The Philadelphia Press of 3 July 1887, page 2 describes the efforts of Union Captain Cowan of the 1st New York Independent Battery to identify the owner of a sword in his possession that was carried by an officer, probably a Virginian, during the 3 July 1863 assault at Gettysburg by Pickett's Division, etc. The officer had crossed the wall trying to take one of Cowan's pieces just to the left of the copse of trees on Cemetery Ridge. The scabbard was of brass and bore the number "425" and the name of the maker "Horstman," possibly from Philadelphia. The sword appeared older. The blade was of very fine steel, the hilt of mother-of-pearl, surmounted by a figure of the goddess of liberty. The guard was a representation of a Palmetto tree and bore the date "1776."