This antique peg leg was owned by Mason S. Myers who was a private with the 76th Regiment of the New York Volunteers during the Civil War. He was injured in his right leg on July 1st, 1863 which was the first day at the Battle of Gettysburg and was said to of laid on the field for the three days of the battle before he could be recovered. He later had his leg amputated and could of possibly had this peg leg at the time or at a later date. Even though the U.S. government had early prosthetic legs available at the time some injured soldiers preferred a peg leg which you can see through photographs of the time. He was a farmer from the Richland/Orwell area of New York which are about 3 miles apart and had enlisted at the age of 19. There is a card that was probably added for museum display or by a collector that is attached to the peg leg offering some of this information as well as we done some online research on his background. Also a photograph from around 1910 that is included in which he is on the left. This piece came out of an old collection in Upstate New York where Mr. Mason lived throughout his lifetime. This is truly a rare opportunity to own a piece of history relating to the most famous battle fought during the Civil War at Gettysburgh, Pennsylvania. All of the leather straps and brass buckles are present with proper age wear and the leg itself is made of wood with a faceted cut design. It has the original cushioning material inside which shows wear and it measures about 25 1/2" in length. Circa 1800s
