Conserving General Hobart Ward’s holster, boots and spurs at Gettysburg

Conservators at the National Park Service chose not to repair a hole in General John Henry Hobart Ward’s holster, because it looked like wear from Civil War use and was part of the object’s history. That decision runs through the treatment of three of his leather artifacts from the collection of Gettysburg National Military Park. The Artist Preservation Group paid for the conservation work, done at the Park Service’s conservation labs in Charles Town, West Virginia, so the pieces can be studied and exhibited.

The man

John Henry Hobart Ward (1823-1903) rose from the enlisted ranks to general. Born into a prominent New York military family, he enlisted in the 7th U.S. Infantry at 18 and reached the rank of Sergeant Major. He was wounded at Monterrey in 1846 in the Mexican-American War, and later became Commissary General of the New York militia.

In the Civil War he recruited the 38th New York Infantry and was its first colonel. He took part in the Army of the Potomac’s battles in the first two years, was promoted to brigadier general on October 4, 1862, and led a brigade at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg on July 2 his brigade held positions from Devil’s Den to the Peach Orchard and fought in the fierce Confederate attack on the Union left. When Major General Daniel Sickles was wounded, Ward temporarily commanded the division. Later he led a brigade in the reorganized Second Corps in the Overland Campaign. During the Battle of the Wilderness Winfield Scott Hancock temporarily relieved him of command, citing misbehavior and intoxication. Ward mustered out with an honorable discharge on July 18, 1864, and died on July 24, 1903, after being struck by a train.

The holster

Ward’s holster for a Smith and Wesson Model No. 2 Army revolver is a single piece of leather sewn along the edges, with a triangular flap held shut by a copper alloy cuff button bearing an eagle. When it was donated the leather was pliable and sound, but it had tears around the belt loop, shallow abrasions from use, loose fibers from the inside, and waxy green copper stearate on the button that had also transferred to the flap.

Ward’s holster before treatment. NPS photo

Treatment:

• brush and vacuum surface cleaning;
• mechanical removal of copper stearate with a wooden skewer;
• cleaning the button with mineral spirits and coating it with a mixture that helps prevent new copper stearate growth, with a UV marker so the coating can be checked under ultraviolet light;
• stabilizing the ends of the tears with Japanese tissue paper and an acrylic emulsion;
• making an internal custom support from carved ethafoam covered in polyester.

The holster after treatment. NPS photo

The hole where the revolver’s hammer rested was neither repaired nor disguised. The worn edges suggested it came from active use, perhaps in the Civil War.

The boots

Ward’s boots are dark brown vegetable-tanned leather with stiff soles and heels 3 centimeters high. Each has a restrained embroidered curving “plant” with clusters of three “leaves” across the front and a single star on each side. They arrived pliable and sound but with wear: uneven heels, green rub marks from brass-plated iron spurs, scuffs, and fine light cracks. Storing them flat with no internal support had left creases on the top flaps and more wear along them.

Ward’s boots before treatment. NPS photo

Treatment was dry cleaning (vacuum, brush and sponges) and slightly dampened swabs; toning the leather loss in the creases along the front of the shaft with watercolor, since that damage came from storage and was recent; and adding black display fabric over the boot inserts, covered with Tyvek, to keep their shape and stop more loss. Wear that looked like Civil War period use was left alone. The loss along the front crease was more recent, because the exposed leather was too bright, which is why it was toned.

The boots after treatment. NPS photo

The spurs

The spurs are brass-plated iron with a chain under the heel and vegetable-tanned leather straps. When donated they were structurally unstable because the leather had deteriorated, with worn, flaking edges. One strap had been crudely repaired with brown thread at an unknown date, and a strap near the buckle was torn. On the other spur a strap had also pulled loose near the rivet, and the leather under the buckle was detached because two loops had failed.

Ward’s spurs before treatment. NPS photo

Conservators stabilized the flaking black top layer with methylcellulose and cellugel, removed the old thread, repaired and lined the torn straps with Japanese tissue and acrylic adhesive applied with a heat spatula, toned the lining and lost black coating with watercolor, and cleaned corrosion from the chain with mineral spirits. They did not coat the metal with a corrosion inhibitor, for three reasons: the corrosion was minimal, the spurs will be stored in an environmentally controlled space when not on show, and coating would have needed handling of the leather that might have damaged it.

The spurs after treatment. NPS photo

Why it matters

The page says the work makes the artifacts safe to preserve and exhibit, and that the Artist Preservation Group’s help supports the Park Service in sharing the stories of those who fought at Gettysburg.

Sources

• National Park Service, Gettysburg National Military Park, The Legacy of General John Henry Hobart Ward; rewritten in hubnx's own words.