Battle Swords, Portrait and Related Material of Brigadier General Cornelius G. Attwood
inv # 02-12115

We are exceptionally pleased to offer the Civil War carried swords of Brigadier General Attwood along with a remarkable archive of historical ephemera relating to his wartime, as well as post war life & experiences.

He was appointed Captain of Company C, 25th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in October of 1861

He carried the first American flag ashore during the assault on Roanoke Island, North Carolina.

Major Attwood was seriously wounded at Cold Harbor. Out of the 300 men, the 25th mustered for General Grant’s futile onslaught at Cold Harbor, the regiment sustained 24 killed including 6 officers, 142 wounded and 49 missing. In total, at Cold Harbor, 8,000 men were killed in 20 minutes

During General Attwood’s career he acquired two swords. The first, a foot officer’s sword, bears the inscription:
Lieut. C.G. Attwood, Boston

The second, a staff and field officer’s sword is inscribed on the top mount:
Capt. C.G. Attwood, Boston

There is an elaborate inscription down the full length of the steel scabbard reads:
Brigadier Gen. Cornelius G. Attwood Boston
Private Co. A, 1st Regt. M.V.M. Sept 29, 1856
2nd Lt. Co., 3rd Batt. Rifles M.V. Apl. 22, 1861
Capt. Co. C. 25th Reg. M.V. Oct. 12 1861
Major 25th Reg. M.V. Oct. 29. 1862/Bvt. Lt. Col. U.S.V. Mch.
Brig. Gen. & Insp. Gen. M.V.M. Jan. 12. 1876
Battles 1862-3-4
Roanoke Island. Newbern. Kinston. Whitehall. Goldsboro.
Tranter’s Creek. Trenton. Tarboro. Jumping Run. Deep Gully.
Gum Creek. Port Wallthall. Arrowfield Church. Richmond Turnpike. Proctor’s Creek.
Drury’s Bluff. Coal Harbor.

The Attwood grouping, obtained from a Maine descendent, further contains his gold bullion General’s epaulettes encased in an identified carrying tin. A war dated (1862) oil painting of then Major Attwood with his arm resting on a cannon wheel, holding his staff and field officer sword. The painting has almost certain provenance to the well known painter, Alexander Ransom.