Recent River Finds - Complete Hotchkiss

[Valley Ranger]

I've not gotten out much this summer as I've been busy finishing up a book. But gathering up my finds tonight to log them, I realized I'd found more than I thought! Here's just the recent river finds (all found with the Garrett AT Pro), including a complete Hotchkiss shell. That was actually found by my diggin' partner, but he allowed me to recover it (video coming soon) and it's "on loan" to me for now. Other items here include another Hotchkiss frag, what I believe is a CW period pocket knife, a barrel band to a musket, a musket sling hook, a 19th century pot scraper, what appears to be part of a period farrier long chisel or knife froe (possible 18th century), a piece of decorative pottery, various bullets, buck and ball, and other lead frags. I'll include photos of the other summer finds when I do the Hotchkiss video. And I'm really looking forward to the fall season and getting to know my new XP Deus. Thanks for lookin'!

 

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[Mud Hut]

What a great batch of relics spanning years of history. That must be a fascinating area you all are hunting.

 

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[treblehunter]

Very nice finds, cool relics!

 

[Irregular]

One minor correction here, Rick. With a thousand witnesses here I declare it to be yours. I do admit to some affection for the piece, perhaps because it's the first shell I had to actually disarm, and when it didn't blow me and the guest bathroom to smithereens I was grateful to God and in some nonsensical sense, it.

If you ever decide to part with it, please let me know first!

 

[BuckleBoy]

That's a great start with the AT Pro. I have often wondered what I left behind in rivers along sites I hunted in Southwestern Virginia where I grew up, for lack of a submersible detector.

Congratulations on the excellent finds,

Buck

 

[DigIron2]

Killer shell!nice finds all around.What is the knife on far left copper or iron?

 

[Irregular]

That was the 2nd Hotchkiss he found. And he also found a Confederate cannonball frag.

Rick, I overlooked an important piece of the puzzle and believe it's just as likely and perhaps more so that the frag is from a Federal piece, although the possibility remains of it resulting from the premature bursting of a CS shell . The only thing I can state with certainty is that it was spherical case as opposed to shell, per Cannonball Guy based upon thickness. The piece in question:

 

[Valley Ranger]

Rick, I overlooked an important piece of the puzzle and believe it's just as likely and perhaps more so that the frag is from a Federal piece, although the possibility remains of it resulting from the premature bursting of a CS shell . The only thing I can state with certainty is that it was spherical case as opposed to shell, per Cannonball Guy based upon thickness. The piece in question:


View attachment 1056913

Yes - a great recovery!

 

[Valley Ranger]

That's a great start with the AT Pro. I have often wondered what I left behind in rivers along sites I hunted in Southwestern Virginia where I grew up, for lack of a submersible detector.

Congratulations on the excellent finds,

Buck

Thanks Buck. Actually, it's not a "start" with the AT Pro - I've had it a few years now. I even bought a second one as a spare. It's by far my favorite machine. Rivers are silent, undiscovered museums.

 

[Valley Ranger]

Killer shell!nice finds all around.What is the knife on far left copper or iron?

Iron. I've got a strong magnet on the handle end of my digging tool. As I sweep the coil, I allow it to drag along the bottom of the river. That's how I picked that piece up. I was told that it's a 19th century pot scraper. The other piece below and to the left is also iron.