Ms Richardson,

I hope the 5th Texas Cavalry martingale ( gorget) piece you bought was not the one that was recently ( within last 2-3 months) for auction on eBay and being represented as " Original Equipment". If it is the one I'm thinking of, I also bid on it until I had a chance to sit down one night and go back over my notes and references and come to the realization that , based on my opinion, it had to be a reproduction and not an 1862 piece. Susequently , I bought a piece from another dealer that was exactly the same thing. However, this dealer advertised it as a reprodution piece and priced it accordingly ( < $ 100) . I purchased the piece and thanked the dealer for their forthrightness on their feedback section. .

I had an ancestor in the 5th Texas Cavalry who was killed in action at Val Verde. That is the source of my interest in the 5th and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about the 5th Texas Cavalry aka 5th Texas Mounted Rifles , 5th Texas Mounted Volunteers and the " Second Regiment" . This later name was applied to them while they were part of Sibley's Brigade on its ill -fated New Mexico Campaign of 1861-1862.

I'd also be happy to communicate with you ( only via email) about how I came to the conclusion that the 5th Texas Cavalry gorget ( as advertised on eBay as an original piece) was a reproduction .

Regards, CAM