102528 | UNITED STATES & FRANCE. Gen. Naglee/Battle of Fair Oaks copper Medal.

102528  |  UNITED STATES & FRANCE. General Naglee/Battle of Fair Oaks copper Medal. Dated 1862, though issued circa 1862-1879. Commemorating the gallantry of the Civil War general (59mm, 91.46 g, 12h). By L. Merley at the Paris mint.

 

FAIR OAKS, Merley, holding up a saber and urging on soldiers, on horse that is being felled from under him; in background to right, cannon firing, with explosion taking place overhead; 31 MAY 1862 in exergue // THE PENINSULA * CHICKAHOMINY * THE CAROLINAS, TO / GEN. H. M. NAGLEE / A TOKEN / OF ADMIRATION / AND RESPECT / FOR HIS / GALLANT SERVICES in seven lines. Edge: «bee» CUIVRE.

 

Choice Mint State. Rich chocolate brown surfaces, with alluring brilliance. A fairly scarce Civil War medal, especially when encountered so enchanting and problem-free.

 

Born in Pennsylvania, Henry Morris Naglee came westward in 1846 for the Mexican-American War, making a name for himself in the South Bay in Northern California. Following his discharge from the war, he entered into a career in banking, while also briefly studying viticulture in Europe in 1858. He re-entered the military at the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War, and was involved in the Peninsula Campaign where, as a brigadier general, he distinguished himself at the Battle of Fair Oaks, 31 May–June 1, 1862—a battle at which he received four bullet wounds and had his horse shot out from underneath him. This event is portrayed on the obverse of this medal. Upon recovery, he continued his command, participating in the relief of Washington, D.C. The next year, he was mustered out of the army, returning to San Jose and continuing with his careers in banking and, owing to his study of viticulture, brandy making. There, he had a large tract of land just east of downtown where he cultivated Riesling and Charbono grapes (both used in his brandy making), which ultimately helped garner him the nickname, the "Father of California's brandy industry."

 

Upload: 15 September 2023.