you'd like to share with us? we'd love to hear it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com >> he leads the most famous charge in american history. >> i am standing right on the site of pickett's charge. >> it cost him hundreds of men, but it made him immortal. >> he leaves his descendants with a suitcase full of heirlooms. >> you want to take a look? >> i really would. >> then a fast-talking con man comes to town... >> he dressed well, he was very glib of tongue. >> ...forcing the general's heir into battle over his strange inheritance. >> what was your reaction? >> i was pissed. it began to dawn on me that i had been really truly ripped off. [ woman vocalizing, theme music plays ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] [ folk music plays ]

>> i'm jamie colby, and today i'm in wilmington, north carolina. it's known for its gorgeous beaches and its great surfing, but it was also the last confederate port city to fall during the civil war, so it is fitting that i'm here to meet an heir whose ancestor became famous in defeat at the high-water mark of the confederacy. >> my name is george edward pickett v. i'm the great-great-grandson of general george e. pickett of gettysburg fame. and i never knew exactly what that would bring to my family -- fame, fortune, or dishonor. >> george -- who goes by his middle name, ed -- has invited me to his home. hi, ed. >> hi. you must be jamie. >> i am jamie. how are you today? >> i'm good. >> when the 59-year-old isn't working as a surfing instructor, ed enjoys doing yoga and playing guitar. it's a far cry from his famous great-great-grandfather who fought at gettysburg.

growing up, did your family ever discuss that you had a connection to that battle? >> well, i knew about it. it was discussed briefly. i was not really that interested as a little kid. >> it's easy to understand why. ed's ancestor is best known for being on the losing side of the most pivotal battle in the civil war. >> some people said, "oh, didn't he lose? wasn't he a loser?" because that was the way that a lot of the history books talked about pickett's charge. >> so you don't bury your head like, "oh, i can't believe i came to school today"? >> i remember doing that one time. i didn't know enough to defend him. >> someone who does know a lot about general pickett is i meet earl right here on the gettysburg battlefield. i am standing right on the site of pickett's charge. >> you certainly are. you're at one of the iconic sites of the civil war. >> what was pickett's contribution?

>> general pickett, till that time, was certainly known as a confederate commander, but after the charge, he was known the world over. >> pickett serves under general james longstreet in july 1863, here at gettysburg, in the army of northern virginia, commanded by general robert e. lee. >> general lee was looking for a great victory on union soil. >> but the federal army holds the high ground. after two days of failing to break through, lee orders a controversial attack, an assault on the center of the union line. general pickett's troops are assigned to break through the middle. [ march plays ] so, earl, right now, we're on the confederate side. >> yes. in fact, you're moving pretty much along the ground that pickett's division came across. you'll see how the ground slopes away here, and then you start up a steady slope up to where the trees are. there were union cannon along

the whole ridgeline. they're high, they're elevated, they can see what's coming, and they can sweep the ground in front of them. >> they had the edge. >> they had it, and they used it. >> pickett's men advance directly into heavy fire. the union guns mow down the rebels. what did the scene look like after? >> well, this field that you're seeing out here was littered with dead. it was just a scene of total devastation. >> earl reads me some firsthand accounts of the bloodshed. >> "on one part of the field, the dead lay almost as thick as they could and men with heads shot off, men shot in two, and men shot to pieces as hardly can be recognizable as any part of a man." >> it's a turning point in the war. never again would the south mount an invasion of union territory. was that the high-water mark? >> that's the high-water mark. from that point on, the fortunes

of the confederacy started to wane. >> just knowing that pickett's charge was a disaster is enough for ed while growing up in north carolina in the 1960s. >> i had other interests that seemed to be more important to me at the time. >> he certainly has no interest in this old suitcase of family heirlooms that his father inherited. when his parents divorce, his dad passes the suitcase along to his mother with instructions to hold onto it for ed. >> ed, this is the actual case? >> it's the actual case. you want to take a look? >> i really would. >> okay. >> as far as young ed could tell, this suitcase only contained some boring, old military-looking knickknacks -- a cap, part of a uniform, some old documents. whatever. >> my mother would kind of say, "there's this legacy you have," you know? "and it's gonna be yours one day." and i would be like, "yeah, okay. sure. can i go outside and play?"

