1857 C.F. Martin Style 1-26

Civil War Martin with lots of history. Owned by Confederate artillery sergeant (Parker’s Va. Battery) who carried this guitar with him. Mortally wounded at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, he was moved to Williamsport, Maryland where  he succumbed to his wounds on July 20th.  He was reinterred on Nov 22, 1865 in Hollywood cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. This guitar with a button from the coat in which he was buried were sent back to his family in Richmond. This epitaph by one of his fellow soldiers appeared in the Richmond Daily Dispatch shortly after his death.

Joshua C. Hallowell

(Courtesy of  the Richmond Museum of History)

 

“Because many brave and good men have died in the defense of their country, it is no less our duty to cherish the memory of each new offering upon the altar of liberty. Efforts were made by friends at home to induce Sergt Hallowell to quit the field and enter some office in Richmond, but without success. He had put his hands to the plow, and though wife and others urged him, he looked not back. At the battle of Chancellorsville he was honorably mentioned, and in the report of his commanding officer the company voted him a medal. Oh how sadly do we miss him, as he stood every inch a soldier at the head of the company, at the morning and evening roll-call, and how did our eyes fill with tears when we looked upon his amputated right arm, and remembered that no more would these fingers strike the guitar in the silent evening hour; but now, alas! his voice is also hushed; still we will love and remember him in all our marches, and hope to meet him in a brighter and purer world.” P.

Chickamauga Sept,26 1863

 

This guitar is not for sale at this time.