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Piece of city's history stolen
BY MARKUS SCHMIDT
STAFF WRITER
05/15/2008
PETERSBURG — A relic hunter has been charged with stealing an intact Civil War shell that was embedded in a downtown brick building and was one of the last visible artifacts from the 10-month siege of the city.
Timothy Clary, 49, of Chester was arrested Tuesday and charged with three felonies — destruction of property with intent, grand larceny and the use of explosives, according to police and court records.
Clary was charged with stealing a federal Hotchkiss shell — roughly 7 inches long and 3 inches in diameter — from an empty building at 127 W. Bank St. The shell was eventually recovered by police, but had to be destroyed.
The Saturday theft of the shell, which had been a Petersburg landmark for more than 143 years, has outraged local historians and others. “This is really a shame,” said Lloyd Pugh, a Colonial Heights collector of Civil War artillery. “This was an important part of local history, and now it’s no longer there.”
One of the owners of the building witnessed the theft. Margaret Burns, who owns the 1811 rowhouse with her husband Brian Caldwell, was driving by at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday when she noticed a 40-foot ladder leaning against the wall and a man pulling out the shell.
Burns said she also noticed a teenager steadying the ladder. She wrote down the license plate number of the vehicle and called police.
Authorities identified the man as Clary and the teenager as his 14-year-old son. Clary is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow in Petersburg General District Court. The youth was not charged in the incident.
Clary, who declined comment, was described by several people as a relic hunter who was friends with Samuel H. White, 53, a Chester relic hunter who was killed Feb. 18 while trying to defuse a large Civil War cannonball.
Chesterfield County police seized the shell from Clary and destroyed it as part of tighter regulations regarding Civil War ordinance that was implemented after White’s death.
“Since it was still intact, they had to disarm it and it exploded in the process,” Caldwell says.
In an ironic twist, a building restorer who worked on the Bank Street structure, may have planted the seed for the theft of the shell. Randy Haase said he met the suspect about two weeks ago and talked about relic hunting. “He came into my office, asking for permission to search for relics on some property that I was working on,” he said.
Somehow, the conversation led to the shell that was still buried in the wall of the building it hit some 143 years ago. “He didn’t know about it,” said Haase. “I kind of feel guilty now, because I think I might have given him the idea.”
Chris Calkins, chief of interpretation for the Petersburg National Battlefield, believes that the shell was the last of its kind. “I don’t know of any building in the city that has any visible explosives still intact,” he said.
Now all that’s left are the shell’s fragments and a small whole in the Bank Street building. “The shell belonged to the building. That is what made it special,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell now has the fragments in a dog dish. “I don’t think we can put it back together,” he says. “But maybe it can be partly restored and displayed.”
Putting it back in its old place is no option for Caldwell. “Who knows, somebody might steal it again, I don’t want to take that chance,” he said.
• Staff Writer Patrick Kane contributed to this article.
• Markus Schmidt may be reached at 722-5172 or mschmidt@progress-index.com.
©The Progress-Index 2008
Online at: http://www.progress-index.com/site/n...d=462946&rfi=6
BY MARKUS SCHMIDT
STAFF WRITER
05/15/2008
PETERSBURG — A relic hunter has been charged with stealing an intact Civil War shell that was embedded in a downtown brick building and was one of the last visible artifacts from the 10-month siege of the city.
Timothy Clary, 49, of Chester was arrested Tuesday and charged with three felonies — destruction of property with intent, grand larceny and the use of explosives, according to police and court records.
Clary was charged with stealing a federal Hotchkiss shell — roughly 7 inches long and 3 inches in diameter — from an empty building at 127 W. Bank St. The shell was eventually recovered by police, but had to be destroyed.
The Saturday theft of the shell, which had been a Petersburg landmark for more than 143 years, has outraged local historians and others. “This is really a shame,” said Lloyd Pugh, a Colonial Heights collector of Civil War artillery. “This was an important part of local history, and now it’s no longer there.”
One of the owners of the building witnessed the theft. Margaret Burns, who owns the 1811 rowhouse with her husband Brian Caldwell, was driving by at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday when she noticed a 40-foot ladder leaning against the wall and a man pulling out the shell.
Burns said she also noticed a teenager steadying the ladder. She wrote down the license plate number of the vehicle and called police.
Authorities identified the man as Clary and the teenager as his 14-year-old son. Clary is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow in Petersburg General District Court. The youth was not charged in the incident.
Clary, who declined comment, was described by several people as a relic hunter who was friends with Samuel H. White, 53, a Chester relic hunter who was killed Feb. 18 while trying to defuse a large Civil War cannonball.
Chesterfield County police seized the shell from Clary and destroyed it as part of tighter regulations regarding Civil War ordinance that was implemented after White’s death.
“Since it was still intact, they had to disarm it and it exploded in the process,” Caldwell says.
In an ironic twist, a building restorer who worked on the Bank Street structure, may have planted the seed for the theft of the shell. Randy Haase said he met the suspect about two weeks ago and talked about relic hunting. “He came into my office, asking for permission to search for relics on some property that I was working on,” he said.
Somehow, the conversation led to the shell that was still buried in the wall of the building it hit some 143 years ago. “He didn’t know about it,” said Haase. “I kind of feel guilty now, because I think I might have given him the idea.”
Chris Calkins, chief of interpretation for the Petersburg National Battlefield, believes that the shell was the last of its kind. “I don’t know of any building in the city that has any visible explosives still intact,” he said.
Now all that’s left are the shell’s fragments and a small whole in the Bank Street building. “The shell belonged to the building. That is what made it special,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell now has the fragments in a dog dish. “I don’t think we can put it back together,” he says. “But maybe it can be partly restored and displayed.”
Putting it back in its old place is no option for Caldwell. “Who knows, somebody might steal it again, I don’t want to take that chance,” he said.
• Staff Writer Patrick Kane contributed to this article.
• Markus Schmidt may be reached at 722-5172 or mschmidt@progress-index.com.
©The Progress-Index 2008
Online at: http://www.progress-index.com/site/n...d=462946&rfi=6
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