Two chests found of 1911 AJC pieces and Confederate soldier tin/copperplates

Via Carl

On Saturday, June 30, 2012, I was talking with a potential member of the Brunswick camp. He is a brick mason / concrete worker from Brunswick. He casually mentioned to me that, while doing the concrete work at a renovation in Darien, GA, near Broad St., him and a fellow worker found a very old chest. Inside was a box full of about 100 Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper clippings, a religious picture book, two photographs, and about 20 coupons for cigars. There was a second chest jammed in a wall and they could only cut a small hole in the part of the chest that they could see. This man reached in and inside were copper - plated, maybe tinplate, photographs of fully uniformed Confederate soldiers (probably early war). However, his fellow employee took them and sold them not knowing their true value.

Back to the first chest. The clippings are all in excellent condition, not fragile or falling apart and probably on acid - proof paper and 95% of them are entitled, "Fifty Years Ago Today in the Civil War". I did the math and that would put the year at 1911. I discovered the AJC did not put the year at the top of pages back then, but I finally found a full first page feature of a major battle. The page is dated June 26, 1911. Also, more importantly, are several articles and photographs covering the death that year of Confederate Gen. Clement A. Evans. The very enthusiastic (amateur?) historian who meticulously cut out all these articles accidentally created a time-capsule because one of the photographs is of two young women sitting on the hood of a car (Model A or T?) in turn-of-the-20th century clothing and hairdos. The man I was talking to gave it all to me. I asked him if he would like to consider this as a long-term loan and it would still be his. He said no, he wants other people to enjoy it and for me to care of that.

I believe that, other than maybe some ownership rights of the person who owns that renovated house, the Darien SCV camp should have the first shot at this discovery. I would like to keep this find in Confederate circles and not diluted by overall Darien history or Southern American History or end up in the possession of a large "umbrella" organization that would dilute its Southern Confederate significance and twist the find with political - correctness. The second organization that should have full access to this find is, if there is no Darien UDC chapter, then the Brunswick chapter of the UDC and, thirdly, the Brantley County UDC. I would like the bulk of the find to end up in the Mumford Library / Museum in Waynesville (Brantley County), GA, at the Confederate Soldiers Park. The Gen. Evans material will be given to the Waycross SCV camp that carries his name and that is not debatable.

Does anyone have better plans? Should I keep it until there is an SCV state headquarters / museum? Can anyone catalog, preserve and put this material on CD? Some of you may be professionals or know professionals that deal with this material. We are going through the Sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of the war which makes this a HUGE coincidental discovery. There is plenty of material from 1961, the centennial of the first war year, but 1911?? This find fills a void for 50th anniversary material.

I look forward to your comments and suggestions. You may want to call me as my computer access is limited.

In the Bonds of the Old South,

Scott Newbern

Commander, Thomas Marsh Forman Camp 485

Brunswick, GA

7th Brigade Commander (extreme SE GA)

Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV)

Georgia Division

Army of Tennessee

7 Patton Drive

Brunswick, GA 31520

(912) 230 - 1125