Acquired several years ago when we were fortunate enough to purchase several groupings from the personal collections of our longtime friend, Dr. Francis Lord, this just post Civil War militia piece was noted by Lord as a waist belt plate of the HOUSUM ZOUAVES worn by John C. Gerbig. (Will come with our letter to preserve its origin.) A quick google search found John C. Gerbig and the Housum Zouaves in the 1902 Pennsylvania Adjutant General Report where the following is offered on page 421:

Capt. John C. Gerbig He was a private in Chambers Artillery, April 1860. Pvt. Co. A 2nd Penn. Vol. Inf. three months service, 1861. Quartermaster Sgt. under Capt. P. L. Pearse, Co. A, 2nd Maine Infantry to 1864. Sergeant, Housum Zouaves August 13, 1868. 2nd Lt. Co. C 8th Regt. Infantry, Oct. 6, 1882. 1st Lt. Aug. 2, 1883, honorably discharged June 19, 1884.

A pioneer Civil War collector from a day when nearly no one else paid much attention to the details of many now valued Civil War collectable categories, Francis had an abiding interest in all manner of 19th century military equipage. His primary interest was in Civil War however and led to his widely known, multi volume, pioneer reference, Lord's CIVIL WAR COLLECTORS ENCYCLOPEDIA. While a lot of detailed knowledge has been gained as the interest and value of Civil War collectibles increased so dramatically over the years, Dr. Lord's first and second volumes in particular and his Civil War Sutlers & Their Wares continue to offer valuable and reliable reference to Civil War collectors. (Use Lord in our search feature to find other Lord collection items.) As with all direct sales, we are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with refund of the purchase price upon return as purchased! Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques !