For all of you interested in commemorating the 150th anniversary of The War Between the States, I have reproduced two very special belt plates on behalf of The Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia. They are General Robert E. Lee's and Cavalry Leader J. E. B. Stuart's buckles which are on permanent display at the museum. The sale of these limited edition belt plates benefits The Museum of the Confederacy. Gen. Lee's buckle is available in either 24kt. gold plate or solid brass. J. E. B. Stuart's sword belt plate is available in solid brass only. Lee's is a beautiful one-of-a-kind Virginia two piece sword belt plate that Lee wore in many of his photographs and field use. Lee also wore this two piece sword belt plate with his new Confederate uniform for the Appomattox surrender. J. E. B. Stuart's sword belt plate is reproduced from the Eagle Officer's buckle that he wore pre-war and was wearing when he was mortally wounded during the battle of Yellow Traven. All buckle purchases come with a beautiful display case and documentation from The Museum of the Confederacy. In my forty four years of sand casting Civil War belt plates, I have now reached my dream of reproducing General Robert E. Lee's buckle! Up until this offer, you could only see these belt plates behind glass. Now you can own one that is a precise copy of the original that you can proudly wear or display. Now if we could only locate Stonewall Jackson's sword belt plate. Hanover Brass Foundry is now reproducing the Confederate Navy two piece on display in the Museum which will be available in the gift shop in the near future. You can get all the information about the Lee and Stuart buckles by contacting The Museum of the Confederacy at 804-649-1861 ext. 55.
This is General Robert E. Lee's belt plate on display at The Museum of the Confederacy.
Left: 24kt Gold Plated Reproduction by Hanover Brass Foundry of Gen. Robert E. Lee's Belt Plate
Right: Solid Brass Reproduction by Hanover Brass Foundry of General Robert E. Lee's Belt Plate
Left: This is J. E. B. Stuart and his belt plate on display at The Museum of the Confederacy
Right: Solid Brass Reproduction by Hanover Brass Foundry of J. E. B. Stuart Belt Plate
Original Confederate Navy tongue (left) and wreath (right) on display at the Museum of the Confederacy
Worn by Lieutenant William Pinckney Mason, Commander of the CSS United States. CSS Beauford, and CSS Virginia II
Left: Confederate Navy Officer pictured above wearing the C.N. belt plate .
Center: 24kt Gold Plated Reproduction by Hanover Brass Foundry of Confederate Navy Two Piece
Right: Solid Brass Reproduction by Hanover Brass Foundry of Confederate Navy Two Piece
Each step it takes to make a sand cast brass buckle.
Yellow brass poured at 2100 degrees and your finished product.
Hand finished buckles complete the sand casting process.
Jeb Stuart, Confederate Navy and Robert E. Lee belt plates cast for the new Museum of the Confederacy, Appomattox, Virginia.
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Civil War Buckles by Hanover Brass Foundry. We have been in the business of casting Civil War Buckles for over 40 years. We reproduce over 500 various plates. All of our Civil War buckles are crafted from Yellow Brass and Red Brass and are sand cast and hand worked much as the originals were during and before the Civil War era. Each is made from a first generation casting, exclusive to Hanover Brass, the ONLY foundry licensed to cast from the original Civil War Buckles in the Maryland - Steuart Virginia Historical Society Museum collections. (Licensed) To answer your question is when you pay the Museum or the Collector to copy buckles and have it in writing that you can reproduce and sell the reproductions of the originals. You can read about this casting process in the April "Vol. 89 . No 2" quarterly Virginia Magazine. The following Belt Plates are reproductions from these originals and other Museums and private collections. Many are from my original belt plate collection.
April 1981 Virginia Historical Society "The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography" (Vol. 89 . No. 2) with article about Hanover Brass Foundry.
