This engraved M1850 Staff and Field Officers presentation sword was given to Captain Henry Almstedt, 1st Missouri Light Artillery Battery. In the spring of 1861, Almstedt, then a colonel in the 1st Regiment United States Reserve Corps, was assigned to guard the St. Louis Arsenal and took part in the capture of Camp Jackson. He was discharged in August 1861.
The following month Almstedt was commissioned colonel of the 2nd Missouri Light Artillery, and served until he tendered his resignation and was mustered out in August 1863.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30012
