The sword has a lightly curved 32 inch blade with patriotic etching, Weyersburg maker's mark on the left ricasso, "IRON PROOF" on the spine, and "W.H. HORSTMANN/& SON/PHILADELPHIA" on the right. The gilt brass hilt has primarily floral designs and a wire wrapped and silver plated brass grip. The shagreen scabbard has scroll engraved fittings and an oval presentation plate inscribed "TO LT JOSEPH F. DENGLER, BY/his friends/employed in the Provost Marshal's/OFFICE, TENTH DISTRICT,/Pottsville, P'a, Nov'r, 1863." Included with the sword is a binder of research relating to Dengler and the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry. Joseph F. Dengler (1841-1914) mustered into Company A of the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry on September 23, 1861. He was promoted on September 28, 1862 to sergeant major. He was transferred the same day to the Field & Staff. He was discharged for wounds on January 20, 1863, after nearly six months recovering from wounds suffered on June 27, 1862, at Gaines' Mill, Virginia, (third of the Seven Days Battles). After his discharge he was in the Invalid Corps. The presentation in November 1863 would have been several months after the Schuylkill Country Draft Riots that took place in Pottsville and elsewhere in Schuylkill County on June 10, 1863. The Provost Marshal was Charlemagne Tower of Pottsville who was charged with enforcing the draft which was completed in October of 1863 and included Charles Dengler, Joseph Dengler's brother. Thus, the presentation may have been related to a roll Dengler played during the draft. Dengler was sent to Washington, D.C., on December 3, 1863, as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 24th Regiment Veteran Reserve Corps. On December 3, 1864, he is listed as a 1st lieutenant and adjutant. He an assistant provost marshall in the Freedmen's Bureau. He resigned on May 1, 1866. An included copy of his Certificate of Disability for Discharge indicates he was shot in the forearm at Gaines' Mill which resulted in a compound fracture of both bones in his forearm and rendered the arm and hand disabled and thus he was determined to be "1/3 disabled." After the war, he was a cashier of the Pennsylvania National Bank of Pottsville and was found guilty of embezzling $8,000 from the bank and was sentenced to two years and two month in Eastern Penitentiary. His brother was also a veteran of the war and was also a bank executive and the justice of the peace for Pottsville. Joseph Dengler was a resident of the Pennsylvania Soldiers' and Sailor's Home in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1912 and died there in early July of 1914.

Fine with mostly bright polished blade with distinct etching and some light discoloration, aged patina on the hilt, most of the silver remaining on the grip, aged patina on the scabbard fittings which are somewhat loose, and mild age and storage wear overall including on the attractive shagreen scabbard body. Provenance: Jay Reid Collection.