Civil War, M1853, French Made, Artillery and similar items

CIVIL WAR, M1853, FRENCH MADE, ARTILLERY HORSE BIT, CONFEDERATE STATES Confederate Cavalry Artillery Bit made by the French in 1853 and imported and used by the Army of the Confederate States during the American Civil War. This artillery bit displays both brass rosettes which display crossed cannons and a flaming bomb and a support bar. The curb chain is missing. This does have one of the support hooks for the chain. Ken Knopp, author of "Confederate Saddles Horse Equipment," mentioned these bits in an article in the Christmas, 1997 Issue 6, Vol. XXIV, of North South Trader, saying, "A small number of these almost certainly came to the South through the blockade, with French Artillery Harness purchased by Caleb Huse." Knopp went on to say that more of the bits likely found their way to the states during the French effort to install Maximillian as President of Mexico, and some even came home with doughboys, after the World Wars. Recovery: Dug This Confederate horse bit was dug from the Civil War Battlefield of Antietam, Sharpsburg, Maryland. In the early 1950?s, relic hunter Mr. Doug Reel of Sharpsburg, Maryland found this C.S. horse bit North East of the burnside Antietam Creek. This C.S. horse bit was sold to the Smith?s Civil War Museum located in Sharpsburg which has closed its doors and dissolved all of its contents. This will be shipped via UPS (United Parcel Service)