ANOTHER "CSA YANKEE SLAYERS" MEDAL

Regarding the"CSA Yankee Slayers" medal discussed last week as a fake, Mike Hodder writes:

326 Undated [ca.l900] Heart-shaped Badge for the 5th Texas Cavalry. Brass. 45.44 grams. 65.6 x 62.7 mm. 2.3 mm thick. Extremely Fine. Darkened. Made in the shape of a cavalry mount’s breast plate (a very similar one, with a prominent “5” on it, can be seen on a mount in Gary Zaboly’s painting “Charge of the Texas Lancers at Valverde”). The stock for the medal was cast brass plate or strip (some casting flaws and cooling eddies remain visible). The form of the medal was mechanically stamped out of the strip or sheet, raising the front edge into a rim, probably in the same operation. The design elements were added by hand afterwards. On the front is engraved in a nice, ornate block hand “[Star] 5th TEXAS CAVALRY C S A MOUNTED YANKEE SLAYERS”. In the upper left curve of the back is engraved “CSA” while along the edge at the lower right is “San Antonio 1862”. Apparently unpublished and the first we have seen.

The engraving on the front was professionally done and looks crisp and clean. The letters are well formed and evenly spaced and the overall design has been made to fit the shape and size of the heart shaped piece. The engraving on the back looks at first glance to be less skillfully done but on closer inspection is actually by the same hand that executed the front. The style of the letters suggests a date in the early 20th c. more than the 1862 date on the back. The designation “Fifth Regiment Texas Mounted Volunteers” was in use 1861-62 but was changed in 1863 to “Fifth Regiment Texas Cavalry”, and this further suggests a later date than 1862 for this badge. There is one small hole each near the rim at upper left and right, these punched not drilled] through from back to front. Pendant from each hole is a sprig of four oak leaves. Around the rim at the left and right and framing the inscription in the center is an olive branch. At the base near the rim is a third small hole like the other two, but with a sprig of three oak leaves pointing upwards.

The Fifth Regiment Texas Mounted Volunteers, part of Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley’s Brigade, the Army of New Mexico, was raised in San Antonio at the end of the summer, 1861. Although designated a cavalry unit the Fifth were really mounted infantrymen. There were approximately 1,000 officers and men in the unit, most of whom were from Waco, San Antonio, and Austin. The men were required to bring their own mounts and had to equip themselves with weapons, ammunition, and clothing as best as they could. No uniforms or horse tack were issued (except in a few particular cases), nor were there any unit badges distributed. Those men who had no weapons were given whatever was at hand, including ... guns and double barreled shotguns. The latter came in handy during the New Mexico campaign.

Alan Weinberg adds:

To read the catalog entry on NNP, see:
Americana: Colonial and Federal Coins, Medals and Currency, Featuring The William O'Donnell Collection of New Jersey Coppers (https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctionlots?AucCoId=3&AuctionId=517446&page=82)

To read the complete article, see:
NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: OCTOBER 13, 2019 : "CSA Yankee Slayers" Medal (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n41a19.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web