THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 30, 1995 TAG: 9503290146
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
The Rev. Lawrence Biermann was surprised to learn of Northern newspapers' interest in Southern military leaders.
He learned that - and much more - as he amassed a collection of prints, engravings and bonds from the Civil War. Part of his bounty is displayed at the Isle of Wight County Museum.
Biermann's prints, some from Harper's Weekly and The New York Illustrated News, depict Civil War events in Hampton Roads and on the Peninsula. Titles include ``The Effect of the Rebellion on the Homes of Virginia,'' ``Federal Troops at Hampton, Virginia,'' ``The General Hospital at Fortress Monroe,'' and a sketch showing a ``Farmer Distributing Good Things to the Soldiers at Newport News,'' showing a farmer in formal wear selling his goods to Union troops.
Some of the prints are hand-colored. All have been framed by Biermann, some in frames dating to the 1860s.
His display complements some local objects in the museum's Duck-Sawyer War Memorial Gallery.
Biermann's interest in the Civil War is the result of family ties. ``My great-grandfather fought with Tazewell's Mountain Boys,'' he said. ``They were from Burke's Gardens in the western part of the state. My family, like many, was split.''
At one time, Biermann owned about 125 prints. Some were sold, some given away. ``I get most of them from out-of-the-way antique shops, at Civil War shows and from friends,'' he said.
Biermann sees a time when interest in that period will decrease and interest in the Revolutionary War will increase.
``A lot of attention will be given the Revolution,'' he said, ``because Civil War artifacts are getting expensive and scarce.''
The interest will probably fade more slowly in the Old Dominion ``because over half the Civil War was fought in Virginia,'' said Biermann, the 58-year-old pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Newport News. He retired in June as Chief of Chaplains at the Veterans Hospital in Hampton.
Biermann, who has three daughters and five grandchildren, talks about some of the items on display, and offers some added thoughts about the Civil War:
Confederate States of America bonds were sold to raise money for the Confederacy.
In 1861-2 the city of Portsmouth printed its own money on the backs of cancelled checks. Confederate money had not been established.
General Robert E. Lee was President Lincoln's first choice to lead the Union Army. Lee did not want to fire on his fellow Virginians, so he offered his services to the Confederacy.
A print called ``The Effect of the Rebellion on the Homes of Virginia'' shows how poor the people of the state were at that time.
Two or three Confederate widows are still receiving Civil War pension money. Some old soldiers wed 15-year-old girls. A few are still around and still getting the money.
A lot of the leaders on both sides attended the same military institutions. During the war they recognized each other on birthdays, when children were born and so on. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY
The Rev. Lawrence Biermann displays a $1,000 loan contract from the
Confederate States of America, part of his Civil War exhibit at the
Isle of Wight Museum in Smithfield.
by CNB