Page 243 - "Mr. Gary Williams an authority on Civil War belt plates and owner of the Hanover Brass Foundry, recently cast in sand many of the belt plates from the Society's Maryland-Steuart collection. He and his assistants use a process identical to that used in casting the original plates and the copies thus produced are virtually indistinguishable from the originals. The copies will go on exhibit this year, enabling visitors to the galleries to view the Maryland-Steuart collection in its entirety while the originals, many of them irreplaceable, enjoy a larger measure of security behind the scenes."
This site best viewed in 800 x 600 True color with;
Eagle Officers Belt Plate
Circa 1863 - 1865
"Buckle Lesson" For all of you who think that the wide hook makes the Eagle Officers Belt Plate Post War - WRONG.
The above belt plate was dug from the union trench line on the Cold Harbor battlefield and has the name 2nd Lt. Henry H. Jones
Co. I 2nd Regt. Delaware Vol. Inf. engraved in the back. Lt. Jones died at the June 3rd 1864 battle of Cold Harbor, Va. I think that this can put to rest
the wide hook being post war. Also Jeb Stuart's belt plate has a wide hook and the same type as the above belt plate.
Nick Adams "The Rebel" 1950's
Look at the CSA letters on both belt plates. Makes you wonder if this style is a movie prop or maybe Nick Adams has an original.
Last Update -05/04/12
Go to "OUR BUCKLES" to see page 1 - 12. Over 500 reproduction buckles pictured. The buckles pictured are in my reproduction collection and cast by GW. Your buckle will have the same detail but it takes time for the brass to age. Over time your belt plate will get that original look.
Hanover Brass Foundry has over "1000" master patterns copied from original pre-civil war, civil war and post war belt plates. I have over 500 on the site and will add new buckles monthly or until all are listed. If you have a belt plate you want reproduced contact Gary Williams.
(ALL BELT PLATES ARE MARKED GW/HBF)
All buckles are solid brass. You can also order nickel silver, sterling silver and gold or silver plate.You can choose from over 500 belt plates, many copied from my originals. We do not copy other reproduction belt plates, only 1st. generation from my originals or private collections and museums. This way you get great detail and also you get very close to the original size.
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*****IN STOCK ITEMS READY TO SHIP*****
{In stock items you see pictured below is the item (buckle) that you will receive}
(to order buckles not in stock, be sure to go to OUR BUCKLES for entire buckle line)
Custom made western holster, belt and NCO red brass enlisted civil war belt plate with applied silver wreath. Many of the NCO buckles and belts were converted into holster belts and bullet loops added to the belt and used throughout the late 1800's. We also made the Hollywood grips and added them to a non-firing .45 revolver. Holster, belt, NCO buckle and non-firing revolver $375. sold
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I am Gary Williams, GW, founder and owner of Hanover Brass Foundry.
I dug my first Civil War relic in 1955. I cast my first belt buckle in 1967and still casting today.
Left to Right - DIV Relic Hunt; James Lyles talking to me about the day's relic hunt ( 1862 Seven Days Battle and 1864 Cold Harbor Battle six mile trench lines ran through his woods. I dug many of the relics displayed in my Cold Harbor museum from these trench lines). Pictured next is the Adams Farm. Mr. Adams land joined Mr. Lyles. I am digging in the field where the Confederate trench line was before it was filled in by the Adams for additional crop field . The 7th New York made a bloody charge up the hill and for a short time over run the Confederate trench. They did not keep this ground very long and along this six mile front 7000 Union soldiers fell in thirty minutes. GW and Steve Sylvia "North South Trader" magazine at a DIV relic hunt. Steve is the original when it comes to civil war magazines.
This is a photo of my father's store he established and operated for over fifty years. (C. B. Williams Grocery). The front with the gas pumps are not in the picture. He built a new store and I turned this into my Civil War Relic Shop in the 1960's. It was on the battlefield tour highway and many many people stopped to ask information and buy something to take home from Cold Harbor. I also began my buckle foundry business at this location in 1967.
1960's Richmond Times Dispatch did several articles of my relic hunting adventures
The Mechanicsville Local wrote an article in 1981 about my collection and relic room. Not long after this I opened the Cold Harbor Museum in Williamsburg, Va.
