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Love the History: A tough coin minted the same year as Shiloh, Antietam, & Fredericksburg

If only coins could talk, the stories they could tell....

April 1862 -- The Battle of Shiloh:

On April 6, Confederate forces attacked Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant at Shiloh, Tennessee. By the end of the day, the federal troops were almost defeated. Yet, during the night, reinforcements arrived, and by the next morning the Union commanded the field. When Confederate forces retreated, the exhausted federal forces did not follow. Casualties were heavy -- 13,000 out of 63,000 Union soldiers died, and 11,000 of 40,000 Confederate troops were killed.

September 1862 -- Antietam:

On September 17, Confederate forces under General Lee were caught by General McClellan near Sharpsburg, Maryland. This battle proved to be the bloodiest day of the war; 2,108 Union soldiers were killed and 9,549 wounded -- 2,700 Confederates were killed and 9,029 wounded. The battle had no clear winner, but because General Lee withdrew to Virginia, McClellan was considered the victor. The battle convinced the British and French -- who were contemplating official recognition of the Confederacy -- to reserve action, and gave Lincoln the opportunity to announce his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (September 22), which would free all slaves in areas rebelling against the United States, effective January 1, 1863.

December 1862 -- The Battle of Fredericksburg:

General McClellan's slow movements, combined with General Lee's escape, and continued raiding by Confederate cavalry, dismayed many in the North. On November 7, Lincoln replaced McClellan with Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside. Burnside's forces were defeated in a series of attacks against entrenched Confederate forces at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Burnside was replaced with General Joseph Hooker.

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Was an AU50, tried for an AU53-55, now a XF45 and outstanding originality.
image...There's always time for coin collecting. image

Comments

  • MidLifeCrisisMidLifeCrisis Posts: 10,550 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Nice post and coin! image

  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,677 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Nice coin! You need an 1862 gold dollar as a companion piece.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire



  • << <i>Nice post and coin! image >>

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    Antietam, The battle that should have ended the war.
  • ambro51ambro51 Posts: 13,930 ✭✭✭✭✭
    ...AND not out of the realm of possibility had the Rebs beaten and routed the Federal army in those eastern engagements, that Philadelphia itself could have been attacked. Its back to the river, its Mint, and Gold.....a major prize. Its defenses, Ft. Delaware, and Ft. Mifflin............all had their guns trained on an attack by water, not by the back door, on land.

    (Antietam was technically a federal victory, but Fredericksburg was a W for the Rebs....but failure to capitalize on the win with a pursuit and rout of the enemy was not yet in vouge.)
  • SaorAlbaSaorAlba Posts: 7,593 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have to wonder with the coins struck during the Civil War, especially silver and gold, never circulated during the war, or if they did, very lightly. What circulated more were the greenbacks, wildly unpopular, because coins were hoarded.
    Tir nam beann, nan gleann, s'nan gaisgeach ~ Saorstat Albanaich a nis!
  • kazkaz Posts: 9,242 ✭✭✭✭✭
    That's a super looking coin, regardless of grade! (Both the Antietam and Fredericksburg battlefields are reasonably well preserved, and worth a trip. I haven't been to Shiloh, but hear it is impressive. Standing in Bloody Lane at Antietam sends chills up my spine).
  • Great Post. Thanks, Dizzy.
  • LeeGLeeG Posts: 12,162
    Nice coin and history!! image
  • ponderitponderit Posts: 1,544 ✭✭✭✭✭
    B E A U T I F U L COIN! Thanks for sharing the coin and the great history!
    Successful BST transactions with Rob41281, crazyhounddog, Commoncents, CarlWohlford, blu62vette, Manofcoins, Monstarcoins, coinlietenant, iconbuster, RWW,Nolawyer, NewParadigm, Flatwoods, papabear, Yellowkid, Ankur, Pccoins, tlake22, drddm, Connecticoin, Cladiator, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty

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