Chantilly, Virginia

Annual Civil War Show at Dulles Expo Center

by Robert Kyle

At a time when our nation was focused on the Iraq war, it was ironic to browse artifacts and implements of a much longer and deadlier conflict when American soldiers were engaged in a bitter fight against each other 140 years ago. If we wonder why the Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis can't see eye to eye, our own historical record provides proof of how a country can become divided to the point of domestic warfare.

Today America is no longer at war with itself, but its Civil War has become big business, as demonstrated at the 31st annual show organized by the Northern Virginia Relic Hunters Association on April 12 and 13.

Our Civil War fatalities from combat and other causes totaled over 198,000 for the South and 359,000 for the North. With the passage of time the war's human cost has become lost and replaced with the historical significance of individual soldiers and the equipment needed to wage war.

When something has historical importance combined with scarcity, it has value. Prices of Civil War goods have steadily escalated, especially those used by the army of the runner-up.

"The sky's the limit on some of these pieces," said show chairman John Graham, when asked his opinion on the Confederate battle flag sold at a James Julia auction this year for $126,500 (see M.A.D., May 2003, p. 10-A). "Everybody says it's going to top out for any one of these high-priced pieces, that it's going to level off and drop. So far we haven't seen it. Even in times like these, when there are less people buying, for whatever reason those high-priced figures still seem to be holding their own and growing."

According to some dealers at the show, rising prices have knocked the casual buyer out of contention. Also, the economy is keeping some consumers from attending shows at all.

"The collectors are buying, and the average public is doing nothing," is how Amherst, Virginia, dealer Jerry Fertitta described it. "I sold high-end, big-money items. The low end—the one, three, and five hundred dollars—I didn't sell."

Dealer Steve Rogers of Ithaca, New York, agreed. "I'm still dealing pretty actively with the hard-core collector. The midrange market is definitely off. There's no way around it." He defined the midrange as merchandise $100 to $1000.

While guns and swords, typically the first Civil War things to come to mind, seem to have hit a plateau in price, personal effects of soldiers have been thriving. They are part of the midrange that's still selling.

"Right now the paper market seems to be very good," said John Graham. "Autographed material, letters, diaries, and the images have picked up quite a bit, particularly images that have a history and identification."

Janet Hayes of Gunsight Antiques, Standish, Maine, said, "People loaded with guns and swords aren't doing well, but photography and letters do really well."

She and her husband, Bedford, had successful sales of corps badges and ID disks, the equivalent of dog tags. "We had about ten when we left home and have two left," she said of the ID disks. "We sold two in the thirty-five-hundred-dollar range. The price depends on what soldier and what battles he was in. It's all related to the history."

The Hayeses exhibit at shows to sell their inventory and to buy more of it for their Web site. Janet said fewer people attending shows doesn't always equate to decreased buyer interest. "We have found that the Internet has made a big impact on our business, because a lot of the customers we used to have at shows we still have, but they don't go to the shows, they buy from us on line. So for us, we're doing the same business only in a different way," she said. "We have museums who buy from us [on line] and a lot of private collectors who never go to shows."

This particular show Hayes classified as "very good." In addition to the corps badges and ID disks, they sold a uniform from the 13th Maine Volunteers, a frock coat, photographs, and letters.

Vann Martin of Fort Mill, South Carolina, saw a decline in sales. "It's been a fair show. People are conservative in their purchases. I sold photos primarily and a few [corps] badges. I specialize in them, but I didn't sell as many as I normally do."

Sam White of Chesterfield, Virginia, said, "The show was pretty good. The crowd wasn't what I was hoping for because the weather was too nice." White said he bought quite a bit to stock up for an upcoming show in Ohio.

Leonard Benson of Turnersville, New Jersey, sold GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) badges, tokens, and Currier & Ives prints. What sells best, he said, are "one-of-a-kind, unique items that you don't see on every table."

He had one of those in the form of an 1857 booklet, Report on The Possible Purchase of Camels from the Mediterranean for Use by Our Army. Priced at $850, it was authored by Jefferson Davis, then U.S. Secretary of War. Not long after this report was published, he became President of the Confederate States of America.

"There's a lot of information on camels in there," said Len's wife, Mary Benson, "what they eat and the Arabic terms for the different parts of a camel. I didn't finish reading it, so I'm not sure if they ended up buying any or not. I think they bought a few, but they didn't work out."

Apparently the Davis dromedary document was forgotten after he switched sides and the war began. There are no battlefield accounts of a Confederate camel cavalry charge.

Each year this show acknowledges achievements by its members and exhibitors with awards in various categories. Virginia collector David Bobbitt took the Best of Show award for his display of "Excavated Artifacts of the Petersburg Campaign." Paul Loane won Most Educational for "Things from the Knapsack." Loane is coauthor of a book on Union headgear used during the war.

This year the relic club's Web site told members that two of its own, Dale Blosser and Ron Stanley, both of Virginia, could not attend the show because they had been summoned to active duty and were now serving in Iraq.

The Northern Virginia Relic Hunters Association is part of the HistoryChannel.com network. For more information, go to the Web site (www.nvrha.com).