History that can be touched: Judice uncovers local Civil War history a piece at a time

By COLIN MURPHEY
To walk into the living room of Verdunville resident Robert Judice Jr. is to take a walk back in time to an era when the country was at war with itself, brothers were pitted against brothers and bloody battles were waged across St. Mary Parish.
As the Confederate and Union armies were busy fighting for the future of the United States during the Civil War, they left some things behind on the battlefield besides the broken bodies of soldiers. This is where historians like Judice and other collectors come into play, preserving history and making sure young generations never forget what the country went through during those tumultuous few years.
And while there is no sign in the yard identifying his home as a museum, there should be. Judice, over decades of collecting, has amassed a treasure trove of hundreds, maybe thousands of pieces of Civil War memorabilia.
His collection includes rifles, pistols, swords, knives, bayonets, bullets, artillery shells (which he had to personally disarm), cannonballs, belt buckles, buttons, documents and other assorted pieces accumulated over the years.
Judice said that while some of the pieces in his collection have been obtained by traditional means either from antique dealers or through trade, many of the pieces have come from the ground in and around St. Mary Parish.
“I’ve been collecting for about 40 years,” Judice said. “A friend once invited me on a trip hunting for this stuff with a metal detector and I was hooked. Just like some people like to hunt, some people like to fish, some people like to play golf. I’d say at least a quarter of it (Judice’s collection) comes from around here. A lot of the shells are from around here.”
Judice is not just a collector of Civil War memorabilia, he is also an historian. He said while there were battles and skirmishes fought in St. Mary Parish, the area was mostly a transit hub for armies moving through the area to their next encounter with the enemy.
“More than likely, the overall contribution to the Civil War was minor,” Judice said. “But there was still a lot of action here. And it was devastating to this area. They (Union armies) would come through here and then move back and it would be re-occupied by the Confederates.”
Judice said it takes a student of the history of the conflict to maximize one’s chances of finding artifacts buried under the ground. He said knowing where the fighting took place is half the battle.
“It takes a lot of research,” Judice said. “You read everything you can about the battles in the area. You work an area with the metal detector until you find something.”
Judice said while his collection makes for an interesting conversation piece for visitors to his home and as a unique décor for his living and dining room, his collection also serves an important educational service for young people who may not know much about the history of southern Louisiana during the Civil War. He also said there was a big difference between his collection and a collection one might see in a museum.
“You can touch it,” Judice said. “That’s the difference between my stuff and the stuff in a museum. When I bring stuff for the kids at the schools, I pass it around.”
Judice said when he brings pieces of his collection to local schools to teach students about history, he has one goal.
“If I can get just one kid interested in this stuff, I’m happy.”