>> whether he appreciates it or not, ed takes possession of the suitcase in the early '90s. it's his by family tradition as the first-born pickett male. after his 70-year-old mother moves into an assisted living facility, she warns her son to remove it from the family home before someone steals it. >> i'd got it out of the closet. i didn't take the time right away to look through it. i kind of opened it and looked at it and went, "oh, okay," and closed it and moved on. >> it winds up tucked away in a closet again, now at ed's house. but he has no time to play curator. >> i spent a lot of time with my own children. and that was more important to me than looking through stuff. >> ed may not take much interest, but certain people in the civil war collecting world do. rumors spread that a metal case full of general pickett artifacts is still in the family's possession in north carolina.

in september 1995, ed gets a call from a guy named russell pritchard in philadelphia. pritchard says he's an antiques appraiser looking for artifacts to buy for a new civil war museum being built in harrisburg, pennsylvania. >> i was a little bit standoffish because i didn't really believe him. >> a few weeks later, a letter arrives. and i had a letter from the mayor of harrisburg. >> saying? >> russ pritchard is the official representative of the national civil war museum in the city of harrisburg. >> did you get a letter from the mayor because you asked for credentials? >> no. >> it just arrived. >> that's exactly right. >> next thing you know, russ pritchard just arrives uninvited in wilmington and, boy, is he persistent. >> russ wanted to be my new best friend. he followed me around like a puppy -- helped me carry drywall to a construction site, he had sat on the beach with my children while my wife and went

surfing. he kept asking, you know, "can i see the artifacts? when can i see them?" >> ed finally agrees to show pritchard what's inside that old family suitcase. the next few hours are a revelation for ed. that old cap is called a kepi, and it was worn by general pickett at gettysburg. there's his blood-stained uniform sleeve, personal letters, photos, his military sash, and this -- pickett's own hand-drawn map of the gettysburg battlefield. >> he was very knowledgeable. he knew what everything was. >> tell me about the reaction on russ pritchard's face. >> he was delighted. it was like he found a gold mine. and he said, "i'm prepared on behalf of the mayor to make you an offer." >> who did you feel he represented? your interest or the museum's interest? >> as i understood it, he was an appraiser standing in the middle. that's what he said.

that he could not over-estimate or underestimate the value of it. >> russ comes up with an offer to buy most of the contents of the case. $87,500. now it's ed who thinks he's struck gold. >> i thought, "wow, $87,500 is a lot of money to me." >> did it look fair? >> seemed fair to me. it was more money than i'd ever gotten in my life. ed happily accepts pritchard's offer and a check, and signs away the items. pritchard immediately departs with the pickett artifacts. but general pickett's great-great grandson is in for the shock of his life, when he finds out what eventually happens to his family heirlooms. >> it was all lies. he just lied to me completely. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question.

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>> so, how many generals were killed or mortally wounded at gettysburg? it's a -- 9. five confederate, four union. no other battle claimed as many general officers. >> in the fall of 1995, in wilmington, north carolina, ed pickett, great-great grandson

of confederate general george pickett, is thrilled to complete the sale of some of his family heirlooms to antiques appraiser and buyer, russ pritchard. >> the total amount was $87,500, which seemed like an awful lot -- more than i had made in a couple years. >> the items had been in the family for generations. now, the artifacts -- including the general's cap, bloodstained sleeve, and his hand-drawn map of the gettysburg battlefield -- are to be showcased at a new civil war museum in harrisburg, pennsylvania. did you talk to at least one other dealer to kind of get a sense of what you had and what it was worth? >> no, he told me he was working for the city and that his job was to appraise it accurately. >> three years later, in the summer of 1998, ed accepts an invitation to speak at a dinner in gettysburg, hosted by the friends of the national parks.

