Civil war buckle???

[tater307]

My 12 year old son found this today in a field. We have maps from 1865 and there was a house on top of a hill about 5 miles from my house. These are the finds. No date large cent, 1864 indianhead penny, infantry eagle button, trigger guard, and this buckle. I know it is in the time period but is it a civil war buckle?

 

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[Dave44]

The hooks look right, but it looks blank in the pic. There are many here more qualified than I am but you did great for the day,, Sweet finds.

 

[Sky Pilot]

You did well for sure!

I'd be back there often!

Welome to TreasureNet Tater307!

Sky Pilot

 

[ivan salis]

yes rectangle type 'blank" buckles were used by the confederate military for sure -- the type of "connection" hooks on it are very time frame correct and being it was found along with with other civil war era type items --if there were confedrate troops in your area during the civil war at that spot (or ex confederate soldiers post war * since not being marked CSA it could be used still)---I'd personally say "Congrats" looks like you got a confederate type CW eraish belt buckle to me. --there was a group of raiders called morgans raiders --see if they were around that area.

a house on a hill top is a ideal lookout / artillery spotters position or generals headquarter type spot .( because you can see anything coming your way)-- with mixed items being found -- infantry eagle button (union?) and a confederate type buckle ithe site might have been used by both sides at differant times or there might have been a small skirmish type battle for the high ground "lookout" spot

 

[danthecanuck]

Apparently the South had irregular type uniforms and acrutraments,that buckle looks familiar to me. note; because clothes,great coats,pants ,shirts,buttons buckles,and the like were of some value and practical to keep and use,people carried them for years and wore them. We have found U.S. revelutionary and civil war items up here in Ontario Canada

 

[ivan salis]

clothing items are clothing items (good till they wore out /broke -- the fact is that just about all folks in general (both north and south) were more "thrifty" in general back then -- plus many southern folks after the war were dead broke and had no choice but to wear / use thier old uniform clothing -- as their homes were destroyed and thus they had no other clothing nor money to buy any with.

plus some southern folks kept a item or 2 to "remember" by -- so as to "never forget"

 

[tater307]

Thanks guys! I actually live on the indiana/ohio border. The ohio border is about 8 miles from me. This is me and my sons 3rd buckle. 2-OVM's and this one. i have been detecting for almost 5 years now. Here is my best

 

[Sky Pilot]

Great going!!

I'm still looking for my first one!

Sky Pilot

 

[fyrffytr1]

tater,
I told you that these guys know their stuff. That's because I taught them! Or maybe it was the other way around.
Anyway, welcome to the forums and congrats to you and your son on some really nice finds.

 

[Iron Patch]

tater,
I told you that these guys know their stuff. That's because I taught them! Or maybe it was the other way around.
Anyway, welcome to the forums and congrats to you and your son on some really nice finds.

I'm not sure what you mean because no one has ID'ed it yet. So I guess you didn't teach them enough!

 

[Breezie]

I think it is a Confederate 'sheet brass buckle,' sometimes called 'clipped corners,' although this one does not have the clipped corners. The South was so poor they used plain buckles like this and variations. These is an example of the clipped corner type on page 220 of Crouch's book. Below are some website with other variants of the CSA 'sheet brass buckles.'

http://www.campsiteartifacts.com/accoutrementplates.html
http://bellsouthpwp.net/t/w/twotenndiggers/civil_war.html (3/4 down page)



I found one very similar to yours near Fort Macon, NC. Very nice find, Breezie

 

[fyrffytr1]

I'm not sure what you mean because no one has ID'ed it yet. So I guess you didn't teach them enough!
[/quote]
I reckon I jumped the gun a little IP. At least he is getting some good replies. I have looked through Sydney Kerksis' buckle book and while I didn't find a match to the front, the back with the three hooks was shown only on Confederate buckles. Then, when it was repeated here I felt like there was a pretty good chance it was confederate. That is why I posted what I did.
With that being said, is it possible that the design on the front was removed so the buckle could be worn? I am not a civil war scholar by any means but I think I remember reading where CS marked pieces were not allowed to be worn after the war. Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Iron Patch]

I'm not sure what you mean because no one has ID'ed it yet. So I guess you didn't teach them enough!

I reckon I jumped the gun a little IP. At least he is getting some good replies. I have looked through Sydney Kerksis' buckle book and while I didn't find a match to the front, the back with the three hooks was shown only on Confederate buckles. Then, when it was repeated here I felt like there was a pretty good chance it was confederate. That is why I posted what I did.
With that being said, is it possible that the design on the front was removed so the buckle could be worn? I am not a civil war scholar by any means but I think I remember reading where CS marked pieces were not allowed to be worn after the war. Please correct me if I am wrong.


[/quote]



I can only agree it sure looks like a belt plate so hopefully someone can properly identify it.

It would have been made that way.

 

[ivan salis]

look at breezies post above * --see the sheet brass buckles ( PLEASE NOTE THEY ARE not marked CSA) -- thus they could have been used in union controlled areas post war without the soldiers giving the former reb a "hardtime" like a CSA marked one would have caused.

during the war there was a big confederate calvary raid --morgans raiders --who hit the the north * see if their path went thru or close to the area

 

[DirtDigler]

The thing is, this is a cast brass buckle. There wasn't any cost saving in making this buckle over a US or CSA buckle. In fact, they were more expensive to make than a lead-filled buckle. I wonder if there was an insert that went into this buckle. Something that specified a particular state, militia or unit. You might look at earlier (pre-war) examples. In the South you used what you had available. Sometimes that was Dad's old militia uniform. Always fun to track these things down, huh?

 

[Indiana Digger]

Welcome to Tnet, Tater!

You'll find that these are a good bunch of folks - with tons of info on many different subjects.
Love that plate. It is a dandy!

TO THE REST OF YOU TNET-ERS: Tater has the uncanny ability to sniff out good finds wherever he's hunting -
look for many more posts from this guy!

Best Regards and again, welcome to TNet!


~Indiana Digger~