An Ohio man had an unhappy trip to metro Atlanta last weekend when someone stole valuable Civil War collectibles and artifacts from his car, Channel 2 Action News reported.

“It’s just a heartbreak,” Cal Packard told the news station.

Packard attended a Civil War show at the Cobb County Civic Center, and before his flight home, he took in a movie in the Cumberland area. He didn’t know it at the time, but the area is a hotbed for car break-ins.

Someone penetrated the lock on his rental car and took two large, heavy cases that contained the valuables, Channel 2 reported.

“All the heavy stuff was in the carry-on and that was all the Civil War letters and all the really valuable stuff,” he said.

Items stolen included soldiers’ letters that he and his wife transcribed.

“Thousands of hours were spent transcribing the letters,” he said, “because soldiers’ letters back in the Civil War were hard to make out.”

The artifacts also included a signed photo of Confederate Col. John Singleton Mosby that was valued at $10,000, Packard said.

“All that work,” he said, “it’s not just the fact of the value, it’s the time we put into it.”

Know what's really going on with crime and public safety in your metro Atlanta community, including breaking news, trial coverage, trends and the latest on unsolved cases. Sign up for the AJC's crime and safety newsletter delivered weekly to your inbox.

In other news:

Channel 2's Liz Artz reports.

About the Author

Keep Reading

On April 8, 1974, in Atlanta, Hank Aaron smashed baseball’s home run record. Our special coverage celebrating the 50th anniversary of this magical moment has begun online and in our print editions. There’s still more to come as Monday’s historic anniversary arrives.

Credit: Richard Watkins

Featured

Rose Scott signals as Closer Look goes on air in the WABE studio. An Atlanta resident left WABE a $3 million donation, a boost after WABE lost $1.9 million in annual funding from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. (Ben Gray / AJC file)

Credit: Ben Gray