Civil War Era Chest

[tony641]

Ok you guys did so well with my Land Grant that maybe you can help me with this chest I picked up a couple months ago.  Until I figure out how to get larger pictures I can only post the little ones.  The chest is 3' long by 2' wide and 2' high.  It is covered in some kind of canvas.  The name STURGIS is stencled on one side and a nimber that I cant make out is stencled on the other side.  On the bottom of the chest it has the stencle MAJ S.D. STURGIS and in the uper corner (on bottom of the chest) is NO. 32.  There was one other thing stencled on the bottom I think WT. 165.  There are some other things blacked out and unreadable on the canvas.  I was told by some that the canvas is sail cloth.  I was also told that it is most likly hand made, either by Sturgis himself of by someone is the company.  Anyone have any ideas about this chest and what it might be worth?  Also how can I prove that it belongedto Sturgis?  Again thanks in advance.

[sapphire]

You might find some connection between the numbers on the trunk and Sturgis' biography.  Actually there were three Samuel Sturgis generations (see Postbellum Service).

The first       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_D._Sturgis

The grandson  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_D._Sturgis,_Jr.

[talesofthesevenseas]

You can get Samuel Sturgis' Civil War military records on Footnote.com. You'll have to pay an eleven dollar fee for access. But you can use the quick look function to get a look at what is available.
http://www.footnote.com/search.php?f_ancestor_id=&df_ancestor_id=&f_browse_context=21&df_browse_context=Within%3AAll+Titles%3Cbr%2F%3EUnion+Records&query=samuel+sturgis

[tony641]

I was told that there were 3 Samuel Sturgis in the military.  The first from the Civil War era. the second from WWI era and the last from WWII era.  From the people I showed the photos to they thought the chest was most consistant the the Civil War Era Sturgis.  I don't really know a whole lot about chests.  I picked this up because the price was right and I thought it was really cool. Let me know what you all think.  If you have any questions please ask.  I'm just getting into collecting things. 

[waywardangler]

The construction of the chest needs to be looked at to determine its' age.  It is very hard to see with the pictures given.  If it is civil war era, I would think it would be constructed from very wide boards as this would have been when virgin timber was still available.  I see some narrow boards in the exposed sides and top.  The top looks like it is 3 boards wide and since this is only 24", each board would not be very wide.  Also the top board in the open chest shot, looks quite narrow. I would also expect the corners to be hand cut dovetails.  This cannot be seen in any pic posted.  The stenciling also does not look civil war era.  I would guess this is most likely WWI time frame.  Just my thoughts.

[hosman321]

To me, the construction of the chest appears to be right in the middle, about 1870's. That hardware looks older than 1900 to me, yet not 1860's either. This is a great site for everything trunk related.
http://www.eagletrunks.com/antiquetrunkhistory/trunkhistorystyles.html
Also, is it possible that someone used an older trunk still in good condition and stenciled it for the WWI-era Sturgis in the early 1900's? Maybe things were different back then and not everybody bought new stuff, especially if it were used during war time. We're kind of all spoiled these days.
Great trunk by the way, I love the original hardware.

[KC]

May we inquire what state you are in?

Major S D Sturgis  119th Illinois Infantry  from Illinois Adjutant General's Report
"We were ordered back up the Mississippi. We were landed in the southeastern part of Arkansas, and at Lake Chicot engaged a Rebel force successfully. This was reported to be under command of Marmaduke, and was well entrenched across a bayou; but we fought as always to win, and drove the enemy, who retreated and left us the field. We made a detour and reached transports, and were moved up the river, and disembarked next at Memphis to assist in wiping out the disaster of Major General S.D. Sturgis, at Guntown."
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pettit/cw119.htm

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/ssturgis.htm

His son was JW Sturgis....could have been he used his dad's trunk and passed it on from there.

The 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. . .An On-Line Journal Dedicated to a Civil War Regiment. (Letter accepting the resignation of Gen J Nagle)
http://48thpennsylvania.blogspot.com/2006/11/profiles-general-james-nagle-1.html

[tony641]

I am from Northern WI.  The guy I got it from is also in WI.  He got the chest over 30 years ago and forgot about it in his garage.  Then he and his elderly wife were having a garage sale and found it in the back under a bunch of stuff.  He didn't say where he got it from.  The guy lives about 3 hours away from Minneapolis MN, (city where Sturgis died).  I can take some more photos and post them in anyone would like to see more.  Thanks for all the information.