Mc Pheeters Antique Militaria


	WELL DOCUMENTED ARTIFACT CARTRIDGES AND BULLETS RECOVERED FROM VARIOUS FAMOUS INDIAN WAR FRONTIER POSTS AND BATTLE SITES: Acquired along the way, these spent cartridge cases and bullets were recovered from various frontier posts and battlefields. In some cases the location of the recovery was written directly on the cartridge case and in the case of one set listed below, the artifacts were documented in a published article. Obtained from old, established collections, these spent cartridge cases and bullets were recovered from the Little Big Horn Battle Site in the 1980’s from locations outside the Little Big Horn National Monument boundaries, and from other battlefields and frontier posts on the northern plains. Two of the sets offered here were well documented in an article published in the Gun Report magazine and some of the other cartridges were identified by the location of the recovery being written directly on the cartridge case. Each offering is shown below and described in detail, describing the source of the recovery and the documentation that will accompany the purchase.
	No. 1 COMPLETE INTERNALLY PRIMED .45-70 CARBINE CARTRIDGE FOUND AT FT. YATES, NORTH DAKOTA: Acquired from an old cartridge dealer many years ago, this complete, intact internally primed Frankford Arsenal .45-70 cartridge bears the notation written on the cartridge case, “FOUND FT. YATES, ND”. The cartridge shows evidence of having been exposed to the elements and likely buried beneath the surface of the soil for some time, however it has survived with the bullet in place and there is no firing pin strike mark. The headstamp reads "C 1 79 F", indicating this is a carbine cartridge manufactured at the Frankford Arsenal in January of 1879. (C60) $150
	No. 2 COMPLETE EXTERNALLY PRIMED .45-70 CARTRIDGE WITH AN EXPLODING BULLET FOUND AT FT. HUACHUCA, ARIZONA: Acquired with an old cartridge collection, this complete, intact externally primed .45-70 cartridge bears the notation etched into the cartridge case, “45-70 DUG UP AT FT. WYCUGA, ARIZONA” – obviously, the finder did not know how to spell Ft. Huachuca. Founded in 1877, Ft. Huachuca was at the epicenter of the Apache Wars and served as General Miles’ headquarters as he sought the surrender of Geronimo. The cartridge bears the headstamp “R 45 70 B” indicating this is a 45-70 rifle cartridge manufactured under government contract by the Union Metallic Cartridge Company. The cartridge shows evidence of having been exposed to the elements and likely buried beneath the surface of the soil for some time, however it has survived with the bullet in place and there is no firing pin strike mark. The bullet has been drilled and a .22 caliber rimfire short case, with the powder, inserted in the nose of the bullet. These modified bullets show up every so often, however the consensus is that they were never manufactured commercially, rather they were an effort to create an exploding bullet by hunters and soldiers on the frontier. These modified bullets seem to be limited to the later 1880’s cartridges and Sharps cartridges. This is an interesting cartridge found at a very historic Indian Wars era fort. (0605) $75 ************
	No. 3: INDIAN WARS CARTRIDGE ARTIFACT SET - THREE PIECES: This three piece set consists of one Internally Primed Frankford Arsenal .45-70 Cartridge and two Internally Primed Frankford Arsenal .50-70 Cartridges. All three cartridges are full form without any severe crushing or misshaping. Unfortunately, there was no record of where these cartridges were recovered other than they were found in West Texas. Despite the lack of definitive documentation, these three represent many of the key rifles and carbines in use on the western frontier - the Springfield Rifles and Carbines, the Model 1870 Trial Rifles and Carbines - Sharps, Remington, Ward Burton as well as Springfield. A nice grouping which would display well with other Indian Wars relics. Offered here as a group, individual cartridges will not be sold separately. (0103) $45
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	No. 4: GAME CHIP MADE FROM A LEAD MINIE BALL – DUG AT THE SHILOH BATTLEFIELD: Dug years ago at the Shiloh, Tennessee Battlefield, this is a soldier made gaming chip fashioned from a lead Minie ball. Full form and showing evidence of having been buried, but without any heavy oxidation or mineral deposits, this lead chip bears a handwritten paper label describing the recovery. These are anything but common and this chip is a very nice, and quite desirable, Civil War artifact. $50 ************
	No. 5 BATTLE OF WOLF MOUNTAIN – JANUARY, 1877 - ARTIFACT SET - TWO PIECES: These two .45-70 internally primed cartridge cases were recovered from the site of the Battle of Wolf Mountain. In January of 1877, Colonel Nelson Miles, commanding five companies of the 5^th Infantry Regiment and two companies of the 22^nd Infantry, moved up the Tongue River in pursuit of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians who were taking refuge in the Wolf Mountains in Montana. The cartridge cases were located on the battlefield in deep holes that contained 25 to 30 of these expended cases, and each of the cases had been crushed as these have been. The circumstances and condition of the recovery of these cases is testimony to how seriously the commanding officers adhered to the directions issued in General Order No. 13 which dictated that expended cartridge cases would be disposed of in such a manner as to secret them and render them unsuitable for further use by the hostile Indians. These cases, recovered by Ray Meketa, are well documented in an article written by R. Stephen Dorsey which was published in the Gun Report Magazine in September of 1992. A copy of the Gun Report article that documents this cartridge case will accompany the sale. This artifact was found on private property with the permission of the land owner. *SOLD* ************
	No. 6 LARGE COLLECTION OF 100 RELIC CARTRIDGES, CARTRIDGE CASES, SPENT BULLETS AND BUTTONS COLLECTED AT VARIOUS FRONTIER FORTS, CAMPSITES AND BATTLEFIELDS THROUGHOUT IDAHO AND MONTANA: Recently acquired from an old collection, this grouping of relic cartridges and buttons represents a lifetime of investigating frontier fort sites, camp sites, and battlefields across Idaho and Montana. The majority of the cartridges - both whole and fired cases - are US Army Frankford Arsenal products, but there is an interesting representation of Civil War surplus and civilian cartridges that were used on the frontier as well. Included in the grouping is a Burnside case, two Spencers - one case and one full cartridge, a reassembled Henry, a complete .44 pistol cartridge, and eight internally primed Frankford Arsenal cases without headstamps. While regrettably, no records were kept on the location of the majority of the recoveries, there are three cartridges bearing paper tags - one from the Little Big Horn, one from Ft. Custer, and a .30 caliber Springfield round from Ft. Missoula. There are also six Civil War - Indian War era uniform buttons - one bearing a "C" in the center of the eagle indicating cavalry, and one bearing an "I" for infantry. This is quite a collection and would make an interesting display with the cases and buttons arranged within a frame. *SOLD*


	No. 7 LITTLE BIG HORN ARTIFACT SET - THREE PIECES: This three piece set was recovered from the Little Big Horn Battlefield before September of 1982 by Bob Johnson. As he describes in the letter which will accompany the purchase of this set, the .45-70 internally primed carbine cartridge case was found approximately 400 yards east of Reno Hill from a position that was occupied by the Indians. The .44 rimfire Henry Rifle cartridge case was found in a ravine approximately 200 yards southwest of Reno Hill, and again, was a round fired by the Indians. The expended .45-70 bullet was found in a ravine in the same area. Bob Johnson served as a volunteer during at least one of the examinations of the battlefield in which metal detectors were used. This set of artifacts was found outside the boundaries of the National Monument and is therefore legal to possess. This is a very nice grouping from the most famous of battlefields in North America, with definitive documentation. *SOLD*