Some Rare Confederate Buttons

[smokeythecat]

I got these on a dig this weekend, after my tooth decided to "act right".

All are rare and unlisted Confederate Merrill carbine .541 caliber bullets. They have a funky grey patina, different than the ones we get around here in our overly fertilized fields.

These were found with 107 others (not mine) in the middle of nowheresville, PA, near the Maryland line near a spring head. They were probably either captured and then disposed of there, or a southerner heading north to find work dumped them. No other good items were found nearby. Not even a coin or button.

Thanks to Cannonballguy for the positive ID.

 

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[Joe-Dirt]

Nice digs Smokey!! I have a friend that shoots a Merrill carbine in competition, really neat little gun

 

[digger dug]

where are the buttons?

 

[Digger RJ]

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[BLK HOLE]

Cool saves! You said there were a 107 of them found? Were they spread around a large area or in a big blob?

 

[smokeythecat]

Yeah, I put of "buttons" instead of "bullets". That's what happens when you do this EARLY in the am. Most were in one hole.

 

[creskol]

Bee Tree by any chance?

 

[smokeythecat]

No tree. A small rise about 75' from a spring head in the middle of nowhere. No trees within 200'. Just some junk iron and brass nearby.

 

[Truth]

Those are some real beauties smoky [emoji1360][emoji1360][emoji1360]

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Nice finds, congrats!

 

[creskol]

Just curious, Smokey..

 

[Harrison]

I’m assuming a typo was made!

 

[smokeythecat]

Yup to typo. Creskol, is that President Trump? I have seen a lot of those lime kilns all over the east coast here, but no, all we had was a tiny 20' tall scraggly maple tree a couple hundred feet away (I DID NOT measure the distance), The only evidence of any kind of structure was about 10 rocks in a kind of line. Maybe the outline of a spring head, it was awfully wet down there in the bottom. I thought I just might get chomped by a timber rattler. Fortunately, we didn't see one this time. The only pottery we found was common redware scraps and undateable.

 

[creskol]

Hey Smokey .. That is actually a spring head enclosure that we discovered while metal detecting years ago. It was covered with vines, trees, leaves, and poison ivy, and was in bad shape. It actually had a shelf in it originally. We carried mortar up to it and repaired and stabilized it the best we could. It was at a little known Civil War Camp that sounded like the area you were hunting. We carried a 5 gallon bucket of bullets out of there where I guess the target range was... drops on one end and fired on the other. Also found a lot relics around the spring head and along the down hill water way where the spring water flowed. I think the well enclosure was built by the PA troops that camped there. I found a similar one at a camp built and used by the Army of the Potomac.

 

[A2coins]

Good job I read a while back about you going on a hunt looks like it went well I love stuff like that too bad it's not near me Glad you got Ids on those. Good job

 

[smokeythecat]

I was talking to my host, who lives nearby. In times past a Confederate buckle was found about 1/2 mile away, a pre war 2 piece eagle buckle was found about 200 yards away and some eagle buttons and 3 ringers were found in the immediate area.