Union. Hooker's Division. 1st Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers Regimental Bullet Badge. Gold.
Approximately 82 mm, total length. 17.3 grams. An outstanding gold bullet badge, engraved LIEUT. JOHN S. CLARK around the top rim of the bullet, with 1ST REGT. MASS VOLS on hanger backed by a long pin. The body of the bullet is engraved HOOKER'S DIVISION in gold, with a blue enamel center listing the numerous engagements of the division including Blackburn's Ford, Williamsburg, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Bull Run and Fredericksburg, among others. A rare and significant piece of Civil War memorabilia, particularly in gold. John S. Clark was born in 1832 in Roxbury, Massachusetts to Henry and Ann Clark, and worked as a coppersmith before enlisting in late May 1861, as a sergeant and joining C Company of the Massachusetts 1st Infantry. Wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862, and again at Gettysburg in early July 1863, Clark had a most distinguished career being promoted to second lieutenant in July 1862, first lieutenant in March 1863, and then to captain in September 1863. He was mustered out of the army after three years' service in May 1864, in Boston. Sadly, he would not survive long after the war, passing away at the age of 39 from smallpox on July 19, 1872, in Boston.