Custom Metal Detectors
I always used the custom made 38 inch search coil "Double Eagle" metal detector. The Cold Harbor trench is still three to five feet tall and relics are deep. I was the first to get the so called "deep seeker" and it was exactly the machine that you could dig belt plates waist deep in the Cold Harbor sandy soil. Herby Parham and John Robinson made me several different types but always with the large search loop. I have used this Double Eagle since the 1960's and in the photo below you can see the results of a day's hunt with eight belt plates, canteen, bayonets and also bullets and buttons. Even though it had the large search coil you could find small items that were also deep. The last Double Eagle that was custom made is pictured on the right. 22 inch search coil and the machine I still use today. The Fisher T-10 that I first used in 1955 looked like a toy beside the Double Eagle. Another great machine in 1960 was the MetroTech.
What the relic hunters call "the good old days." In 1979 I dug five eagle breast plates and three US belt plates, one Enfield bayonet, couple bullets in wood, mess knife, grape shot, uniform buttons, broken bayonet, bullet's and a very rare shot canteen. All this dug in one day from the Cold Harbor battlefield. The most buckles and plates in one day, 1960's was forty nine (49). Cold Harbor trench with my first "Double Eagle deep seeker".
Photo on the left shows how many bullets that the black container could hold. I had one container on each side of my front steps. Photo on the right is a page from my ledger that I kept of each days relic hunt. I always kept a ledger from the old days and still keep one today. This is a page from the ledger that adds up my items dug from June 12, 1969 - May 31, 1972. Note the number of bullets dug in three years. (28,435) This was back when I dug just about every day. Mike O'Donnell, author of many civil war books and relic hunter, now has my ledgers.
My daughter Presley diggin' in a civil war soldiers hut site at one of the Diggin' in Virginia sites.
(left) Mr. Adams on his back steps talking with Mike O'Donnell about how his father and he filled in a lot of the battle trenches when he was a young boy. He said they had to fill them because they took up a lot of the farm land. I am standing next to Mr. Adams. Mr. Adams died on June 3rd. 1980's. The battle took place on his farm June 3rd. 1864. (center) I am relic hunting one of the trench lines filled in by Mr. Adams. (Right) Old Adams house in 1864.
"Carnival of Blood" by Robert Keating is a very good detailed book about the 7th. New York Heavy Artillery. He writes detailed information about battles they fought but my favorite is June 3rd. 1864 Cold Harbor. I walked the trenches with Mr. Keating looking for the horseshoe trench dug by the Confederates. He thought this trench was near the center of the Confederate lines but I new this horseshoe trench was on the Adams farm. I dug many relic from this trench line. The 7th New York Heavy Artillery was used as infantry and made the charge and took this horseshoe trench for a short time. The book gives a great detail of the battle and life in the trenches and rifle pits after the June 3rd. battle at Cold Harbor. 7000 fell that day. The picture on the right is a 1864 period drawing of the horseshoe trench. The photo above with the white building in the background shows me digging in this trench that is in the farm field. This horseshoe trench was filled in years ago and only flat field remains today.
One of my favorite relics from this horseshoe trench is the C.S.A. belt plate pictured above. The belt plate had been hit hard above the C.
January/2009 these three Read shells, cannon primers, Louisiana button and bullets came from the confederate horseshoe trench.
Relics are still coming from the confederate horseshoe trench at Cold Harbor. Two days in Feb. turned up the above relics. Confederate frame buckle, U S buckle, U S box plate, ram-rod, two bayonets, remains of a enfield bayonet scabbard, remains of leather cartridge box, burnside cartridge, and many bullets. All this is from the confederate trench and very deep. Very good for a two day hunt in Feb. 2009.
