Civil War Fort

[1320]

I have been granted permission to hunt an area adjacent to a former Fort. Original Fort is under a cemetary now. The area that I will be detecting is as close as 500 yards to the former Fort up to as far away as a half mile. Land is gently rolling hills (fields) with a few small tree lines (small trees). Obviously this is a big area to hunt, where should I start?? What was Fort life like? I know very little about the Fort...it was built close to the end of the War and had at least one gun/cannon capable of hurling 4 pounders. Any advice on what to look for, where to look and what I can expect to find? Did soldiers spend most of their time inside the Fort? The Fort was built very close to the downtown area of a small city...approximately 1.5 miles from main street. In terms of direction, it is oriented on the southeast side of town which I find odd as most of the threat to the city would have been from the North and West sides.....would they risk shooting over the city to defend it? I am early into my research on this city and it is possible that there was clear and present danger potential from the south and east.

Current land owner says it's never been detected but he also didn't know anything about the Fort either! Previously hunted or not, it has to be a good site to try. Research has turned up very little about this place probably because it didn't see any action. Any advice out there?

[1320]

After just a few hours of detecting in the cold, wind & rain...turned up some nice finds although only one of them is Civil War era, maybe two. Still alot of land to swing, waiting on better weather. Probably not detected before 8)

[rovnrbl]

Here's my $0.02. The fort was probably garrisoned by a fair number of soldiers maybe on rotations. Chances are these soldiers stayed in a camp outside the fort itself. At least 1/4 mile away, probably farther. For the camp, look for good water, high ground, woods(for camp fires) and probably close proximity to the road (a road) so they could man the fort quickly. Unless the fort was under attack, most relics are probably outside the fort. Those soldiers may have spent a good deal of time keeping the fort clean. Look outside the fort for discarded relics particularly a nearby ravine for a dump.

A good Christmas present for you would be Official Military Atlas of the Civil War (reprints). Barnes and Noble has them either online or in store for about $20 - that's a steal. Add another book for $5 and shipping is free.

Good luck and good hunting!
rovnrbl

[1320]

Many thanks for the reply. My instinct is to do what you have advised. I did manage a couple hours searching a three acre "hole" on the NW corner of the fort location. I thought it would have been a good dump but it is littered with many, many years of dumping, mainly asphalt, concrete, bricks and old trees and is overgrown with briars, weeds and honeysuckle.....a very tough place to swing. I did manage to find some nice jars and bottles from the 40's and 50's. I will concentrate in the fields next time out. The area has everything that you mention.

What's a good guess on the size of the "camp" that might have been nearby? Research has turned up very little info on this site.....

[mavrick03]

well that would depend on how big a fort you are talking about
http://www.civilwarhome.com/camplife.htm
use that link for a little more understanding



mav

[1320]

Thanks Mav, good link.....prostitues during the Civil War........hummmmm.......Camp life was bad wasn't it?!