Small country auctions are a Hoot!

[A. F Medic]

Were all the bren mags loaded?

Nope, the mags were not loaded. I just stuck a .303 in there to see what it looked like.

There are 12 mags and 10 are covered with cosmoline. That includes the container. The mags appear to be used but in good shape. I had to soak two mags in gasoline and kereosene to remove the gook! Thanks!!

[A. F Medic]

Back in my older entry of "Small country auctions are a Hoot!"

There is a coffin shield of an Edmund Potter. Killed in Old church Virginia and the date of death. I have found a great deal of information on him but not where he was buried. He was a First Sgt. and died of gun shot wounds.

There are several choices of what could have happened. Body not found. Body buried at Old Church Va (which I doubt since I have the plaque. It is pure silver and has square nail holes).

Or the body was sent home to Cattarogus (bad spelling) NY and buried in a cemetary called Farmington or something like that.

Does anybody know how the remains were ID'd on the coffin, so that they went to the right family?

The shield had to be put on his coffin by the North as the Southerners used other names for the same battle.

If any fourum members live near Old Church Va. could you let me know if there is a research place there. Same for NY but we are working on that but every little bit helps. Doing this is as hard as tracking down the original owner and history of a firearm!

I just found a web site by the Sons of Civil War Veterans and it found Edgar Potter. He died at the 2nd Cold Harbor (Gaines Hill?) He was 24 and a First Sgt.

Buried at Old Church VA--Hanover County VA. However, the Natl Cem. there does not list the soldier. Other cemeteries exist but I can not search them all.

Now I wonder how his coffin plate made it's way so far North without Sgt. Potter?

[bogtrotter2]

When I get it back from a friend, I have a book about the U. S. involment in Russia which I will provide you the name. There were two different groups. The largest U. S. troops were in Vladivostok and were active with a Japanese contingent and a small British outfit. At the start of this action, the U. S. troops were not issued weapons and when some sniping took place they begged some Arisaka 39's from the Japanese until they got word they could break open some of the Moison Nagant cases we had sent and use them. The second group were based around Archangel along with some French and British. Both were charged with progection of equipment sent to the Czarist and Kerenski government prior to the Bolshevik take over and the treaty of Brest-Litovsk which stipulated the Russians were to turnover all material the allies had sent to them. The allies objected so some rather brisk engagements resulted. When the material in question was returned, in spite of some rather strenuous protests both in the U. S. and Europe all parties withdrew. The Japanese lastly and most reluctently. It was a minor and rather interesting postscript to the war that started the bloodiest century in history.