Rare Chicago Mercantile Battery Pin 18-Karat Gold, Featuring Crossed Cannons & Battle Honors / SOLD

Description

Rare Chicago Mercantile Battery Pin 

18-Karat Gold, Featuring Crossed Cannons & Battle Honors 

 

This beautifully executed 18-karat gold regimental pin, weighing 2.89 grams, was made for a member of the famed Chicago Mercantile Battery. Crafted in an openwork format, the design centers on crossed cannons surrounded by a circular band inscribed with the unit’s title. Radiating outward are eight truncated rays, each meticulously engraved with a distinct battle honor representing the battery’s major wartime engagements. 

 

Beginning with Arkansas Post at the top, the sequence proceeds clockwise following the chronology of the battery’s service. The quality of engraving and goldwork marks this as an exceptionally scarce and elegant example of late war craftsmanship. 

 

Organized in late 1862 under the patronage of Chicago’s Board of Trade, the battery served throughout Grant’s 1863 Mississippi Campaign with the XIII Corps. It earned distinction at Arkansas Post, then at Port Gibson, Champion Hill, Big Black River Bridge, the crucial May 22 assault and subsequent Siege of Vicksburg. The unit later fought in the Siege of Jackson, transferred to the Trans-Mississippi, and was heavily engaged during the Red River Campaign, where it was overrun and captured at Mansfield—a defining moment of its wartime history. Reorganized afterward, it continued in Federal service through the end of the war. 

 

A superb and historically rich medal from one of Illinois’ most storied artillery commands. 

Comes housed in 8 x 6 riker display case with velvet and descriptive card.

 

Inventory Number: INS 438