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COMING IN MAY 2021

CAPTAIN GEORGE N. JULIAN 13TH NEW HAMPSHIRE ARCHIVE INCLUDING DOCUMENTED BATTLE DAMAGED PRESENTATION SWORD WHICH SAVED HIS LIFE AT PETERSBURG.

inv# 02-14789

Captain George Julian (1841-1927) served from the beginning to end of Civil War. A short snippet of his life is posted by University of New Hampshire, special collections:

“George Naylor Julian (March 17, 1841-July 26, 1927) was born in Exeter, N. H., the son of Luke and Abigail Moses Julian. The elder Julian was a carriage maker and wool merchant. George N. Julian attended public schools before entering Phillips Exeter Academy, from which he graduated in 1856. In April 1861, following the bombardment of Fort Sumter, Julian moved to Massachusetts and enlisted as a Private in the Second Battery (Nims) of Massachusetts Light Artillery. At the time, he determined to let those with more ambition become officers and consequently he served as a driver of a six-horse team on a field piece.

The Second Battery first went to Baltimore, where it helped quell unrest by Maryland secessionists. The unit then moved to Camp Hamilton,Virginia, where Julian witnessed the historic battle between the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia (Merrimac). Shortly thereafter, the battery was transferred via New Orleans to take part in the Siege of Vicksburg. On July 28, 1862, Julian received a commission as Captain of a newly-formed company of the 13th Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers. The 13th trained in New Hampshire and first saw action at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Julian also saw action at the battles of Providence Church Road, Proctor’s and Kingsland Creeks, Drury’s Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Fair Oaks. On January 31, 1865 Julian received an honorable discharge and returned to Exeter.” The University is home to his wartime letters and journals which were sold from the same estate auction in 1997. The items represented in this archive are from the same New Hampshire sale with notes from the auction catalog or from his archived letters:

 

  • Model 1850 foot officer’s sword, unsigned but patriotic etched panels are in the style of Christopher Roby of West Chelmsford Massachusetts. The battle damage is unquestioned and quoted in the original auction catalog “from impact of a grapeshot”. The scabbard is broken at that point and clear impression of the projectile is in the blade at that point. The throat is engraved “Capt. Geo. N. Julian / Fredericksburg Dec 13, 1862 / Suffolk May 3, 1863”. One of Julian’s letters December 23, 1863 refers to the engraved battle honors verbatim. Letter written July 6, 1864, in camp near Petersburg, sending his damaged sword home “you will see by my sword what a narrow escape I had with my life for had it not have been for this sword the shot which it would have gone through me in the region of the heart”. Good to very good overall. Wonderful documented “wounded relic” of the war.
  • Flag fragment mounted on board with portion of painted gold star, part of a red stripe with attached gold silk fringe, reverse of card reads “June 2, 1864 / United States colors”. Very good overall.
  • Flag fragment mounted on pasteboard with portion of gold painted star, reverse of card reads “June 2, 1864 / New Hampshire colors”. Letter dated June 8, 1864 Julian states he is sending him “small pieces of the regiments flags that have been shot away by rebel bullets”. Very good as mounted.
  • Pair of brass enlisted epaulets that Capt. Julian wore when a member of the Massachusetts Nims Artillery Battery. An accompanying card ”Epaulettes worn by Capt. George Naylor Julian in the Civil War of 1861 – 62”, good overall.
  • Small 6” 2-stage telescope. Accompanying case is missing straps and attachment. Telescope retains good adjustable optics. This telescope is mentioned in one of Julian’s letters, he requests it from home after watching the battle of the monitoring the Merrimac at Hampton Roads. Very good incl. optics, case is fair, missing parts.
  • US Infantry & Rifle Tactics, 1862, 450 pages, green cloth binding, very good overall.
  • 2 volumes of Casey’s infantry tactics, one signed by “C H Murray, 13th NH” and the other ”Charles C. Farve, 13th NH”, both good to very good, bound in green cloth
  • Box with 10 small arms fired projectiles. Good for relics with ground action (oxidation).
  • Card with 6 attached buttons from Civil War and one from WWI. Very good overall.
  • Small leather belt attached wallet. Very good.
  • Several pieces of brass sword belt hardware, watch fob with Capt. Julian’s initials on wax seal. Very good.
  • Silverplated goblet, broken stem of unknown origin which is pictured along with the sword, telescope and flag fragments from this archive in an 8 x 10 photograph “Collection of Civil War Relics…” At New Hampshire storefront window. Poor, broken as noted.
  • Small wooden painted box which contains several of these items. Fair, broken hinge.