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Page 26 The Antique Shoppe August, 2019
GREATER ORLANDO The Civil War Collector

Kissimmee • Oviedo • Winter Park • Orlando
By John Sexton

KISSIMMEE WINTER PARK LONGWOOD
1. Lanier’s 5. Orange Tree Antique Mall 8. The Royal Court
2. Echoes of Yesterday 6. Gingers Antique Mall Q: Civil war belt buckle with soldier name, fake or not?

JS: Your buckle is a scarcer variant of the model 1850 officer’s sword
OVIEDO ORLANDO belt plate that has a solid brass wreath instead of the applied German
3. The Coop 7. OAE Inc. silver wreath found on enlisted plates. Few officers’ plates were made
4. Oviedo Antique Mall
in quantity like this example, which has a matching benchmark on both
the keeper and the plate itself.
There are numerous varieties of Civil War sword belt plates, and this
is a fine example. Dealers typically offer similar buckles between $300
GINGER'S and $400. The added history that is found on the card accompanying
ANTIQUE the buckle would probably add 25%, maybe more, to its value.
Sylvester Baron Partridge (1837-1912) enlisted on 12/9/1861 at
MALL Potsdam, N.Y., as a 1st Sergeant in “H” Co. NY 92nd Infantry.
“Tin To Tiffany” Historic Downtown Marketplace On 3/3/1863, he was commissioned into the U.S. Army
108 Broadway
2695 W. Fairbanks Ave. in the Old McCrory’s Building Signal Corps where he
Winter Park, FL 32789 Kissimmee, FL would now need a
407-933-5679
(One block West of I-4 at Fairbanks) sword and sword
Antiques & Collectibles belt that officers
Orientals - Imari - Mud Men Antiques, Collectibles & Accessories were required to
Heisey - Cut Glass - Candelabras for the Home & Garden wear. Therefore, we
Serving the Orlando area for Over 30 Years Family owned and operated for 20 years can date the
Wed-Sat 11am-5pm or by appt. • Closed June-Oct.
OPEN: Mon-Sat 10-5 buckle’s use to
407-740-8775 6 Laniersantiques.com 1 mid-1863 to 1865. An 1850 officer’s belt sword plate belonging to
It must have been an Sylvester Baron Partridge, about $400-$500.
important relic to his family as they kept it in an old jewelry case that was
specially fitted for it.
He resigned from service just after the war on 5/30/1865 and entered
3 Newton Theological Seminary. He was ordained in the Baptist Church
4 and started his career as a minister in the Far East. His first assignment
8
Geneva was five years as a missionary in Siam from 1868 to 1873. Then, he
moved on to Swatlow, China, which had just been opened to foreigners.
He was the first Baptist minister working in China. He also translated the
5
New Testament into the Chinese dialect of the area where he served.
After 40 years of mission work in the Far East, he returned to the United
States in 1908 and lived in Hamilton, New York, till his death September
6 12, 1912.

Q: The leather bags I have... are these possibly Civil War?

JS: Your saddlebags are Civil War Era and are often found with the
owner identified. A sound, complete pair sold at Poulin Auctions (a
specialist venue in Civil War items, CivilWar@Poulinauctions.com for
7 details), in Fairfield, Maine, as lot 3161 on October 2018 for $375. They
were described as, “These saddlebags are entirely sewn w/ no rivets,
and the closures utilize three straps in the shape of ‘crow’s foot’. This
crow’s foot is thought to be a Shenandoah Valley feature.”
Yours are of same style but are riveted, which is
possibly later or by a different maker. They still would have
been marketable in better condition;
“as-is” with missing and torn
straps, I would venture they

2 1 may sell for $40-$50 on eBay
or similar venue offered as “Civil
War Era Southern saddlebags.”

Continued on Page 28

Civil War Era saddlebags that are torn and missing straps, $40-$50.