Description
This is unquestionably a one of a kind item and very unique piece! The boredom of camp life gave birth to a soldiers creativity and gave them the opportunity to create just about anything you can imagine from what was at hand and lying about camp. This however is a first for me. This unknown cavalry soldier took the liberty to create this exceptional memento for his mother. Carved from a large piece of soapstone, he has cut a recessed area out of the front to hold a sixth plate ruby ambrotype of himself dressed in his cavalry jacket and M1851 Hardee hat. Along the bottom he has cared the words “Mother 1861”. On the opposite side, the cavalryman has carved crossed cavalry sabers. I can only imagine that took considerable time to carve into this piece of stone. Along the side, barely visible is carved “14 Cavalry”. Unfortunately we do not know the name of this cavalryman or which 14th Cavalry he actually belonged to. There are significant deposits of soapstone in both Vermont and Virginia so he may have been camped somewhere in the vicinity of one of those locations. This thing is beefy! It weight over a pound. Measures 6″ x 3.5″ x 1″. I can guarantee you wont find another one of these!
