Civil War Battle Ring

[RockyDig]

I will soon be posting pics of a gold ring that a relative of mine owns. It is a gold ring with 16 battle names etched in it. The ring was featured in the North South Trader Civil War magazine in the mid 80's and then was voted Find of the Century by the subscribers around the year 2000. It has only been displayed at 2 or 3 relic shows. The last one was the Northern Virginia Relics Hunters show in Chantilly, VA in 2002. There were some great reactions by the public.

Anyway, I was excited for the chance to have photos taken of this and I will share them as soon as possible.

 

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[RockyDig]

Yes, FREDERICKSBURG does appear twice. I can only assume he was in two major fights around that area. You have to assume a lot looking at this ring. That is part of what makes this ring so amazing, just trying to imagine what this guy, a many like him, went through.

The Antiques Roadshow has been brought up....we will have to wait and see.

I may have to fill out the form for the W&ET on this website but I'd have to have permission from the ring's owner first.

Thanks for the great feedback!!!

 

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[Moonshadow]

Very, Very cool ring! It's got to be one of the most significant finds here so far! Congratulations!

Happy Hunting,

Moon

 

[Kentucky Kache]

Man, that's one nice ring.

 

[birdman]

WoW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DugHoles]

What an awesome ring. It looks like it could be "the one"

GL & HH,

DugHoles

 

[nevrdundetecting]

That is amazing!!

 

[Southcacalaky]

Thats one beautiful ring, Congrats, hh Art...

 

[BobG]

I see the name "Fair Oaks" on the ring. Four oaks is mentioned in the battle of Bentonville, one of the major battles towards the end of the Civil War, and some of it fought in Four Oaks NC.

It was where Sherman's army defeated Johnston's army and led to the end of the Civil War.

I was wondering if Fair Oaks is not really Four Oaks.

On another note; A very good friend of mine lives on a family farm in Four Oaks, NC and has a Civil War cemetery on his property.

He tells me his father used to kick bayonets out of his way when plowing the fields with a mule when he was a young man. He also tells me his father found a button near a pond on the property that has been authenticated by NC state archaeologists as having come from Gen Shermans field coat, it's been locked in a safe deposit box for 30 yrs now.

I'm not a Civil War history buff, I just found out about the history of his place in the past few days. I've been invited to go there and help thin out the deer herd and specifically asked to bring my metal detector. I won't be digging in the cemetery, out of respect for the fallen soldiers there. I may attempt to define the graves though, because the markers are mostly deteriorated.

After my visit, I hope to post my own thread on great finds.

Mighty fine ring you showed us, RockyDig

 

[BobG]

My curiosity got the best of me, so I did more research. Fair Oaks is a battle site in Va.

Thanks to a link I found on this site, I'm even more excited to get to Four Oaks and do some hunting.

 

[RockyDig]

Thanks for the info, BobG.

That button sounds like an awesome find!! It would be nice to have a pic of that posted on here. I hope they check it occassionally for it's condition. Some buttons can get hurt certain environments.

You are very lucky to get into a nice spot like the one you are talking about. Please post all your findings and let everyone know how you made out at that spot.

Good luck hunting!!

 

[bergie]

Great find! A question for the group, did any of these battles happen close enough together in time and far enough apart in geography that it would not have been possible for one person to have been at each one. It could just be a great ring that shows all the battles, but does not mean that person was in all the battles. Just a thought.

 

[RockyDig]

Research has been done on the battle dates. It is part of the display made for the ring. None of the dates overlap. The first set of battles are part of the Peninsula Campaign of Virginia. Then the battles go through the top of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

It is possible but very unlikely that a person would make a ring with random battle names. The dates and geographic locations of the battles makes is completely possible for a soldier to have participated in them. I would NOT want to be that particular soldier!!

 

[grizzly bare]

Rocky,
From the bottom of my heart , thank you for that beautiful picture. As has been said earlier, that ring is a serious part of our history.

grizzly bare

 

[grizzly bare]

l'esprit d'escallier(okay I can't spell for beans)
Have you (or anyone) checked to see which companies/batallions were involved in these battles? That might be a significant clue as to who owned it.

grizzly

 

[bergie]

I know you may never want to sell, but are you curious of the value on the market? I am. Would be interested to know if you've ever had that estimated or could guess ballpark.

 

[Wasabi]

Very nice find, that is one cool ring.
Rob

 

[RockyDig]

Thanks, Grizzly, for those heartfelt words. Some people look at this ring and don't think twice. Then there are the people that look at this one of a kind piece of Civil War history and can appreciate what took place to produce such a thing. This ring tells a great story of what just one man out of hundreds of thousands went through to help forge this great nation of ours. To see these high quality pictures is one thing, to actually hold it in your own hands is another experience all together.

Yes, you are also right about the research that is needed to be done. That will take some time but it hasn't been done yet. It has been discussed and will be done one day.

Bergie, there is no price placed on this ring. The only talk of the price has been, in fact, priceless.

Also, just to clarify, this ring belongs to a relative of mine. I am just posting the pics and information for him. I thought all you history buffs would want to see something like this. I can't take any credit of ownership for this ring, just the posting of it. Thanks all for looking and the wonderful feedback!!

 

[bergie]

I can appreciate the ring as much as everyone else for its historical significance and still have an interest in the potential monitary value. In fact, there would be a price for it on the open market and it would be high but not limitless. Hard to tell, but like anything else the market would set the price.

 

[RockyDig]

I wasn't saying you didn't appreciate it's historical importance. I was replying to Grizzly's post on my first comments. I do agree there is a high set price for this ring. I've always been under the assumption that priceless = very high price, not that it couldn't be bought. I am just not at liberty to discuss what has been offered for this ring since it is not mine. I just hope you didn't take the last comment I made as being directed at you.

 

[RockyDig]

I just like posting to bring this up sometimes.