Milestone’s Sept. 26 Premier Military Auction Honors Courageous American Warriors And 250 Years Of Historic Battles
Featured: Civil War pieces including uniform, circa-1863 35-star US flag, museum-quality collection of 1864-1865 manuscript field maps, WWII D-Day uniform, famed marksman’s solid gold medals
WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – On September 26, Milestone Auctions will present the Fall 2026 edition of its popular Premier Military Sale. The fully-curated 627-lot selection of rare, well-provenanced antique and vintage items is designed to take military buffs on a journey steeped in American history. The 250-year timeline starts in the 18th century with coveted Revolutionary War items and progresses to the modern-war era. Significant sections are devoted to Civil War (Confederate and Union) and World War II relics, including important uniform groupings, helmets and headgear, flags, medals, and much more. All forms of remote and absentee bidding will be available for this live auction, which will be webcast in real time from Milestone’s gallery.
The Civil War offerings are led by a museum-worthy collection of 21 manuscript Civil War maps identified to “Brigadier General Alpheus S. Williams, Highest Ranking Officer from Michigan” and relating to the campaigns of General William Sherman and himself, in 1864-65. Three maps were drawn on thin paper and appear to have been field-sketched. One of the maps describes the “Opening of the Atlanta Campaign, May 1864” and seems to be a reconnaissance map, as it notes names, physical features, the distance to various places off the map, etc. Additionally, there are 18 18 manuscript scribed battle maps, likely created as master maps for photographic reproduction in the monumental Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. The collection’s provenance is uncertain, but the owner’s father was friends with, and lived adjacent to Milo Quaife, who edited From the Cannon’s Mouth, a published collection of letters that General Williams sent to his daughter during the war. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000
A coveted Civil War Union uniform consists of a midnight-blue wool sack coat with four eagle buttons, and a fatigue blouse. The tunic coat’s single interior pocket is marked C.D.D. (Clothing Department and Depot) Managing Maker, with a star. Standard field uniforms of this type were made in large numbers and for soldiers of the Union Army, but were routinely discarded after the war, making this example very rare. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000
Stunning and ultra-rare, a Civil War silk flag with a canton featuring 35 hand-painted gilt stars in a circular medallion is constructed identically to a standard guidon, but without the swallowtail. It is considered particularly scarce because it displays a design that was in service for only two years, from July 4, 1863 till July 3, 1865. It saw military service during a crucial period when tensions were high over the proposed secession of West Virginia from Virginia. The beautifully-preserved flag was formerly the property of a prominent Chicago family with an extensive military background. It is archivally mounted and carries a $6,000-$10,000 estimate.
A noteworthy group lot consists of late-19th/early 20th-century solid gold US Distinguished Marksmanship medals all issued to the same man, Kellogg K V Casey (1877-1938). A Spanish-American War veteran and marksman of great distinction, Casey is regarded as having been an innovator in the sport of target shooting. He enlisted as a private in the New York National Guard in 1898, ultimately achieving the rank of 1st lieutenant. An exceptionally talented shooter, he won numerous medals in state competitions and was also one of six members of the US team that won a gold medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics held at the Bisley rifle range (UK). During WWI and in his subsequent civilian years, Casey worked at DuPont, where he was appointed to the critical role of director of military sales. The auction catalog provides an extensive breakdown of the lot’s contents, whose gold scrap value alone would be around $9,210. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000
A WWII uniform and M41 jacket grouping contains the property of Bronze Star recipient Major Charles Waldrop Sullivan (d. 1991), Headquarters Co., 1st Engineer Special Brigade. Sullivan landed in Normandy with the 1st ESB on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The lot includes Sullivan’s officer’s uniform jacket with an Engineer Special Brigade patch on the left shoulder and six bullion overseas stripes on the left cuff. An Amphibious Engineers Seahorse patch is stitched to the left breast pocket, with a three-place ribbon bar and the Bronze Star above. Other insignia include the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon with four campaign stars and an arrowhead, and the Asiatic-Pacific campaign medal with two stars. Bullion “Major” ranks are on the shoulder boards, and US and Engineer officer’s insignia are on the collar. The uniform has a label dated March 1944. Included trousers match the jacket very well. The grouping also includes Sullivan’s officer’s service shirt and M43 field Jacket with an Engineer Special Brigade patch on the left shoulder and an Amphibious Engineers Seahorse patch on the left breast. There are six gold tape overseas stripes on the left cuff, and Major and Engineer castle pins are affixed to the collar. A second pair of trousers is well matched to the shirt. Rounding out the selection are Sullivan’s WWII officer’s visor cap with a scarce wrap-around chinstrap, his equipment bag stenciled to the side C.W. SULLIVAN / 0304759, and various ephemera. Estimate: $3,000-$4,000
Milestone’s Sept. 26, 2026 Premier Military Auction will be held live at Milestone’s gallery located at 38198 Willoughby Parkway, Willoughby (suburban Cleveland), OH 44094, and webcast live. Start time: 10am ET. Preview on auction day from 8-10am. All forms of bidding will be available, including live via the Internet through Milestone Auctions’ own bidding platform, LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable or AuctionZip. For additional information on any item in the auction, call 440-527-8060 or email [email protected]. Online: www.milestoneauctions.com