it's here he's introduced to civil war historian earl coates. >> and i knew he was an expert in clothing. and i asked him, "how much would a kepi be worth?" >> he kind of stunned me. i said, "you mean the general's?" and he said, "yes." whoa. >> and of course at that moment, the room got very silent. he said, "well it could be worth a lot of money." 200, 250 just for the kepi alone. >> $250,000? >> yes, $250,000. i said, you know, "that's more than i got for everything." >> but ed does not want to believe he's been swindled. he considers russ pritchard a friend. you trusted him so much, you let him babysit your infant. >> that's correct. >> earl suggests they find out more. through his connections, he discovers how much the museum paid pritchard for the items. how much did they pay? >> they paid over $800,000. >> your reaction?

>> i was astounded. i realized something was really wrong. >> then another shocker -- he learns pritchard flat-out stole some items, including family photos that he'd kindly offered to restore for ed. >> russ pritchard told me that he'd be glad to frame them for me and send them back, no charge. >> no charge. >> you know, he was just going to do it because he was a nice guy. >> wondering what they could be worth, ed takes them to the highly regarded gettysburg antique store, the horse soldier. the owner takes one look and says... >> "these are not real photographs. these are laser copies." i said, "are you sure?" >> upon closer examination, even ed can clearly see the lines from the laser printer. pritchard had re-framed his photos with fakes. ed's embarrassment over making a bad deal is now replaced with a new emotion -- anger. what was your reaction? >> i was pissed.

it began to dawn on me that i had been really, truly ripped off. >> ed decides it's time to take the fight to the enemy. that's next, on "strange inheritance." >> here's another quiz question. 3,903 confederate solders were killed at gettysburg. the answer in a moment. oh boy. looking for adventure this labor day? holy smokes. oh man, that's pretty intense. look no further than chevrolet. this is a fast car. i feel like i left my soul back there. wow. this has power! head to the chevy labor day sales event and ride out the summer in a new chevrolet. current chevy owners can use labor day bonus cash to get a total value

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>> so how many confederate soldiers are buried in the national cemetery at gettysburg? it's b -- 7. all soldiers were originally buried on the battlefield, but in november 1863, the national cemetery was reserved for those who died

preserving the union. all confederate killed in action were later reburied in the south, though seven remained by mistake. >> in the fall of 1998, ed pickett is stunned to learn the civil war artifacts he sold to appraiser russ pritchard for $87,000 are later re-sold by pritchard for $880,000. >> i was pissed, because it's not really just me that had been ripped off, but my children. and so that's when i got a lawyer. >> the family heirlooms belonged to his great-great grandfather, confederate general george e. pickett, whose name is synonymous with the failed rebel charge at gettysburg. in 1999, ed heads into battle himself -- this time in the courtroom. a civil jury eventually awards him $800,000 -- the difference between what the museum paid the con man and the con man paid

him. ed is thrilled at first. >> i received a jury verdict against russ pritchard for $800,000, of which i did not receive $800,000 'cause russ pritchard suddenly had empty pockets. i got $250,000 of which my attorney took his cut of the cash. >> how much? >> close to $100,000. >> but the law's not done with russ pritchard yet. as ed's case plays out in court, fbi agent robert wittman is paying very close attention. >> he was very smooth, he dressed well, he was very glib of tongue. >> it turns out, pritchard and his partners had been running the same kind of scam on others who had civil war artifacts. >> usually 10 times was what they were selling material for after they had appraised it for 1/10 of value. >> ed's lawsuit helps wittman and the fbi build a criminal case. >> in the end, there was a superseding criminal indictment

