This cartridge box plate was metal detected near a site that usually only yields a few bullets, an eagle button or two and maybe some knapsack hardware. It was found on private property, with permission, near the 1862 site of Ft. Wingate, in New Mexico. This was the starting point for the shameful "Long Walk of the Navajo" from 1864-1866; it was a forced marched not nearly as brutal as Jackson's "Trail of Tears" but was still carried out against the will of the indigenous people of the area.

During the Civil War, Ft. Wingate (the 1862 site near San Rafael, NM) was also where four companies of the 1st New Mexico Volunteers under Col. Kit Carson were ordered. General Edward Canby called them to the fort in early 1864 to prevent any Navajo uprisings. By this time, Confederate forces had mostly been defeated in the far west after the Union victory at Glorieta Pass. Side Note: From 1881-1885, a toddler by the name of Douglas MacArthur lived at Ft. Wingate while his father, a Captain, was stationed there as a member of the 13th US Infantry.

The box plate is in very good condition with one and three quarters of the original attachment hooks. There is 98% solid lead fill. It may look like there is some lead loss in the photo but there really is not. The whitest areas of the reverse image are the spots where there has been some very minor flaking. The digger has written something in pencil on the reverse. I have not been able to erase it but it is hardly noticeable and does not detract from the piece in any way.

If you're looking for a solid, good-condition plate from the far western theater of the Civil War...or, possibly, from the Indian Wars, look no further.

All firearms sold are pre-1898 and historic collectibles. They are not meant to be fired. Jim Stanley & Associates (cwartifax.com) will not be liable for injury incurred due to any weapon or artifact purchased from this site. All artillery projectiles sold by Jim Stanley & Associates are absolutely safe and have been professionally and safely de-activated.