Bruneau & Co – Historic Arms & Militaria Auction
Saturday, August 5th at 10AM EST
Visit Bidlive.BruneauandCo.com to view the catalog!
401.533.9980
63 4th Ave. Cranston, RI

CRANSTON, R.I. — A powder horn used by a Revolutionary War soldier at the Siege of Boston, a uniform worn by a Confederate captain during the Civil War and a Civil War-era Missouri First National Confederate flag and sash are a few of the expected highlights in Bruneau & Co Auctioneers’ historic arms and militaria auction slated for Saturday, August 5, live and online.

The auction, starting at 10 am Eastern time, contains 350 lots. In addition to the items mentioned, the catalog also features an artillery officer’s coatee worn by Lt. Julius Adolphus De Lagnel in 1847, the Confederate artillery uniform of Julius’s brother, Capt. Johnston De Lagnel, flintlock pistols and muskets, a large selection of percussion muskets, socket bayonets and other objects.

“Much of the material in this auction comes from museums and private collections,” said Joel Bohy, Bruneau & Co’s director of arms and militaria. “Many of the arms are from the collection of William “Billy” McMillen, who was a good friend and collector of American martial muskets and pistols. The uniforms were deaccessioned by the Valentine Museum in Richmond, Va.”

The 12-inch-long, Revolutionary War cow horn belonged to Richard Andrus, from Simsbury, Conn. He marched as a member of Captain Abel Pettibone’s 7th Company, 2nd Regiment, to the Siege of Boston (and then to Roxbury, Mass.). The horn, marked with foliate designs, trees and a soldier, is marked, “Richard Andrus his / horn made at Roxbury, Massachusetts” ($4/8,000).

The Confederate uniform was worn by Johnston De Lagnel, a captain in the 20th Virginia Artillery Battalion who fought in the Civil War but reportedly died of pneumonia in 1864. The uniform includes a cadet gray superfine broadcloth frock coat with buttons and captain’s bars (and the original tailor’s receipt in one pocket) and cadet gray trousers ($10/15,000).

The Missouri First National Confederate flag and sash originally belonged to Russell B. Caples, who joined the Confederate army as a private in Searcy’s Sharpshooters and was later wounded at the Battle of Vicksburg. The flag, 4 by 6 feet, is hand-sewn silk with red, white and red stripes, a blue silk canton with 14 white silk stars and a silk officer’s sash ($5/7,000).

The circa 1847-49 officer’s artillery coatee (tight-fitting uniform coat) worn by Julius Adolphus De Lagnel (the brother of Johnston De Lagnel) features a blue superfine broadcloth body, plus a red leather belt and skirts lined with scarlet broadcloth. It was passed down by a descendant until being donated to a museum in 1962, along with Johnston’s officer’s uniform ($3/5,000).

A circa 1762 British pattern 1759 Elliott light dragoon pistol with a .68 bore, just over 15 inches long (with a 9-inch barrel), features a walnut stock with a light storekeeper’s stamp on the upper right wrist, brass fittings, a lock engraved with double incised lines, a government ownership stamp of a broad arrow and crown and a brass-tipped wooden ramrod ($3/5,000).

A circa 1853 Springfield Armory Model 1851 cadet rifled musket with a 40-inch barrel and an overall length of 55 inches is expected to realize $1,5/2,500. The US-made cadet musket (one of 342 that were rifled and fitted with long range sights and sent to West Point to update the smoothbores used previously) is a .57 caliber weapon with serial #234 on the lower barrel band.

A Civil War-era Whitney US Navy Model 1861 Plymouth rifle (.69 caliber, serial #5544) is 50¼ inches long, with a 34¼-inch barrel. It has a walnut stock with a crisp cartouche on the left side, steel fittings, a butt plate tang marked “US,” a lock marked “1863” and “US Whitneyville” with a large eagle and flag, a barrel tang marked “5544” and a steel ramrod ($2/4,000).

A Confederate Lemat Grapeshot revolver (.44 caliber, 16 gauge, serial #1645, all matching) has checkered walnut grips with a light “C.S.A.” stamped on the upper left side, an octagonal barrel marked on the top flat with foliate designs and “Col Le Mat Bte S.G.D.G. Paris” and a 6¾-inch barrel (overall length is just over 13 inches). The cylinder is marked “1645” ($5/7,000).

Live, in-gallery previews will be conducted on Thursday and Friday, August 3 and 4, from 9 am to 4 pm ET, and on auction day, August 5, when doors open at 8 am, or by appointment, in the Bruneau & Co gallery at 63 Fourth Avenue. For additional information, 401-533-9980 or www.bruneauandco.com.

JOEL BOHY – Director of Historic Arms & Militaria Joel@BruneauandCo
Whitney Navy Model 1861 Plymouth Rifle
Siege of Boston Powder Horn Carried by Richard Andrus of Simsbury, Connecticut, Who Enlisted in May 1775 & Served at the Siege until December 1775.
British Pattern 1759 Elliott Light Dragoon Pistol
Silk Confederate First National Flag & Sash Owned Lt. Russell Caples, Searcy’s Battalion Missouri Sharpshooters
Confederate Artillery Captain’s Frock Coat & Trousers with Receipt & Worn by Captain Johnston A. De Lagnel, 20th Battalion Virginia Artillery
BruneauandCo.com lnfo@BruneauandCo.com
401.533.9980
63 4th Ave. Cranston, RI