Left: Visit the Cold Harbor Garthright House (field Hospital). 1864 Confederate Trenches at Cold Harbor. (center of the six mile trench line). Right: Cold Harbor Tavern. (Coal Harbor)
Photo on the right is the May 1862 Grapevine Bridge crossing the Chickahominy River. Temporary bridge during the Seven Days Battle (1st Cold Harbor). After the Union army crossed the bridge they burned it. The photo on the left is a beam from this original Grapevine Bridge, now my mantle piece. You can still see the burn marks in the beam. Also, there are several minnie balls embedded in the wood. This crossing is in sight of my house. It was near this site in 1954 that I found my very first belt plate: an OVM (Ohio Vol. Militia). This sparked a life-long passion.
Photo on the left is the Lyle brothers standing in my front yard and the person with the confederate hat is Henry Yelinek. The Lyle brothers farm was where the Union charge on the morning of June 3rd saw the blue coats go thundering toward the confederate trench lines along this six mile front. A lot of action took place here for the twelve days the soldiers were there. Henry Yelinek was one of the first to relic hunt Cold Harbor. Henry had one of the largest collections around back in the 1950's and early 60's. The middle photo is Joe Leisch getting ready to make an appearance at Teresa's school. In front of my fireplace with "Abe" is Teresa's sister and brother-in-law. The photo on the right is Mike O'Donnell, author of many civil war books and relic hunter, Rick Savage, relic hunter, dealer and friend and GW. We had just finished a relic hunt on the Adams farm.
On June 3, 1864 (2nd Cold Harbor) Grant sent his Army across open fields to attack the well fortified Confederate trench line. 7000 Union soldiers fell in a quarter hour. The photo above on the left is from civil war archives and show the gruesome results of that charge. The photo on the right, taken 2008, is GW and John McAden, relic hunting on this site. Also Charles Burnette digging in the confederate trench line that the first photo (1864 Alfred P. Waud battle drawing) shows Barlow and the 7th New York charging and capturing a cannon. They did not keep this cannon very long. Part of these six mile trench lines cross my property.
I am so into the Civil War history that I built my home to look period. (1977) left summer - right winter.
(USMC) 1966 I graduated Parris Island, S.C. (Right) Picture taken from my front yard of an American Eagle
This is the Confederate Flag that my son Gary Jr. (Bubba) knows best. He is into the "Duke Boy" thing and has restored several of these cars from junk to this. The interior has numerous original autographs of the people involved in the acting and making of the TV movies. He restored the Duke's of Hazzard car for Ben Jones "Cooter" and attends fan conventions.
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go to "BELTS"
"for information about one piece or two piece buckles."
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Cold Harbor Museum My Personal Collection
Take
a tour of
The
Cold Harbor Civil War Museum?
GW's Museum was open to the public at the Williamsburg Pottery - Lightfoot, Va. for seventeen years. Those were the days my friend.
Would you like to know more about Hanover Brass?
Interested in how we create our buckles?
Hanover Brass Foundry also will cast CUSTOM Buckles, Paperweights, Most Anything.
"Custom Belt Buckle" " Virginia State Seal Door-Knob"
just an example of what we can "Custom Cast"
Custom belt buckles over the years. There are way too many to list but here are several. Fire Dept., Virginia State Police, Richmond Police, Washington D.C. Police, Power and Telephone, Sharks-tooth buckle for Jaws, Arrowhead buckle for Jamestown, Mason, Cowboy buckles of all types and many other custom buckles.
People ask me what was my favorite casting job. There have been many but one that stands out and I was proud to cast was the "1983 Summit of Industrialized Nations" brass medallions. Ronald Reagan was my hero and I took on the job of casting key rings, paper weights and medallions. Twelve thousand to be exact. President Reagan sent me a letter thanking for my support and hard work. A letter I treasure.
In 1985 the Governor's Awards for the Arts in Virginia sent me an invitation for my contribution to the Arts in Virginia. I received Governor Chuck Robb and his wife Lynda Robb (President Johnson's daughter) autographs at the award dinner. I received this honor for the brass casting I did for the long gone John Marshall hotel in downtown Richmond, Virginia.
