[CIVIL WAR]. Sheridan's Cavalry, Co. F, 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry, "The Californian Battalion." Battle of Five Forks commemorative medal. 

Diam. 1 3/ 8 in. silver and gilt medal (some tarnish; former collection numbers to reverse). Obverse features five gilt forks arranged to form a star, a visual pun representing the Battle of Five Forks. Engraved around the star points: "Sheridan's / Cavalry / Co. D Cal. Bat. / Co. F. 2d. Mass / Cav. Res. Brig." Engraved at center: "Devin's / 1st Div. / Carried the / Five Forks / A. Lincoln." Provenance: Museum of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), later Civil War Museum of Philadelphia (accession number 86.45.11 to reverse); sold as Lot 647, Portion of the Collection of the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia, Redding Auction Service Inc., 16-17 January 2021 (photocopy of catalogue listing). See also Lot 356, which was from the Collection of the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia. 

A group of men known as the "California Hundred" organized in San Francisco on 10 December 1862, sailed to the East Coast and arrived at Camp Meigs in Readville, MA on 4 January 1863. They were designated as Company A in the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment and joined by seven companies of Massachusetts men. In February and March, another 400 Californians were recruited to form Companies E, F, L, and M in the 2nd MA Cavalry, collectively known as the "California Battalion." They were assigned to the XXII Corps, later serving in the Army of the Shenandoah under General Sheridan during the 1864 Valley Campaigns. This medal commemorates their participation in the Battle of Five Forks, an area of supreme strategic importance, during the Appomattox Campaign. 


The Civil War and American Militaria Collection of Bruce B. Hermann