Loss of Historic Sites

49er

49er

Bronze Member
Feb 21, 2005
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Sun City, Arizona
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Whites..MXT..GMT
Just read that many of our historic battle field sites are being lost to land developers. Having only visited several historic battle field sites , I feel that the loss of these sites will effect many generations down the road. It has been a while since I attended school, and I don't know if they still teach American civil war history in our schools. if they do, how will the coming generations understand first hand the types of sacrifice these individuals made to make our country what it is today.
If you live near one of these historic sites, maybe you can obtain access to these sites before they are bulldozed and country clubs are erected and find relics to pass on to a local museum in your area. These items could then be displayed showing future generations what our forfathers left behind during the battle between the different sides.
Let me know your thoughts and ideas.

49er
 

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49er
I live in the fredericksburg Virginia area and many many civil war battile fields are getting lost to developers eager To build there shopping malls and what they referr to as housing for the Elderly.(not nursing homes)
as far as relic hunters are concerned we are called looters and Vandals we are not allowed any where near a Battle field or civil war camp site unless its on privet property and you get permession to hunt on it. Most of the developers have the politicians in there back pockets spotsylvania is in jeopardy of loosing all of its famous battile fields to development they would rather bull dozer over the sites then allow us to go in there and dig one button, buckle, or boot grommet.I have a friend who used to work for a place here and it was there job to go in and do shovel testing for artifacts mainly broken pieces of pottery and arrow heads from Indians when he asked about the civil war stuff his supervisors reply was the state of Virginia is not intrested in the civil war even though so many campaigns where fought here. this is the most stupidest thing i have ever heard and lately they where trying to pass a bill that made it even harder for us to hunt in this state it has almost come to the point that i am going to have to sell my gear because there will be no where left for me to hunt. Its a sad state of affrays here in Virginia

Mav
 

Mav,
Thanks for the input. It is a shame that land developers have the politicions in their back pocket, but I believe too that it is the greed of the state and local politicians for more tax dollar benefit that allows these developers to swallow up these sites. There must be some sort of organization, club or group that will stand by us and fight for us! I believe that if you contacted a local M/D club or several others in the state, there could be a way to alllow us to find these objects first and turn them over to a local museum. Good luck and let me know your ideas.

49er
 

49er, I dont think we can afford to save every battle field. For every battle field saved, it will be taxes to support it. Plus ranger's to make sure you do nothing but walk in , look, and walk out. It will be land out of the tax base. There's more people in this land all the time. todays people have needs, land to build home on. More people , the more need for land. We need affordable housing, Medical care, ect. And not more Parks, when we can't take care of the ones we have. But the powers that be do much as they please with our tax dollars. They use our $ to build parks, then charge us to use them. Where if the battle field is private, there will be places were one can still use a M/D. Get the drift 49er. You may not agree, but you have my view. Monk
 

If there were Battlefields near me, I'd welcome Developers. I'd just go to them & request Permission to search the site, & ask them, if any ground is going to be moved off the property, where it will be going? :)? ?alot of time, Imminent devolipment is the ONLY way you'r ever going to get permission.? 8) Just My Opinion? 8) jeff
 

Monk and Jeff
Thanks for both your input. Each statement is taken not as criticism but valuable input as to the thoughts of those individuals who respond to this form. As a MD who does not live in a area that has a mass amount of historic areas accessable for MD (state lands or historic area) and only visited battlefields while on various business trips I am amazed of the amount of history that I wish I had access too. I full understand the greed of politicians for I too live in an area where farmers are being bought out for more housing, shopping centers and WalMarts. Growth is a fact of life in our life time, and I will be glad to finally retire in an area that has limited population growth due to lack of employment opportunities.
Again, thanks for the input.
 

Limited Population Growth, Due to Lack of Employment opertunities :) sounds like my area, altho there slowly building around here.
 

My 2 cents again. More city fokes all the time are taking the choise to leave the crime, drug infested cities. If they have homes there and many do, they sell out take there money and move out of the cities, thus drive up land prices in country to the point were the farmer see's a gold mine in his land to that of raising corn. And sales and moves on. So move over Jeff, some one is looking to move in. Injoy the space while you can. And those rent paying fokes that are unable to pay soaring rents and find it harder to leave the cities will turn to living on the streets and along river banks. I fear for our times. Rome didn't last forever and this country likely wont eather the way it seem to be heading. The worst part is no one seems to have an answer. Save what gold you can as dollars are fast loseing there value. But one can't live without them. The crunch is coming. Prepare! Dont get in debt over your head or you may have to sell your M/D to survive. There you have my 2 cents Monk
 

Hay 49er you are talking Sasquash language man I go to some of this big land people I'm nice,polite & tackfull & some times get in more times then not they give me the runaround or tell me there is nothing to find O that really gets me I really want to get in then. Yes they would rather see this history bulldosed then let some kind of M.D. club come in & save the history that is roting away in the ground I say lets get it out & free that history. SASQUASH
 

I feel that battlefields are graves,especialy when its Civil war era ,.......I seen on the TV that part of a major CW battle is just a large paved highway and a Mcdonalds and other businessness........,but also take in count that I myself as a MD'est i would like to hit some spot up,but also Id feel kinda creeped out if i was diggn and found a CSA buckle but with the person still attached....



Remeber were A Democratic/captalist nation "NO I AM NOT A SOCIALIST NOR A COMMIE NOR SHOULD THIS BE LABELD POLITICAL!!!!
",but the truth is that if you got the money to buy land then,money talks bull@@@@ walks........also places need captial to build the town up to a city.......,land needs to be used......


