Brass machinery piece or part??

[Courtzzy]

We found this little brass piece on a civil war battle field today. It was about a foot down. No idea what it is or what it went to! I honestly thought it was a brass buckle at first when I was digging it out because I only saw the corner edge. lol but any ideas on what it may have gone to? I know it’s a long shot, but it does look old! And it was so far down! Thanks for any ideas!!!

 

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[firemanphob]

Possibly a clock mechanism frame.

 

[JVA5th]

Yup the back of a clock. I have a few I've found.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

It always amazes me how many of these unidentified 'brass frames' we find when we're detecting.
What happened to the rest of the clock, why is there only the brass frame and the occasional iron gear left attached to them?

Did folks burn the old wooden case and this is all that's left... it's a real mystery Courtney.
Dave

 

[tamrock]

It always amazes me how many of these unidentified 'brass frames' we find when we're detecting.
What happened to the rest of the clock, why is there only the brass frame and the occasional iron gear left attached to them?

Did folks burn the old wooden case and this is all that's left... it's a real mystery Courtney.
Dave

Most things like clock parts I've found in once trash dumps sites that later were cultivated under the plow for agriculture. These sites seem to have common items like hinges and door pulls, harmonica reeds, old marbles and little bisque dolls and lots of busted glass and pottery with occasional clock parts. The ones around me are mostly dated around the late 19th to early 20th century. They're kinda fun to just seek with your eyes and pickup the scattered bits and pieces just to identify. I hardly ever find anything of wood and do pickup melted glass often, so yeah I think a lot was burned to destroy the smell and maggots of rotting food waste. I remember going to the dump with my dad in Illinois and it was always burning. The smell of that place and seeing fellas pick off rats with 22s is an old image in my memory banks of doing things with dad.

 

[GoldieLocks]

I was going to say a washer of sorts that keep metal parts from sliding around on a machine,?