Measuring 38 inches overall, with a 31 3/4 inch curved double fuller blade, etched with vinework and patriotic motifs on both sides, and the left side bearing a banner marked "BE JUST AND FEAR NOT" (a quote from William Shakespeare's Henry VIII) on the side, with the Emerson & Silver marking on the ricasso. The hilt is fine gilt brass, with sculpted scrollwork filling the space between the branch and knuckle bow, a perched eagle on the engraved pommel, a blue, silver and gold wire sword knot, and a cast and sculpted silver grip with alternating smooth and leafy bands. The scabbard is nickel finished with engraved brass furniture and is inscribed "Presented to/COL. JOHN C. McQUISTON/123rd Regt. Ind.Vol.Inf" between the bands and a set of battle honors (10 honors in 2 columns) between the mid band and the tip. Hailing from Indiana, McQuiston was one of many Americans who answered the call for short-duration volunteer units at the outbreak of the Civil War, volunteering with the 16th Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he was nominated as Captain of Company D. During this time, the 16th saw action at Balls Bluff and Shenandoah in Virginia. He then spent time as the Provost Marshal for the 4th District of Indiana before being made colonel of the 123rd Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry in 1863. Active in the field through the end of the Civil War, the 123rd saw action in the Atlanta Campaign (including the Battles of Resaca, Kennesaw Mountain and Lovejoy Station, and the Siege of Atlanta), the Franklin-Nashville Campaign, and the Carolinas Campaign. The inscription on the sheath suggests a period of issue of early to mid-March 1865 as the battle honors don't list the complete action of the Carolinas Campaign nor McQuiston's final rank of Brevet Brigadier General of Volunteers. After the war, McQuiston had to deal with some blowback from his work as Provost Marshal, as someone he had busted for trying to conceal a lost Union horse brought a lawsuit against him for false imprisonment while he was afield leading the 123rd. Since he was not home to receive the summons, he and one of his agents were tried in absentia, and eventually had to resort to appealing to Congress for relief in the case. In civilian life, McQuiston settled in the South, working as a railroad engineer, conductor and road master, and passing on in 1903.

Fine. The blade shows a mixed gray patina, some edge nicks, pitting, and signs of sharpening/polishing. The hilt shows over half of the gilt finish, with a well aged patina on the visible brass and lower areas of the grip, minor handling marks, and some fraying of the knot. The sheath is very good, with some dents between the mid band and battle honors, darker patina around the brass, and some light handling marks.