ADVISE WELCOME!!!!!!

[shmoyork]

Hello new friends!! My name is Ashley and I am ready to get into the hobby of hunting for civil war relics. I have so many questions and I am very overwhelmed at getting started. Also, this is my first time on a forum of any kind so before I start to ask any questions, I'll tell you a little about me and why I am interested in relic hunting.(Please tell me if I am too long winded so I'll know for next time, but I am SO excited!!) Well, for starters I was born and raised in a quite historical county in Central VA. I really didn't appreciate the rich history that surrounded me as I was growing up. Even as children, my sister and I found civil war bullets and even some arrowheads just helping our mom in the garden and playing in the dirt. I also spent lots of time with my grandma "treasure hunting" in the woods all over looking for bottles or whatever we could find. I wish I had embraced what I had learned as a youngster so that I could use it now...so let's fast forward a "few" years...I am now living in another somewhat historical area in central VA. A few years ago, my fiance' and I were talking one day with a friend of the family who is in his 60's and has lived and worked here his entire life. He informed us that just across our front yard, just into the edge of our woods, there is an old dump site that the families who lived on the orchard that our 12 acres was a part of many years ago used. So, I got a shovel and some tools and started digging. I became obsessed and finally got down to some old stuff. One of my favorite finds was a 100 yr old quark top whisky bottle in good condition...Why am I telling you all of this?? Well...that's what got me started on what I'm beginning to think is my passion. So here we are in the present...In two days I will be turning 32 and if I don't get the metal detector I have been begging for for months....Well I suppose I'll just have to go buy my own!! I already have permission to detect in several areas back home (which is only about an hour from where I live), and several properties around where I live now. My first question is: Were all Civil War Camps recorded? I mean, could I go out into some potentially untouched area that I know was active during civil war times,and is it possible to "stumble" across a camp site or is that unlikely? Should I be more organized in getting started, or just go out and start swinging to get the feel for it? As far as back home goes, pretty much anywhere in the county is a good place to look. I did however get permission on one certain property NEAR where, from what I've read, there was a very large battle where thousands of soldiers fought and many died. I guess what I don't understand about this situation is that I'm going by the side of the road markers that show where the battle was. Are these markers accurate? I guess the way I look at it is that if the marker is on the side of the road where it is convenient to see, is that really exactly where the battle took place? And then about a half mile down the road from that is another marker that reads "cavalry engagement". Is that really exactly where that happened as well? Last question...promise...So the property I have permission to detect on is about another half mile back from that last sign. It's about 100 acres-some open land and some wooded. Would this possibly be a good place to detect? would the open area or the wooded area be better? I just really know nothing about this at this point and I don't want to go in to it completely blind. I'd like to try and increase my odds of finding SOMETHING out there...My best friend who is now a Realtor in our hometown actually has this land as one of her listings and got permission from the owners. I suppose it all depends on from what direction the cavalry was moving, in what area were the many homes that were made into hospitals for the wounded. I guess the big question here is how far an area was potentially effected by a large battle?? Would it be far fetched for me to go a half mile back from the cavalry engagement marker? I think that's all I have for now...I would like to thank ANYONE who took the time to read this. and I'd also like to apologize to anyone who now thinks I am an idiot for the questions I've asked...But please keep in mind that when I get my detector in 2 days I will be brand new to this....At this point this forum (and google of coarse) are my detecting education. Again many thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -Shmo

 

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[Tnmountains]

Welcome to t-net. Not all camps were recorded but some where. If there was occupation for any length of time the camps will be better. Many people have been research things for years. The realtor is your friend,lol. I would just go and hunt and keep a log of what you find and where. The civil war atlas of maps is what I use but recently got a good map from a newspaper clipping showing camps and battle lines. Take pictures of your finds and jump in to this site with and questions. People love to be helpful here and there are some of the best hunters around on here. Check out each section and the todays finds you will learn a lot. If you have questions on your new machine there is a section for that with much knowledge. If anyone is not polite let me or another mod know. It helps us keep it friendly and fun.
You are in for the journey of your life and have found the right place to start.
Happy Hunting,
TnMtns

 

[Southern_Justice]

Ok that was a long post lol . Anyways about the markers on the side of the road Im not 100% sure about your case but I know where I'm from the historic markers are just put in the general area. And no not every camp is recorded. There are many camps that were just used on movements for a few days then you have the movements themselves to hunt and routes of retreats. And since a lot if not most major battlefields are protected and no metal detecting is allowed you can focus on property's around a major battlefield. Research is going to pay off more than anything when you hunt civil war relics. You need to find troop movements and retreat routes and if and where there were small skirmishes around the area as those usually are on private property. The main thing is the more research you put in the more successful you will be. And a little bit of luck never hurt. Good luck and happy hunting

 

[RockyDig]

Well, based on your post it's pretty clear you have the bug already. That's the most important thing because you will get discouraged at times but you will be rewarded when you least expect it. A lot of areas around Central VA still hold CW relics. If you want my advice, get a good machine from the start and work up. A White's MXT is always a safe bet and isn't terribly expensive. Also, in the unfortunate event that relic hunting just isn't for you, it'll be easy to sell.

