Beschreibung:

35" blade, marked near the guard C. Roby, W. Chelmsford, Mass., nothing on the reverse, early markings. Leather and brass wrapped handle, metal scabbard. Period engraving between the two carrying rings: Presented To E M Lee, Co E Mich Cavalry The Members Of His Command. Detroit Aug 27th 1862. Born in Guilford, Connecticut, Edward Merwin Lee (1835-1913) was a frontier attorney who advanced to the rank of Lt. Colonel, 5th Michigan Cavalry while serving in Custer’s famed Michigan Brigade during the Civil War. Living at Port Huron, Lee had enlisted in August 1862 as 1st Lieutenant of Company E. Promoted Captain on January 1, 1863, Lee was present at Gettysburg where Custer’s “Wolverines” became legendary. He was later captured at Bucklands Mills, Virginia on October 19, 1863 and spent the next 14 months as a POW confined at Macon and Columbia before being paroled on December 9, 1864. Captain Lee returned to his regiment and participated in the closing battles that led to the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. While not officially commended for any notable act of heroism during the subsequent Appomattox Campaign, incredibly, Lee quickly became the recipient of two coveted brevet promotions in March 1865—Colonel and Brigadier General—“for gallant and meritorious conduct during the war.” Additionally, he was advanced to Lieutenant Colonel on April 13, 1865. Collectively, the promotions represent an unprecedented series of accolades for a soldier-prisoner who otherwise, according to records, just did his job. Given the meteoric rise, one can only speculate on Custer’s possible influence for whatever reason. Lt. Colonel Lee was serving as AAAG on General Wyndam’s staff at Fort Leavenworth when he mustered out of volunteer service on June 22, 1865. Post-war, Lee returned to Guilford and entered politics, being elected a Republican member of the State General Assembly in 1866-67. Upon the organization of the Wyoming Territory in July 1868, Lee was appointed by President Grant as “Secretary of the new territory with the powers of acting governor,” a position he held until the inauguration of the first territorial governor in 1869. While acting governor the progressively minded Lee “secured the passage of the first equal suffrage bill” in the United States, officially giving women in the Wyoming Territory the right to vote. Lee returned to New York City late in 1869 and opened a law office where he practiced continuously until his death on January 1, 1913. Lee never married and was interred in the West Side Cemetery (Lot 137) in Guilford, CT. The published photograph of Lieutenant Edward M. Lee shows the young officer posing with a M1860 cavalry saber, although the image is not clear enough to ascertain whether this is the very same war-used combat weapon offered here. Condition: Markings are sharp and crisp. Blade has been lightly cleaned. Scabbard with dark brown untouched patina. Brass also with untouched patina. Leather missing on the handle, brass wire still intact. An outstanding Civil War sword that was carried.