A Date of Some Import

I was tasked with removing a heavy calcium crust that covered the entire face of this federal eagle plate.  The crust often grows and bonds to the brass when plates such as this are lost in low,damp areas.  While this is a beautiful relic in and of itself, the fact that the soldier etched a date on the back, a date that must have held significance for him, makes this a neat piece of history.

On May 1, 1863 General Robert E. Lee left General Jubal A. Early's division to hold Fredericksburg, while marching with the rest of the army to meet Union Gneral Hooker's main offensive thrust at Chancellorsville.  On May 3, the Union VI Corps under Sedgewick, reinforced by John Gibbon's II Corps division, having crossed the Rappahannock River, assaulted and carried the Confederate entrenchments on Marye's Heights.  The outnumbered Confederates withdrew and regrouped west and southeast of the town.

The relic was recovered in Fredericksburg, VA.

Camp-made Counterfeit

The counterfeiting of coins has been going on since ancient times.  No surprise then that some creative , and financially strapped soldiers in our Civil War used their spare time to make spare change. Shown below is a lead half dollar that when freshly poured and minted from a crude mold, would have looked very much like the real thing to someone unused to handling such a large denomination. I was asked to bring out the detail of this relic and have done so by first adding a uniform ground coloration then dusting with white, lead oxide.  Prior to this, and upon first glance, this special relic appeared to be little more than a lead disc as seen in the bottom pre-restoration photo.

Rust Removal and Soldier Scratchings

While removing rust from a breakthrough area on the face of this eagle plate, I noticed etchings on the backside.  The soldier looks to have carved a flag and perhaps some other items as well.  Camp boredom was a huge problem and many a soldier turned idle hands to carving whatever was handy.

Returning an Over-cleaned Relic to As-Dug Condition

Here is an example of an over-cleaned Virginia coat button. A wire brush, or more likely, coarse steel wool was used to remove the 155 year old patina. Back in the day this harsh treatment may have been acceptable.  Nowadays, anything coming out of the ground is minimally cleaned and certainly never shined.  The only plus side of this over-clean was how it created the contrast of the details by hi-lighting them against the dark verdigris of the oxidized brass in the recesses.

I used a patination acid to oxidize the exposed brass and added a bit of dust to match this to another button the collector cited as coming from the same soil.

Some details are no longer as visible in the re-patinated version with the loss of the contrast but all details remain physically intact. Patination does not corrode away but leaves a thin salts layer when reacting with the raw metal. All details can be "brought out" as desired by selectively rubbing them up a bit. Doing so however would probably wear through to the underlying brass so I will leave this option to the collector.

SNY Buckle

This State of New York militia buckle was probably lost during the Peninsula Campaign.  I couldn't resist the opportunity to improve its condition and hopefully pass it on to someone who would like to add this to their collection and who appreciates how it looks now.    Basically, I have removed some of the high profile oxidation, or "crusties" as I refer to them, filled some voids in the rim, and evened out the overall color.  I also removed the digger's marks from the solder fill.  I think the work represents an improvement without overdoing the resto'.  This plate is available for sale for those who may be interested.

Confederate Artillery: Block A Repair

Here is the rather common CS Artillery button constructed of a brass face, tin back and brass shank. The back is totally gone as you can see and the button has been bent over in half. These have a relatively high copper content making the relic more malleable than most.  The repair requires making a back appear like rusted tin and installing the characteristic off-center elongated loop found in these varieties.

Some Christmas Eve Restorations

Seen in this picture is a Confederate forked tongue buckle and some other fine Civil War relics that came to me for repair and restoration.

The buckle frame, the only original piece, was without the bar and tongue when it arrived. It was also broken and in an ugly pretzel. Additionally, it was devoid of any consistent patina having been "roughed up" by the plow over so many years.  I straightened it out then made the bar and the tongue to fit and attached all.  I then gave it all a woods-dug look to bring it all together. That requires layering. As veteran collectors of dug relics know, there is a richness of that look that is difficult to replicate.

The two company letter M relics were broken and both were missing their narrow left legs, the most fragile part of the device. I fabricated, attached and then blended the repairs into the existing look of the relics as dug. The company letter A was broken as well. The trick, or challenge, as always, is how to camouflage break seams while maintaining the originality of the rest of the relic. Whereas I could pretty much go in any direction with the fork-tongue buckle, with the other items, an existing surface attesting to where they were recovered should be retained (my opinion).  That super light and soft crust coupled with the great condition of the brass under it makes me believe the letters are Richmond area finds.

The block I infantry button was in several pieces (five).  I put that puzzle back together, filled voids, added the back and as with the other relics blended the repairs in with oxides, dirt, dust and whatever else I felt would give it the right look. All in all, a dang good looking display... not destined for the island of misfit relics.