Images(2)

Dagger

PeriodCirca 1865

(not assigned)Sheffield, England

MediumSteel, bone, ebony

Dimensions8.75 × 2 × 0.5 in. (22.2 × 5.1 × 1.3 cm)

SignedThe knife is stamped "G. WOODHEAD / SHEFFIELD / WARRANTED" on the blade just above the crossguard.

ClassificationsOccupational Equipment

Credit LineGift of A. Rulon Applegate, 1950

Object number2021.506.1

DescriptionA small sized dagger, with a spear tipped steel blade, a shaped ivory handle, a shaped nickel silver crossguard, and a decorative handle tip and three circular plugs in ebony.
Curatorial RemarksThis small but elegant knife was made by the firm of George Woodhead. George Woodhead (1808-1884) began in partnership with Joshua Hartley in 1839. By 1849, Woodhead began his own company, relocating to 36 Howard Street in Sheffield, England, where he employed approximately 20 men. By 1871, Woodhead had a workforce of 40. His company manufactured Bowie knives, table knives, pocket and folding knives, and other edged products. A knife of this type most likely came with its own leather sheath. The Secret Service began in or around April of 1861, when General Winfield Scott, head of the entire Union Army, introduced an intelligence gathering force at the beginning of the Civil War. Less than a year later, in February of 1862, Secretary of State William H. Seward moved the force, known as both the "Secret Service" or the "National Detective Police," into the War Department, where it was under the control of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. In 1865, a separate Secret Service within the United States Treasury Department began its own operations, largely focused on the issue of fake money. During and immediately following the Civil War, it was estimated that up to a third of all U.S. currency was counterfeit. Secret Service agents also worked along side the U.S. Marshals Service, investigating federal crimes all over the country from murder to robbery.NotesThis small dagger and its companion piece, a steel and leather blackjack (2021.506.2), were both vital pieces of equipment for William Wallace Applegate, a detective for the Secret Service in its early years. The story of Applegate's career is fascinating, seemingly taken from the pages of a post-Civil War dime novel. William Wallace Applegate was born on 2 May 1824 in Monmouth County, New Jersey, one of eleven children of farmer and wheelwright Jacob Irons Applegate (1795 - 1875) and Rebecca Page Applegate (1794 - 1865). As a young adult, William Applegate worked as a wheelwright, most likely trained by his father. On 14 February 1847, William married Elmira Rulon (1827 - 1916). The couple had six children: Russell (1848 - 1876), Florence (1851 - 1915), Stephen (1857 - 1945), Arthur (1860 - 1883), William I. (1863 - 1940), and Elmira (1865 - 1951). In the 1850 Federal Census, William and his family lived in Dover Township, Ocean County, NJ. Although specifics of Applegate's Civil War service have not yet been identified, it is most likely that Applegate was somehow tapped to join the Secret Service during those years. According to a 1911 newspaper article, Applegate was described as "the chief operative of the Secret Service Division and had charge of the New England District, with headquarters in Boston. Applegate was one of the chief agents responsible for the arrest of nationally notorious counterfeiter John P. McCartney. Applegate's name appeared in numerous cases, from illegal liquor smuggling from Canada to counterfeiting and tobacco stamp crimes. At some point, Applegate's oldest son Russell joined his father in the Secret Service, also as a detective. In 1874, Applegate was caught up in a scandal involving Colonel Hiram C. Whitley, then head of the Secret Service, and several other agents, in a plot known as the "Harrington Safe Burglary" scandal. Whitley was brought up on charges and went to trial, at which Applegate gave evidence. The trial resulted in a hung jury, and the case was never retried. Applegate retired from the Service and never worked as an agent again. Applegate was described as "one of the shrewdest and most reliable men in the Service...he possessed good judgement and tact, and...he was clear-minded as well as right-minded. Coloney Whitley frequently said that Mr. Applegate possessed in a marked degree the requisite qualities for a detective in the Secret Service...his persistency and steadiness of purpose, his zeal and his integrity, had been proven..." William's son, Russell, continued with the force until his death in 1876. William Wallace Applegate died on 4 April 1903 at the age of 79. He was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Toms River, New Jersey.

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