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In this day and age of a fast paced lifestyle and constant pressures and demands,
the presence of a "hobby" in one's life is becoming rare. The hobby of collecting (whether it be stamps, civil
war relics, coins, etc.) has many benefits and certainly can be very therapeutic in todays world where the past is easily
forgotten. For some, collecting some item can offer opportunities to take a "time out" from the stresses of everyday
life and focus on something fun and mindless. For those interested in Civil War history the hobby of collecting Civil War
relics has added benefits. Collecting civil war relics allows the collector to come into physical contact with history and
with those who participated in it. It is a neat experience to read on a certain aspect of Civil War history and then be able
to hold or own an item that was actually there. Indeed, how many a collector has spent some time looking at their collection
and afterward felt as though they had just taken a trip back into time! The following paragraphs offer a very brief history
of collecting Civil War relics, in this particular article the emphasis is on relics from the Gettysburg battlefield. However
the collecting of Civil War relics from other battlefields began in the same way as it did in Gettysburg. For more detailed
reading on the history of Civil War relic collecting try reading "The Illustrated History of American Civil War Relics"
by Stephen Sylvia and Michael O'Donnell, as well as "Gettysburg Battlefield Relics and Souvenoirs" by Michael
O'Donnell which was recently published.
The collecting of Civil War relics began during the Civil War
as citizens would collect battlefield items soon after a battle ended. This was especially the case in the town of Gettysburg
after the three day battle ended there in 1863. Citizens, both young and old, collected souvenoirs from the battlefield. Some
Gettysburg residents sold their finds to visitors others kept them and passed their battlefield finds to the next generation
in their family. Some collections were famous and adopted the name of their family, for example, The Rosensteel Collection,
the Danner's Museum Collection, the Ziegler Collection, the Wert Collection, The Pitzer Collection, The Chritzmann Collection,
or the Shield's Collection. Some collections stayed in their respective family for many years, others were placed in Museums
named after the collector of the family.
The first citizen to place his collection in a Museum was Joel
A. Danner who created the first Gettysburg museum of battlefield relics named the Danner's Museum. The Danner's Museum was
in operation from 1865-1890. The museum was located on Baltimore Street in Gettysburg not far from what is now Lincoln Square.
Danner's museum also functioned as a relic shop as his museum items were for sale (O'Donnell, 2009). As a result, there are
multiple Danner items that bear the same painted number. This museum is somewhat mysterious as information about the museum
is scarce. It is known that sometime after 1890 the collection was sold and all or most of the collection ended up in Massachusetts
and in some GAR posts. Items from the Danner's Museum are highly sought after by collectors and usually carry a significant
price tag. It is also known that the Rosensteel family did attempt to locate and purchase the collection in Massachusetts.
However the family was only able to locate and obtain part of the collection. At some point the collection must have been
broken up and pieces of the collection filtered out to the public through auctions, etc. Many of the Items that had been in
the Danner's Museum have a distinctive number painted on the relic or on the base that the relic sits on. This is
especially the case with artillery shells from the collection that have the trademark number painted on the base, a way
for Joel A. Danner to catalog his collection. Other items such as swords may have the place where they were found on the battlefield
painted on the sheath. (Photo above below) A display case from the Danner's Museum; Photo below: Gettysburg
residents pose in front of the Danner's Museum (1865-1890). Joel A. Danner stands near the doorway to the left of the man
with derby and beard. Notice the Union 5th Corp flag fluttering in the breeze.
Clearly the most famous of currently intact collections is the Rosensteel
Collection which was donated to the National Park Service in 1971. Most of the collection can be viewed at the Visitor's Center
in Gettysburg. However much of the collection remains in storage as the collection is too vast and there is insufficient space
at the center to display the entire collection. The Rosensteel Collection was started by John Rosensteel who was a 16 year
old Gettysburg resident at the time of the battle. Around the end of the end of the 19th cent John Rosenteel would create
the Round Top Museum (no longer in existence) to house his collection at the time. John Rosenteel's collection would eventually
be taken over by his nephew George Rosensteel. The Rosensteel Collection was composed of other collections that had been purchased
intact from others as well as items purchased from individuals and even farmers in Gettysburg who had masses of relics stored
in their barns. In 1921 George Rosensteel opened the Gettysburg National Museum. He had opened this museum on a piece of ground
that his Uncle had sold him on Ziegler's Grove next to the Nation Cemetery. George Rosensteel went on to obtain many collections
from other collectors and veterans of Gettysburg which as mentioned earlier would be donated to National Park Service.
(above) A relic display board or "showboard" assembled by John Rosensteel.
There were also many other collections and museums in Gettysburg.
The Thompson house in Gettysburg had become Lee's headquarters during the battle. After the war it became Lee's Headquarter's
Museum. Relics from this museum can be found in some of the relic shops in Gettysburg. There was also the Shield's Museum.
The Shield's Museum was started by Arthur H. Shields who opened the museum in 1925. The museum consisted primarily of relics
collected from the battlefield. The museum eventually closed and its collection was auctioned off on November of 1985. Items
from the museum can be found in individual collections and in relic shops also.
A large Gettysburg collection that was recently sold was the John Plank Geiselman Collection. John Plank Geiselman was a life
long Gettysburg resident who passed away on September 11, 2001. The collection is considered to be the last of the large Gettysburg
collections that will be available to the public. This collection was recently purchased by The Horse Soldier and items from
this collection are available to the public to purchase. The Horse Soldier, located in Gettysburg, is the source to contact
concerning the John Plank Geiselman Collection. They have photographed the entire collection and keep extensive records
of each individual item from the collection. A link to The Horse Soldier's website, which features photographs of the John
Plank Geiselman Collection, can be found below. Unfortunately
for the average collector the low prices that relics used to be purchased for when the massive collections accumulated
no longer exist. Civil War relics, particularly Gettysburg relics, have become expensive. However there are relics that
are affordable to everyone such as minnie balls, shell fragments, buttons, even some cannon balls and artillery shells. Even
collecting minnie balls can be a worthwhile hobby as there are so many different types. A minie ball was "there"
just as much as another larger or more expensive relic. One should use caution however when collecting relics. One should
make sure to buy from a reputable dealer who will guarantee the authenticity of their relics, even with a signed letter if
possible. This is especially the case of relics from the Gettysburg battlefield. Unfortunately there are incidents of relic
dealers selling relics from Virginia battlefields as relics from the Gettysburg battlefield. Also, always try to find out
as much as possible as to the origin of the relic, dont hesitate to ask questions such as how the dealer acquired the relic.
It is adviseable to not be content with being told "it is from an old collection". Such an explanation is not adequate,
the dealer should know the name of the collection or who had owned the collection. There is one relic dealer that I highly
recommend in Gettysburg and that is very reputable. That shop is The Horse Soldier, the shop is family run and the shop's
website is www.Horsesoldier.com. One can find an excellent selection of Gettysburg and non-Gettysburg relics ranging from minnie balls and shell fragments
to uniforms. The hobby of collecting relics is not an act of glorifying war, but rather about coming into physical contact
with history and experiencing the fascination of the secrets that each relic holds.
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