Welcome to Iron Horse Military Antiques. I’m an Illinois-based buyer and seller of nineteenth-century documents, letters, images, and militaria, specializing in the American Civil War. If you have questions about items listed on the site, please contact me, Jeff McArdle, at jeff@ironhorsemilitaryantiques.com.

Do you have an item to sell? I offer cash or can sell your item on consignment. My team is also available for appraisals and consultation for estate planning for your collection. Contact jeff@ironhorsemilitaryantiques.com.

Do you have Civil War letters that you’d like to have transcribed, researched, and written up like the other letters you see on this site? Contact jeff@ironhorsemilitaryantiques.com.

I am affiliated with Iron Horse Antiques & Art and am a member of the Ephemera Society of America.

I do not have a brick-and-mortar location. All sales are conducted online or at one of the limited number of shows I attend.

Editorial Policy on Transcripts of Letters and Documents

It is my intent to provide transcripts of letters and documents that are as accurate as they can be. However, because many handwriting styles and practices of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries differ from those used today I correct inconsistent spellings and punctuation use to aid in readability. Many colloquialisms are maintained, although racist or hateful language may be substituted with under___scoring at my discretion. When a word or passage is illegible or otherwise unreadable, this is noted by the use of [square brackets].

My Research

I am currently researching and editing an archive of letters written by Sergeant Henry Lye of Company G, 1st United States Sharpshooters ("Berdan's"). If you have images, documents, or other items related to Henry Lye or other Company G men, I'd be interested in hearing from you.

Henry Lye was born in Somerset, England in 1838. He emigrated to Canada as a young man and shortly thereafter was led, by family connections, to settle in southern Wisconsin. Soon Henry fell in love and was engaged to Almira Shearer, with whom he kept a steady correspondence during his service in the Union Army. Henry was a crack shot and in the summer of 1861 qualified for the company of sharpshooters forming in Wisconsin. That fall the company traveled to Washington, DC, and became Company G of Colonel Hiram Berdan's 1st United States Sharpshooters. Henry, a sergeant and bugler, participated in several of the major battles of 1862 and 1863, including the Peninsula Campaign, Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Chancellorsville. While resisting Longstreet's attack on July 2 at Gettysburg, Henry was mortally wounded near the Emmitsburg Road. He was hastily moved to a field hospital where he died the next day. He is buried in Gettysburg National Cemetery.

Henry's letters to Almira are full of vibrant content and offer a unique view into day-to-day life in one of the Civil War's most noteworthy regiments. I am interested in purchasing letters, documents, images, artifacts, uniform items, and weapons related to Henry Lye and other men from Co. G, 1st Regiment.