VOL1266-X
Gold Member
- Jan 10, 2007
- 5,589
- 2,910
- Detector(s) used
- Fisher 1266-X, F75 X 2
- Primary Interest:
- Relic Hunting
Too nice a day to not go hunting in Tennessee today. Dman and I met for a short 2.5 hour hunt this morning and it was sunny and about 45 degrees. This was a local dual use (CS & U.S.) site where some bulldozing had recently been done. I dug a CS Militia plate there about 12 years ago along with eagle buttons, about 70 dropped bullets, knapsack hooks, and gun parts. I recall getting a nice 1876 seated quarter there too.
About ten minutes into the hunt, I received a good signal on my F75 and pinpointed a target only 6 inches deep. When I looked at it down in the hole and picked it up I thought I had dug my first Ohio breastplate. It turned out to be the brass heart bridle rosette shown in both pics. It was 2.25 in. dia. and had an iron back with two attachment hooks. It is most likely civilian as I dug the CS plate less than 100 ft. away. I walked over to Dman who knew I had dug something good since I came over to him. He looked at it and said "Oh @@@@". In addition to being a dual use site, there's a U.S. Cavalry camp just across the hill.
Dman dug all the lead and the early 1900 overall button with the "fly" on it. I sent a pic of the rosette to Rafael Eledge at Shiloh Relics. He said he had dug one just like it at a dual use site near Estill Springs, TN several years ago. As to which side may have used it on their bridle, there, it's a toss up although the U.S. heart rosettes don't usually have a pronounced border on them. HH, Quindy.
UPDATE-Tom Hays of Stones River Trading Company states that these were affixed to the headstall of the bridle and were heavily CS used. Larry Hicklen of Middle Tennessee Civil War Relics says he has recovered one of these in a Wharton's Texas Rangers CSA Cavalry camp and another in the camp of the 1st Ternnessee CSA Cavalry. He advises that the back will probably be iron rather than solder and to check it with a magnet. It's iron. He was a chemist before going into the relic business and knows a lot about metals associated with CW use.
Note- a friend who is associated with a popular relic magazine saw the heart rosette. He said he was told the CW period examples had lead backs and the ones with the tin backs like mine are post CW. He had seen one dug at Kennesaw, GA and it had a lead filled back.
I always want to be accurate with my posts so I contacted two gentlemen on Tnet who I consider to be very well versed in horse equipment. They are Rob (Creskol) and Cody (Kuger). Rob said he had heard that the tin backs were post CW too but (like me) could not explain how the 4 other examples just like mine dug by friends Rafael Eledge, Tom Hays, and Larry Hicklen recovered their rosettes ALL from CS cavalry sites. In addition, Tom (kindafoundabuckle) dug his from the Mechanicsville, VA battle area. Cody is checking one of his sources.
Tom Hays from Stones River Trading Company asserts that the type of tin back I recovered is CW period as it would be way too much of a coincidence to be post war and dug in CS cavalry sites. I don't want to drag this post on but I do want to be correct with CW usage. HH, Quindy.
Dman is back home, on crutches, and working a partial day at his store. We put him on injured reserve AGAIN-LOL.
About ten minutes into the hunt, I received a good signal on my F75 and pinpointed a target only 6 inches deep. When I looked at it down in the hole and picked it up I thought I had dug my first Ohio breastplate. It turned out to be the brass heart bridle rosette shown in both pics. It was 2.25 in. dia. and had an iron back with two attachment hooks. It is most likely civilian as I dug the CS plate less than 100 ft. away. I walked over to Dman who knew I had dug something good since I came over to him. He looked at it and said "Oh @@@@". In addition to being a dual use site, there's a U.S. Cavalry camp just across the hill.
Dman dug all the lead and the early 1900 overall button with the "fly" on it. I sent a pic of the rosette to Rafael Eledge at Shiloh Relics. He said he had dug one just like it at a dual use site near Estill Springs, TN several years ago. As to which side may have used it on their bridle, there, it's a toss up although the U.S. heart rosettes don't usually have a pronounced border on them. HH, Quindy.
UPDATE-Tom Hays of Stones River Trading Company states that these were affixed to the headstall of the bridle and were heavily CS used. Larry Hicklen of Middle Tennessee Civil War Relics says he has recovered one of these in a Wharton's Texas Rangers CSA Cavalry camp and another in the camp of the 1st Ternnessee CSA Cavalry. He advises that the back will probably be iron rather than solder and to check it with a magnet. It's iron. He was a chemist before going into the relic business and knows a lot about metals associated with CW use.
Note- a friend who is associated with a popular relic magazine saw the heart rosette. He said he was told the CW period examples had lead backs and the ones with the tin backs like mine are post CW. He had seen one dug at Kennesaw, GA and it had a lead filled back.
I always want to be accurate with my posts so I contacted two gentlemen on Tnet who I consider to be very well versed in horse equipment. They are Rob (Creskol) and Cody (Kuger). Rob said he had heard that the tin backs were post CW too but (like me) could not explain how the 4 other examples just like mine dug by friends Rafael Eledge, Tom Hays, and Larry Hicklen recovered their rosettes ALL from CS cavalry sites. In addition, Tom (kindafoundabuckle) dug his from the Mechanicsville, VA battle area. Cody is checking one of his sources.
Tom Hays from Stones River Trading Company asserts that the type of tin back I recovered is CW period as it would be way too much of a coincidence to be post war and dug in CS cavalry sites. I don't want to drag this post on but I do want to be correct with CW usage. HH, Quindy.
Dman is back home, on crutches, and working a partial day at his store. We put him on injured reserve AGAIN-LOL.
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I found mine in Mechanicsville VA in the mid 90's. No one and I mean no one could give me any information about it at all. Well the Richmond Arsenal relic shop told me it was not from the Civil War but for some reason offered me 10 bucks for it. 
I knew it had to be from the war. That's all that was coming out of the ground where we were digging no modern pieces of any kind came from that site. Brother you made my day! 
A 17 year mystery FINALLY solved. AWESOME!!!!!!!
