Mike:
Thanks for that insight. So, this sword may have been a Battlefield find. If his men gave him such a gift, it makes it more of a reason to try to find out a little more about him. Does it make sense for me to try to read up on the battles the 28th fought in to see if Matthew Hardie shows up? If a Union Cavalry sword was lost on the field of Battle, it would stand to reason that the battle had Mounted Cavalry as a part of the opposing Army...which may make checking out the battles a little easier as I can't imagine they would have given him a sword that had no relationship to a Battle he was in.....right?. Thanks again, Joanne