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After the war, he remained with the U.S. Army and served as Colonel of the 35th U.S. Infantry in San Francisco and later the 24th U.S. Infantry in Texas before retiring in 1873. He also patented a design for a cable car system in San Francisco in 1871. In retirement, he published two volumes on his service in the Civil War and was connected to several businesses. He died on January 26, 1893 of “Bright’s disease” and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His brother Ulysses died just
a few days after attending the funeral. Abner Doubleday’s obituaries recalled him as “an illustrious and gallant fighter” and noted his role firing
the first Union gun at Fort Sumter. There was
no talk of Doubleday and baseball, just his
leadership of men on the battlefield.
The Mills Commission in 1907 claimed that
Doubleday invented the game of baseball
in 1839 based on an unsupported claim by
Abner Graves who wrote that Doubleday had
invented to sport in Elihu Phinney’s pasture in
Cooperstown, New York, around 1839. Graves
had suggested the first game was played in 1839-1841 and that he had
been a participant in the game. He would have been a young boy at the time and has since also been shown to have made false claims about working for the Pony Express. He later shot and killed his wife and was found insane. The commission from the start wanted to find an origin of the game in America rather than the game evolving from the similar and much older game of rounders from the British Isles, and this story fit their needs just fine, especially given the late General had been a Union hero during the Civil War. Some of the commissioners also had ties to Doubleday, and he was dead by the time and thus could not contradict the story. Doubleday himself had not claimed to have invented the game. The story has since been classed as a myth. In 1839, he would have been away studying at West Point, and his family had already left Cooperstown. Baseball itself clearly originated from the British game rounders and other stick and ball games which had been played in America since before the nation’s founding. Baseball as a formal game similar to the modern sport began emerging in the 1840s in New York City, but other parts of the Northeast also had their own variations of “town ball” early on. The New York version and the Massachusetts version were the most popular in the 1840s and 1850s before the New York version became the standard form of baseball for the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1857. Soldiers on both sides of the Civil War are known to have played baseball in camp and even as prisoners of war to pass the time, but the sport was far more popular in the North. Despite the evidence to the contrary, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was built in Cooperstown in 1937 and Doubleday Field is still proclaimed the “Birthplace of Baseball.” Doubleday has long been more famous for his mythical role as the “Father
of Baseball” than for his real devotion and service to his country during the Civil War which is
a shame given the important positions he
played in winning the ultimate game against
the Confederacy. He returned the first “ball” back at the Confederates from Fort Sumter as the war began and remained with the U.S. Army until 1873.
CONDITION: Excellent. The engraving and
inscriptions remain crisp. The barrel retains
90% plus of the original high polish blue
finish and has gray patina and some very
slight flash pitting on the bright muzzle. The
front sight is absent. The hammer retains the vast majority of the original niter blue. The frame displays 95% plus of the original gold gilt finish and has crisp checkering and minimal light wear such as a rubbed spot on the cannon. Mechanically excellent. The case is very fine and has mild age and storage related wear including attractive aged patina on the lid escutcheon. The opened picture box of ammunition is fine with a full set of ammunition, distinct labels, and mild age and storage related wear. This is a truly one-of-a-kind, historic set of Derringers presented to the well-known Civil War hero General Doubleday and his wife. He is a true Union hero but is more well-known in history as the “Father of Baseball.” B) Moore Patent Derringer Inscribed to Mary Doubleday - Serial no. 18, 41 cal., 2 1/2 inch flat top round bbl., blue/gold finish, metal grips. As described in “A.”
CONDITION: Fine. The engraving remains crisp, and the frame retains nearly all of the gilt finish. The barrel has been cleaned and displays a gray-brown patina, some light pitting, and generally minor wear. Mechanically excellent. This is an incredibly rare and historic pair of Moore Patent Derringers. Very few of these distinctive pocket pistols featured such deluxe treatment and inscriptions to a couple who played an important role in the American Civil War make them truly special.
Estimate: 100,000 - 160,000
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