Welcome To This Month's Featured Article As Seen In Western & Eastern Treasures Magazine

Appearing on the popular PBS television series Antiques Roadshow, arms & militaria appraisers Russ A. Pritchard (left) and George W. Juno also donate their renowned expertise to W&ET's annual "Best Finds" competition.

On New Year's Day, Louisiana relic hunter Lester Girlinghouse decided 1999 was going to be his year and went out to make it happen. His focus was Louisiana's Ascension Parish, an area known as Florida's Parishes during the Revolutionary War.

Battling the bitter cold, Lester began the familiar sweep of his detector. The next several hours of digging netted him several unmarked pewter buttons, some musketballs, and a number of 18th century shoe buckles. Finally, early that afternoon, he received a strong reading and began carefully probing to locate the target. The soil was damp and made for easy digging, and around 10" down he saw green staining in the dirt, indicative of a brass object, and his heart began to pound!

Could it be a belt buckle? The object was on edge, and Lester dug around it carefully. Sure enough, within minutes he pulled out a belt plate with the attachment devices on the back still intact. It appeared to be brass, with the heavy green corrosion typical of Southern soil, but that was all that could be ascertained at this point. Pocketing his prize, he headed home to check it out further.

Local research efforts led Lester Girlinghouse to university professor John Powell, who identified the find as a rare brass Revolutionary War belt buckle belonging to a Hessian officer of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment from the Revolutionary War. The 3rd Waldeck Regiment was raised in Germany in May 1776 for service as a British auxiliary unit in America, arriving in New York in October of that year with an aggregate strength of 688 officers and men.

After serving in battle at Fort Washington and in defense of Staten Island, the regiment was sent to Pensacola, the capital of British West Florida, in October of 1778. From that point, elements of the unit were detached for service at posts at St. Marks, Mobile, and elsewhere in the province. Soon after Spain joined France in an alliance against Britain in 1779, Bernardo de Galvez, the governor of Spanish Luisiana, launched a series of campaigns to seize West Florida from Britain. In that year, 55 Waldeckers were captured by the Spanish while attempting to reinforce the British garrison at Baton Rouge, which, along with posts at Natchez and Manchac, was captured by Galvez's forces.

Still exquisitely detailed and preserved after more than 200 years underground, the rare Hessian regimental buckle earned it lucky finder $15,000 - and will soon be loaned for display at a leading museum.

A large number of Waldeckers were also captured when Mobile fell to the Spanish in March of 1780, and in January of 1781 the regiment's commander, Colonel J.L.W. von Hanxleden, was killed during an unsuccessful raid launched from Pensacola against the Spanish fort on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. The remainder of the regiment, after suffering heavy casualties, surrendered with their British and Loyalist comrades to Galvez's combined Franco-Spanish forces at the conclusion of the three month siege of Pensacola on May 10, 1781. After a brief stay in Havana, the regiment's survivors were paroled as prisoners of war to New York in 1782, where they remained until their return to Germany in July 1783.

At the time of Lester's discovery, only one other example of this plate was known to exist, and it is in the collection of the New York Historical Society. Hence, this new find represented the only known specimen in private hands. The buckle is 4-1/4" long, rectangular in shape, and engraved with a crown over F.F. for Fürst Friedrich (Prince Frederick) of Hesse-Cassel, Germany.

As with anything, news of significant finds travels fast, and soon Lester began getting calls and offers from prospective buyers. One of those receiving word of the Hessian belt plate was Russ Pritchard of AOPA LTD in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Pritchard, and his partner, George Juno, distinguished for their knowledge of 18th and 19th century military artifacts, may be best known to readers for their three consecutive seasons as arms and militaria appraisers on the PBS television series Antiques Roadshow. They are also prominent, high-paying purchasers of Revolutionary War and Civil War items.

Within three house of hearing of the Hessian plate, Pritchard began the journey, which would prove rather circuitous as well, in an effort to meet Girlinghouse. Because of Mardi Gras and interrupted airline service, Pritchard had to fly from Philadelphia to Cleveland, Ohio, then to Houston, Texas, and finally to Beaumont, Texas, where he rented a car and drove across the state of Luisiana. Although the hour was late, he and the Girlinghouses agreed to a brief meeting at a local restaurant, where Pritchard arrived at 11:00 p.m.

Louisiana relic hunter Lester Girlinghouse (left) and AOPA LTD's Russ Pritchard proudly display one of the most remarkable Revolutionary War artifacts recovered in recent years.

Pritchard recalls, "The belt plate was in phenomenal condition, and I knew I wanted to buy it immediately. I offered $15,000, the highest price ever for an 18th century brass buckle. I felt it would display well with some of the other objects I have on loan to various museums."

The Girlinghouses agreed to consider the offer, and Pritchard, without resting, drove back through the night to Beaumont, Texas where he barely made a 6:00 a.m. flight back to Houston, then Cleveland, and then Philadelphia. As Pritchard was walking in the house after this sleep-deprived marathon, the phone rang. It was Lester Girlinghouse: "I've decided to accept your offer. When can we get together?"

Pritchard rapidly dialed different airlines, and 48 hours later boarded another plane, flying this time from Philadelphia to Houston, Texas, and then to Alexandria, Louisiana. From there he drove south to meet with the Girlinghouses. The deal was completed, and Pritchard added another important 18th century belt plate to his and his wife's collection. The next day he pondered the events that had led to the remarkable acquisition...

A soldier traveled on a ship from Germany to New York in the late 1770s, fought in several battles, marched to an area of Florida that is now part of Louisiana, and lost his belt plate either in yet another battle, or by discarding it. There it remained for over 200 years, until Lester Girlinghouse discovered it. Six weeks later Pritchard came into the picture and, during the course of 72 hours, traveled on ten different planes, and in two rental cars, and drove from Texas to the other side of Louisiana- all in order to bring the belt plate back to within 100 miles of where its original owner first stepped off a boat on contested American soil over 200 years ago!

Lester Girlinghouse has now set his focus on new adventures and new sites to hunt, and Russ Pritchard plans to loan the Hessian belt plate to a New York museum where over 100,000 people will view it each year- truly a win/win for both men and, most importantly, the historical integrity of such a unique find.

Editor's Note: Readers may wish to know that Russ Pritchard and George Juno of AOPA LTD in Bryn Mawr, PA work with over two dozen of our nation's largest museums and auction houses and also perform the militaria appraisals (free of charge) for W&ET's "Best Finds" contest. They have contributed to numerous reference books, publish frequent articles on militaria, and can be reached for inquiries at (610) 519-9610.

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