of service I have attended many of them, at some of which there was “a Heap” [?] more powder and lead than crinoline and calico; but at the last – and a very pleasant one it was – there was deecidedly more “cold steel” than either of the aforesaid commodities.
On Tuesday last the members of Battery C, 3d N.Y. Artillery, presented one of their officers, as a testimonial of their friendship and esteem, a beautiful sabre, sash and belt. While the band, who kindly officiated on the occasion, discoursed their fine music, the Company were marched to the officers’ quarters and the sabre was presented with an appropriate speech. The surprise was complete and the boys enjoyed hugely the confusion of the recipient. With a few brief words of thanks and a look which conveyed a deeper meaning than the most flowery speech could have implied, the officer withdrew amid the deafening cheers of the Company. The sabre is a splendid specimen of workmanship, manufactured at the well-known house of Schuyler, Hastly & Co.[Schuyler, Hartley and Graham?], and procured at a cost of $80.
Such incidents as these, while they not only serve to render more pleasant the life of a soldier, are strikingly illustrative of the love and unity which exists throughout our mighty army. The presentation was almost wholly unanimous, and we gave it feeling assured that it would never meet with dishonor at the hands of our kind and gallant officer, Lieut. Charles B. Randolph.
TYPO
kind and gallant officer
You can learn more about the possible sabre manufacturer (or importer) here.
