Lynn,

I don't want you to feel bad or worried in any way about posting on this site. The folks on these message boards are generally, very serious historians and genealogists. Some of them make their living writing and researching the Civil War. There has been a great deal of theft, forgery and vandalism regarding Civil War battlefields, monuments, grave markers, etc. My purpose in leaving your posting for others to read, was so they could offer comment and collect information that you could use to protect yourself or that could be used to protect our collective heritage. I am presuming that you are entirely innocent of any offense and I don't know if the use of these items in your art or the resale of them is unlawful. I would advise you to contact the cemeteries that these markers came from and ask them to clearly, perhaps even in written form, validate the story your friend told you that gave you these gravestones. One of the respondents to your posting on this message board is an attorney and another is a serious amateur historian who helps others acquire VA markers for their Civil War ancestors. Some of the markers provided for Civil War ancestors are replacements due to vandalism and theft. My advice would be to be very careful about the use and disposition of these markers until you get more information.

I have an online friend, who is an avid relic hunter. He was relic hunting on an unmarked beach and found a few common Civil War relics. The total value of his find was less than $100. He was approached while loading up his gear with his stash of lead bullets, some pull tops and quarters and was informed that he had ventured on to a military base. This federal property had been vandalized in the past and the base had taken a zero tolerance view toward any relic hunting or digging on federal property. The gentleman ultimately ended up getting in all the locals papers, had to pay a $10,000 fine and came near to a one-year prison sentence. Because of past problems, the National Park System and I'm sure the National Cemeteries take a dim view of any encroachment on their property and with the best of intentions and innocent motives you could find yourself with some real problems.

In a nutshell, let me thank you for posting on this site. I hope you'll continue to visit and finally, be very, very careful, for your own sake, how you handle these markers. This may be a "big 'todo' about nothing", but better safe than sorry.

Jim Martin