I can go into this all night,and also write out a 70 page paper on political and captalism,but its up to YOU AND YOUR FELLOW COUNTRYMEN TO TELL THESE CORPRATE EMPIRES TO NOT BULID ON A SITE!!!!!!!!!

EVERYONE COMPLAINS WHEN THEY DO PAVE A SITE,BUT WHAT DID YOU DO TO STOP IT?..............im not directing this comment at anyone,but rather a reminder to get off your butt and do somthing before things like "NO METAL DETECTING AND NOW YOUR A FELON" Dont happen!!!!!!!!

:)
 

Try Gettysburg---this is a battlefieldwhere they can fine and arrest you if they see you stopped and staring at the ground---dont know for sure who came up with that law--i would love to be able to takethe MD out onto those fields, but i guess since there is no profit in it for the govt...I am out of luck
 

resq937 said:
Try Gettysburg---this is a battlefieldwhere they can fine and arrest you if they see you stopped and staring at the ground---dont know for sure who came up with that law--i would love to be able to takethe MD out onto those fields, but i guess since there is no profit in it for the govt...I am out of luck
Click to expand...


they can arrest you now without anytpe of evidence nor do they have to inform family/proper lines of communication if in that line of procedure.....welcome to homeland,
 

The city of colorado springs has swallowed up over twenty towns prior to the 1900's. Isn't it interesting that the states don't want you detecting and maybe discovering an old coin, but those towns are gone, never to be seen of , never to be heard of from again. Isn't it interesting that in most major universities they have boxes of artifacts that were dug in th early 1900,s that have never been opened. They haven't even been seen by their own people. Most of them don't even know what all they have. Now you tell me that benifits society somehow. The archeologists want everything archaic to themselves. The foresters only want you to look because it belongs to them. They already don't want you picking up rocks in primitive areas. Soon the geologists are going to claim they are the only ones that should have rocks. I wonder if the bird my cat ate yesterday was protected species. I might get Jailed. Ever hear of the KIngs Forest. Those guys from the revolutionary war walked barefoot thru snow and we gave it up without a political fight. Half of you didn't even vote. The funny part is all these enviromental wackos that are trying to get me kicked out of the forests will one day themselves be kicked out because after all the only sure way is protect the forest is to keep all people out of the forest.
Do you realize that the environmentalist in Colorado wants your little boy to go to jail if he picked up a rock while he was walking with you in the forest, because he was "harvesting the forest". Do you realize that if a mouantain lion kills your child the enviromentalist want it left alone, because you was in his home. I wonder what the parents that lost that four year old boy several years ago think of that. What we need is our own lawyers
defending our interests. Not ONe little Organiztion here orone little group there, but one central attorney team. One that the prospectors give to, one that the treasure hunters give to , one that the hunters give to, and one that people opposed to give to. All the different magazines should unite on that one cause. That way Instead little groups of money here and there, we would have Alarge defense team that could really do something. I'd give.Lets fight them in the congress, lets fight them in the classrooms, lets fight them in the courtrooms, lets fight them whever they rise their ugly little heads. Otherwise don't worry about wether you want a whites or minelab, you won't own one anyway.
 

You can build a coil onto your shoe, run the wire up pants leg,hang the unit off your shoulder under jacket, and use a single earbud.
Then just look like your bending over tying your shoe. Ive seen it done.
 

I live in eastern central Va and we're surrounded by 5 major battlefields that have been preserved since the 1930's and they always will be. They are very large tracks of land, that preserve the actual Battle site where the struggles, Famous manuvers, life and death took place. The preservationists are crying about All the land that surround these area's....Get Real...all of Va's soil is historical. There's a different motive there, I'm sure of it.

jeff of pa said:
If there were Battlefields near me, I'd welcome Developers. I'd just go to them & request Permission to search the site, & ask them, if any ground is going to be moved off the property, where it will be going? :)? ?alot of time, Imminent devolipment is the ONLY way you'r ever going to get permission.? 8) Just My Opinion? 8) jeff
Click to expand...

Your exactly right Jeff. Believe me when I tell you most of the relics on the construction sites in Va, get dug and preserved by Relic hunters. All construction sites in Va are first probed by the State hired Professional Arceologists? ??? They come in dig a few 15' x15' squares, knowing its a Civil War camp.....spend hours upon hours in these squares, with very little to show for it. They don't locate the huts, trash pits, latrines, fire pits and many scattered relics like us unprofessional looters, amatuers....whatever they call us. They simply will never have enough time to get the relics out with there methods. Experienced Relic hunters have the methods and means to get it done. So Va... hire me... thats my Dream Job...and I want a company truck with a gas card? ;D

There was one construction site where you got permission to metal detect and in return they ask for just a small donation of relics be given to the development. The developer is to build a mini-museum on the site to help preserve the history.

Just some of my thoughts,
Dave
 

I would like to see any and all remaining battlefields bought by the government (us!) and incorporated into the national park system and be preserved forever! JIM
 

Va Dave said:
There was one construction site where you got permission to metal detect and in return they ask for just a small donation of relics be given to the development. The developer is to build a mini-museum on the site to help preserve the history.

Just some of my thoughts,
Dave
Click to expand...

Now that is the way to do it ! I wish more developers had this kind of attitude. Missouri is losing a lot of it's battlefields to development as well, too bad I live so far from them. I would love to get in there and donate some of the things I found so everyone could see them !
 

The developers around my area ruin large tracks of land day by day..building their ugly new houses crammed right next to eachother. and they have to build a mountain under each house to get a "good view" of the ski mountain and stuff. I feel bad for the people who have to live next to this kind of "development" (if thats what u wanna call it). I can tell you one thing i would never let it happen near my house....
 

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