U. S. Model 1818 cavalry saber, forged steel with metal scabbard. Scabbard is marked, "Samuel Ringgold Major USA/ Mortally Wounded in the / Battle of Palo, Alto, Mexico / May 8th 1846 Died at Corpus Christi May 10th 1846."
General History
Samuel Ringgold was a member of the first graduating class of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Ringgold was an artillery officer on General Winfield Scott's staff. He was later promoted to Major General in acknowledgment of his military innovations including the idea of flying artillery, a tactical concept moving artillery pieces quickly from place to place. In 1846, in the first clash of the Mexican War, Ringgold led a small American force to victory at Palo Alto. However, Ringgold was wounded and died three days later. He was the first American casualty of the Mexican War, and in death, he created an explosion of national pride.
Piece of wood from the dead line at the Confederate prison for Union prisoners of war at Andersonville, Georgia. The block of wood bears a label which reads "piece of the Deadline from [Confederate] Andersonville Prison." Part of the General Edward D. Townsend collection of relics of the War of 1812, Mexican War, and Civil War. Townsend was the principal executive officer of the US War Department during the Civil War.