To answer some of your questions, YES, there are unrecorded camps but they seem to be harder to come by in some areas. You can do your research of the area using old maps (search Library of Congress - Civil War Maps - (American Memory from the Library of Congress) or the David Rumsey collection - Google it) and compare to Google Earth or the GIS map of the county. This will give you some idea of the area if you're lucky but just because there's no map doesn't mean the relics aren't there. So you've got permission on a spot - get your detector, a reliable shovel, a good pair of boots, and plenty of water. Get out there, turn the machine on, ground balance it, and start swinging. Keep the head of the detector parallel to the ground at all times and listen for the signals. At first you'll want to dig every signal to get the feel of the machine. You'll start to figure out iron signals from brass and lead. I always dig the junky signals in a new area to ensure I'm in the right spot. Finding sqare nails, horse shoes, pieces of forks and spoons, and other camp items means the good relics are more than likely there as well. There is a lot of walking and digging involved but you'll love the feeling of pulling out relics over the years. I still get just a excited digging bullets as when I started over 10 years ago.

Once you've determined if relic hunting is for you then you can upgrade your tools. I'd recommend a Lesche Shovel and hand trowel (Welcome to Predator Tools Online!), a Garrett ProPointer, and when you're ready to run with the big dogs, get a Minelab GPX. I'm a firm believer in having the right tools for the job and in my opinion these are the best relic hunting combination.

 

[shmoyork]

Thank you ALL for all of the wonderful helpful tips!!! I am truly beginning to see this whole thing a bit more clearly! Thanks for all the recommendations with equipment and maps! I have my little notebook here that I'm writing every little tip in! Keep me in mind if there are any more helpful tips you would like to share! I can't wait until I find my very first civil war relic! No matter how big or small, you guys will be the first to see!! Hopefully you can give me some great feedback on that! You guys obviously know what you are talking about and your opinions are valued and respected!!! :-) I have just a few more questions just about this relic hunting "community". Well...when I first got into digging dump sites on old homesteads, I spoke with a few "diggers" who gave me some advise that kind of baffled me. Many of them were privy diggers. They were extremely competitive and VERY secretive about where they would go to dig. They advised that I be the same way. I respect the way they feel about not wanting to be ripped off, but they really weren't even open with giving newbies much advise. And...I suppose the fact that the dump site I was digging was on my very own property so I didn't understand. I hope this isn't an inappropriate question, but does it work the same way with civil war relic hunting? I would have been ok with naming the battle Ive been talking about to see if that might change the advise I am given, but I'm not sure how that works here. Should I not put that info out there? Oh, and just a funny little fact...I actually did map out the retreat from the battle and get this: It goes straight through my EX INLAW's property!!! What are the odds of that?? I told ya...small town. So lets just say the retreat part is OUT!! haha...Huge county, but small town. But, I can't complain bc with it being a small town, in addition to the areas I already have permission on, I think there are quite a few more I could get permission for later down the road if I need it. Thanks again guys!!! You really have made me that much more excited and just a little overwhelmed, but in a good way! Oh!!!...and tomorrow is my birthday. I'll have to let you know what kind of detector I get and maybe get some feedback on that? Unless he didn't get the months and months worth of hints. In which case I already have great advise to finding my own. Happy Hunting to you guys as well!!! And again, Thanks so much!

 

[Southern_Justice]

some people are secretive and dont want any competition, but most people on here are very informative and respectful and are always willing to help. As for the retreat you could check out surrounding properties of your ex inlaws retreats were probably pretty chaotic and people going everywhere so some of the action could have spilled out around that area. Most of my research now goes toward hunting down these camps where they stayed for a few days and are virtually unknown. Thats where you can get into virgin ground where no one has hunted before. If you have anymore questions just ask away and keep us posted on how you do.

 

[shmoyork]

Hello new friends! Well I got my new detector and I'm ready to go!! Tomorrow morning my boyfriend and I are getting up early and heading up the mountain to a friend of the family's property. He's letting us jump on some 4wheelers to ride up to an old railroad tunnel. It was part of the Blue ridge railroad. From what I've read, in 1856 miners "holed through" the mountain after 8 long years of digging. The tunnel is almost a mile long and was opened to rail traffic in 1858 and used for almost 100 years. In 1944 a new tunnel was opened nearby that could handle the taller freight cars and the first tunnel was abandoned. The miners who dug through the mountain by hand for 8 years were mostly Irish immigrants and slaves. Because the tunnel was dug through 10 yrs bf the invention of dynamite, the digging was done basically by only using hand drills, picks, and black powder. Bc the inside of the mountain was basically all hard rock, many of the tools were dulled or broken before any real dent was made. So maybe I could find some old tools up there too... A cholera outbreak killed 35 of the Irish workers and many of them were buried right there on the side of the mountain. Also, The Irish were split bc of religious views and the two groups did not camp together. The slaves who's wages were taken by their owners had a camp at another location. History shows this bc none of the slaves who worked on the tunnel were effected by the cholera outbreak. So...I'm hoping to hike a little along the path of the old railroad and surrounding areas to possibly find a camp! Oh! One last thing that I was told by our friend who lives up there...bc the tunnel has some water running through it, the shackles that the slaves were made to wear while working kept rusting so they gave them brass shackles to wear on their ankles instead. It is rumored that some people have found some of those brass shackles...Well...I'm excited about my first hunt! (I can't even sleep) Wish me luck digging buddies!! I'll check on here in the morning bf I leave to see if I get anymore advise. :-) For some reason I am quite nervous about going out for the first time with my detector. I just keep thinking that I am going to be so disappointed if I don't find anything. I keep telling myself that with the lack of experience I shouldn't expect too much and shouldn't get discouraged if I'm not too successful. I plan to use every little bit great advise you all have given me. I'm so glad I'm not going into it completely blind! Have a great weekend!!!!!