that had more than 20 counts in it. >> faced with a mountain of evidence against him, pritchard strikes a deal in 2001 with prosecutors and pleads guilty. he's sentenced to a year in prison and 830k in restitution fees. half of that sum is awarded to ed pickett, but... >> russ pritchard doesn't seem to have the money. i think i've received a total of maybe $25,000, $30,000. >> are you furious? >> i'm pretty upset. >> look in the camera and tell russ pritchard what you want him to do. >> i would like for russ pritchard to actually pay the restitution. but moreover i would like the national civil war museum to do the right thing and actually return my items to me. the right thing and actually return my items to me. >> so what about that? ed pickett's charge against the museum -- next. you owned your car for four years. you named it brad. you loved brad. and then you totaled him.

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>> now back to "strange inheritance." >> in 2001, ed pickett wins a

second legal battle over his civil war artifacts, passed down from his great-great grandfather, confederate general george pickett. but ed feels it's a hollow victory, as those artifacts go on display at the newly-opened national civil war museum in harrisburg, pennsylvania -- whose mayor wrote pickett a letter endorsing the con man who'd swindled him. >> what's most unfortunate is that the city of harrisburg is quite willing to take items that were taken by fraud and keep them. >> fbi agent robert wittman investigated the case. >> ultimately, the museum paid $880,000 for these artifacts, so they paid what they're supposed to. >> i think a better result would have been the city and the national civil war museum to say, "i am so sorry. let me give you your items back and we are going to sue russ pritchard for defrauding

us." >> current museum c.e.o. wayne motts, who took over in 2012, believes the pickett items are best suited at their current home. >> i think it was regretful and unfortunate what happened to mr. pickett but the pickett collection has been well taken care of here. it has been preserved and it has been exhibited for the joy of thousands of people. >> civil war historian earl coates only hopes that ed pickett takes comfort in knowing that the enormous value placed on his great-great grandfather's things reflects history's verdict on his leadership and courage that july day in gettysburg. >> was pickett thinking along the way, "what have i just done?" >> well he was probably thinking, "what have i been asked to do?" but they were told to go and they went. >> pickett and his men failed. so did their cause. but it's a tribute to their valor that gettysburg vets from

north and south would return to this spot, to do their part to bind up a nation's wounds. so should ed take comfort in knowing that general pickett was a soldier through and through, did as he's told, even if he might have believed it was wrong? >> absolutely. it cost him hundreds of men, but it made him immortal. . w >> yeah, there's some interesting stuff in here. >> it's certainly made ed pickett better appreciate the heirlooms that remain in that old suitcase. >> this is a copy of general pickett's report of the battle of williamsburg, may 1862. >> look at the handwriting. >> it's a lost art, i think. >> fabulous. what else? >> and that's george pickett's hair. >> would you ever sell that? >> this right here? no. not anymore. >> this is quite a section of your family history. what are you gonna do with it now?

>> um... i'll probably give it to my children. we don't really get to choose our names when we're born. and we have to do whatever we can or live up to it. i've, to some extent, ducked that legacy, but also honored it in the same way. >> ed is not done fighting the battle over his strange inheritance. for one thing, he thinks there should be a statue right here at gettysburg honoring his great-great grandfather and his men. in other ways, george edward pickett v feels it's time to move on. when his own son was born, he and his wife chose the name doug. perhaps some names just need to rest in peace. i'm jamie colby for "strange inheritance." thanks so much for watching. and remember -- you can't take it with you. >> do you have a "strange inheritance" story

you'd like to share with us? we'd love to hear it! send me an e-mail, or go to our website -- strangeinheritance.com. long. do not leave the fox news channel. shepard: it's 8 a.m. in south florida, i'm shepard smith in new york. it's time for an update from the national hurricane center. more than 850,000 people are without power in the keys, in the miami-dade area, fort lauderdale and broward county k. now let's get that update. >> good with morning, everybody, this is mike brennan with your 8 a.m. update on hurricane irma. you can see on radar the eye is about to make landfall in the lower florida keys. the lower florida keys from key west all the