Note, I sold this item many years ago. The collector who purchased it, bought many other items from me, and the time has come for him to part with his collection. Because I sold it before, I already have the pictures and history on hand, but I do not as yet have the collection in hand, I will pick the collection up when I go to the NSTCW Gettysburg show on Oct. 25th, so I cannot ship this item until the end of October.

The excavated two piece CS sword or accoutrement belt buckle shown here is believed to have been manufactured in Richmond, Virginia and is only associated with the Army of Northern Virginia.

Many more infantrymen served with the Army of Northern Virginia than cavalrymen, yet far more cavalry sword belts with two piece buckles survive than do infantry accoutrement belts. It is my belief that most of this pattern were issued to cavalrymen on sword belts even though there are some surviving examples of infantry accoutrement belts utilizing this pattern buckle.

The buckle was cast in a coarse sand mold using brass that had a low zinc content which gives it a slight reddish tint. This is more commonly known as "Red Brass” and is often seen in brass castings made in Richmond.

There were a large number of this pattern issued to the Cavalry arm of the Army of Northern Virginia. While a number of these have been found, very few were so obviously found together as this example.

The "Fig-263” applied with tape to the back of the wreath refers to the pattern as shown in Plates and Buckles of the American Military 1795-1874, by Sid Kerksis. This book was published in 1974 and has been out of print for decades, which indicates that this buckle was excavated many decades ago; this is also indicated by the plates’ condition, as those buckles found more recently tend to have more ground damage. The "404” on the back I presume to be the digger’s number.

This 50 by 80 mm example was represented as having been excavated in Culpeper, Virginia. It is in perfect original condition. Both pieces retain their original body curve. It would be impossible to upgrade.

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