New Britain herald., 1915-07-28
INTERESTING RELICS
 TO BE DISPLAYED
Souvenirs Of Civil War to Be
 Shown at Encampment !.

add another interesting featufe 10 the events of the forthcoming forty ninth annual encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic in Washington is filled with reminders. of the great struggle many of these relics are owned and held by the gov ernment but tites average visitor sees few of them. It is planned to exfcnd Z a special courtesy 10 the old veter- ans and allow them an opportunity to view some of these highly prized treasures. eS
 Tn a fire-proof vault opening from a smallzroom on the third floor of tho treasury building. are the mapu- script archives which set forth the diplomatic efforts of the Confederacy to secure recognition as member of the family of nations and to obtain the means to establish navy and maintain an army.
 Travels Of Archives.
 When the most important of the Confederate archives were removed from Richmond, the diplomatic cor~- respondence, consisting of the State Department" records, except the se- cret service papers, which had been destroyed by MT. Benjamin, were hid- den in barn il Virginia. Later they were packed in four yellow trunks. and brought from Richmond to Washington by their custodian, Cot John IT. Pickett. After endeavoring for years to dispose of them, Colonel Pickett, having indexed them, took them to Canada, where in April. ls72, | the trunks and their contents were purchased for the use of the United l States. On July 3, 1872, the trunks were delivered at the White House, and later were removed to the treas- ury. Colonel Pickett, in payment, re- ceived the stipulated sum of $75,00O, large portion of which was dlsT tributed to needy widows and orphans of Confederate soldiers.
 " Picket Papers
 The money for the Picket papers" had been appropriated by special act of congress. Many persons asserted that no. good could result from the resurrection of these long-buried doc- uments, even If genuine, as soms feared they were not, and Secretary Boutwell, had wasted $75,ooo on four trunks filled with worthless paper@ However, time has demonstrated the wisdom of, this purchase The names in the .indices of the Picket papers. in addition to those of the cores nondence of the Confederate treasurv and other denartments. have been of& r~eat cor--e-t~r~e pnd inestiUahle vaIue in. defeating fraudule"' r'~f'*' to the amount of many millions of dollars. These dinlomatic papers re- mained in the original receptacies un- til about year ago. when the quainr old trunks were sold at one of the treasury auctions. The papers had already been placed in three new chests of polished pine.
 Story of Seal
 Colonel Pickett was the latest known custodian of the great seal of the Confederate States. or this seal. which never was used, many roman~ tic stories are told. That 1t was de-i stroyed at the close of the hostilities is untrue. In 1870. after having had its genuineness attested by its Eng fish manufacturers Colonel Pickett ordered from a Washington jewelers many replicas of it. fin gold, silver and bronze, which were sold for the bene-l fit of destitute southerners. One Of these replicas is now fin the National. Museum, and another in the state deS partment of the capital of South Caro- lima. The original was made in Lon% don at a cost of 122 pounds 10 shillings. It was finished July 2.A 1S64 and did not reach Richmond pn the evacuation of that city. It is beg lieved that Colonel Pickett's heirs are the only persons who know it's where abouts.
 Boxes of Confederate Money.
 In a small dark room under the caves of the south wing of the treas- ury stand seven large packing boxes with covers nailed down. Sightseeys are never permitted to enter this dingy attic room, and very few pers sons, even among tie oldest employed could guess the contents of the boxes. They are filled with Confederate5 money, a portion of which was cap- tured from southern banks and from dead and living Confederate soldiefs and forwarded through the war de- partment to the treasury. The larger share of this money was collected by the treasury agents who conducted the cotton business of the United States in 1864 and succeeding years.
 These boxes contain not only the bank notes of the Confederate govern ment, but thousancs of the bills is- sued by the states in insurrection, to take the place of the take the place of the "chips'' which tradesmen were compelled to offer as change after the south suspended specie payment in July, 1861. Later the issue oy small hills hv fha wa ..is,,s- s..I..--- ---