Hanover Brass reproduction buckles were a donation so that future collectors could view these belt plates and compare them to the originals. The Smithsonian Institute will always have them in their reference and they will be there in safe keeping.
"Mike McGregor" a good friend, jeweler and saddle-maker. He was a great friend and we had many deals with the casting business. The custom buckle is just one that I cast for Mike and he would give these too friends at all the Elvis conventions.
"Al Dvorin" coined the phrase "Elvis has left the building". This is another custom buckle that I was proud to make. Al also was a very good friend.
"The Real & Reel Cowboy Collection"
My collection of autographs, B-Western style holsters , Roy, Gene and the Lone Ranger. Photo on the left Roy Rogers at the 1967 Virginia State Fair. Photo on the right Roy Rogers & Dale Evans at the 1969 Virginia State Fair.
Map of the Cold Harbor battlefield and Ammo box with 1000 minies that I dug from a wet area on the Cold Harbor, Va. battlefield.
Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Confederate States original belt plates that I had displayed in the Cold Harbor Museum collection.
Confederate States of America buttons and belt plates, battlefield and non battlefield on leather. Pictured on the right is Confederate Frame belt plates, Virginia style CSA belt plate, buttons with cloth and leather shoe. Also pictured are Union battlefield and non-battlefield.
Other cases in my "Cold Harbor Museum" collection.
Relic cases at home before the museum opened.
My son is into the Dukes of Hazzard conventions, My other hobby and a business for twenty years was a Elvis store and museum. For over twenty years I went to all the Elvis conventions and I made friends with a lot of the people that worked or were part of his life. One friend is Kang Rhee who taught Elvis tae kwan do. He took a real friendship to my daughter that I named Presley T Williams. The photo above was taken at a convention in Memphis, Tn. and used by a Airline company for a article about Kang Rhee and Elvis. I am wearing Elvis Karate clothing. Photo on the right is my wife Teresa and Sue Ane Langdon (T V & Movie). Not only does Teresa help me with my orders and paper work but she has her degree of Doctor of Education and has been in the school system for over thirty years. Other than relic hunting and civil war history I have Roy Rogers and Elvis Presley conventions and collectables to keep me busy.
In the wet land behind the foundry is what we call the "Shark-Pit". My daughter Presley has found over a thousand shark-teeth. Some of these teeth are just about the size of your hand.
"In Loving Memory"
LeeBrook Wallace Williams
Not a day goes by that I don't think of my son LeeBrook. We lost our son LeeBrook in 1991. Cancer at such a young age. Just nine years old. He was full of life. I sure miss him.
Also I have the family Horses to keep me busy.
(Left to Right) = My daughter Presley riding Sugar. Center photo is my Lone Ranger look a like. He is a colt, one year old when this picture was taken. Sugar is his mom and he will stay a stallion. You can never guess the color before birth. "White". Photo on the right was taken May 28th. That is my Buckskin Cream and KoKo. KoKo is about four hours old here. Always had horses around me most of my life and they complete my interest in the "American Cowboy" history.
Miss Wolf was a favorite pet.
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Your Units Name Engraved At;
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Hanover Brass Foundry Catalog
"Reproduction Military Belt Plates"
This catalog contains information and detailed photos describing over 250 Civil War Buckles and buttons from Hanover Brass, and is an excellent reference for determining the authenticity of various historical plates.
(click on photo for more information)
Hanover Brass catalogs are sold out. I have a new reproduction buckle book that will be finished very soon. There will be over 500 reproduction buckles pictured .
CLICK HERE for ordering information.
Catalog's GW used over the years that are no longer available.
This Site is Updated Frequently, so be sure to mark this page for future viewing.
Contact/Ordering Information
To order any of the items seen on this site, please use our order form, or you may also E-mail, or call;
(NEW EMAIL ADDRESS)
E-Mail Orders to: gw44@comcast.net
Snail-Mail
Hanover Brass
5155 Cold Harbor Rd.
Mechanicsville, VA. 23111