few Civil War relics from June 10, 2014

[danimal03]

Drove to a friend's house yesterday and did some hunting. First time for over a year for me due to being overseas and also a lack of sites to dig. We hunted in a well hunted Union camp. It took me a couple hours to find something. the first dig was a tiny pistol percussion cap. I could not believe my machine found it.

Anyway after I was getting smoked by my friend who found approx. Eagle cuff buttons and half dozen 3-ringers, I finally found a perfect drop. The first pic is of this bullet fresh from the earth. I actually left this one as is and did not clean it at all.

Found 2 other drops to include a nice near perfect Williams cleaner bullet and 4 fired bullets. Also dug a grommet, and I finally got my own roached out Eagle cuff button. A few more years in the ground and this button would be dust.

Also eyeballed and 1850's-ish glass button and I eyeballed what I think are early 20th century marbles. The marbles and glass button were from fill dirt from a separate site. The dirt contains from early 19th century to about early 20th century stuff.

The 2nd pic is in the woods and the 3rd pic is of the bullets after getting all but the first scrubbed of the caked on crud off. Last pic is group shot minus the percussion cap. Thanks for looking.

 

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[blugotti1]

nice fired and drops!!

 

[beez0404]

Excellent CW finds. Very nice!

 

[diggervet]

great finds, a few more relics not lost to history!

 

[tennessee digger]

You did pretty good there. Congrats.

 

[vpnavy]

Great finds! Thanks for sharing...

 

[romeo-1]

Some great lead there!

 

[Old Dude]

Very nice lead. Looks like you were digging in a jungle! Don't see much old growth there. Would have been nice to have dug it after the logging or while it was still a clearing, wouldn't it!

 

[danimal03]

civil war relics

Very nice lead. Looks like you were digging in a jungle! Don't see much old growth there. Would have been nice to have dug it after the logging or while it was still a clearing, wouldn't it!

Yeah, pretty tough to dig. I have to pry each find from the roots as if they were holding on to them for dear life. The ticks were out celebrating that someone was out to feast on. The one thing on my side was there was little poison ivy in this area. I am so allergic to poison ivy that if it even sees me; I will have a severe reaction. Luckily the little poison ivy I saw was snoozing away and did not notice me.

I miss the days hunting out west where it is dry and open. The real danger there is rattlesnakes. I almost sat on a baby coiled up in a ball in the grass one time. I missed it by inches. Would have been real bad as the babies inject the most venom.

But at the end of the day; we have to do what we have to do to find a relic or two. The relics don't find themselves. And despite what the extremist people like Mike Barber, State Archaeologist of Virginia, think; it is better to find the relic rather than have it paved over or most assuredly; end up as fill dirt in a subdivision miles and miles from its source.

By the way Mike Barber is the individual I had a phone conversation a couple of years ago. I told him about the contributions metal detectorists have made over the years. I included the multiple books published, my own personal loan of relics to institutions, etc., and I even told him of the famous detectorist who found the remains of the 55th Mass soldiers found in SC. They were found after the 'archaeology survey' was completed. Yet Mike Barber dismissed these contributions as nothing. He dismissed this even though I stated the obvious as to what would have happened to these soldiers' remains had they not been found. They would not have been 'paved over' like a lot (but not all) of archaeologists will portray as worst case scenario; only to be supposedly found decades or centuries later. The remains would have been scraped out and ended as fill dirt somewhere or in a landfill.

Mike Barber does not believe in 'ground action'. He thinks it is a myth despite what I told him and the references I gave him to check. Just look at the cuff button I found. It is coming apart at the seams. within 10-20 more years it would have come apart and turned to dust. At least it will have a chance at preservation and will be on display in its present state.

This post is dedicated to all those (to include moderate archaeologists who want to work with detectorists) who are passionate about history and what we collectively will do in order to save a relic from destruction; and educating the public through books, information, and displays. Thank you.

 

[Ironman!]

Nice saves Danimal! Glad to see you finally get out and do some relic hunting!! You know your hunting right when your picking up a small target like that pistol percussion cap. I remember hunting with our mutual friend years ago and he did the same thing back then...finding 3 or 4 targets to my 1! Tell him I said hi next time you see him. Yes, your marbles are 20th century machine made marbles like you suspected. I'll try and give you a call this weekend with some updated info. on what we discussed last week!

I hope you get out more and make some more saves that most definitely will be lost forever in the future!!!

IM

 

[CSA2K]

Nice saves!