"Never give up!" Bruce advises. "Even heavily hunted areas can still hold nice relics like these recovered at Resaca."

I started metal detecting almost three years ago, after a friend Mark Greene introduced me to Civil War relic hunting behind his parents' house in Dalton, Georgia, a city which just happened to be the winter camp of General Joseph Johnstons' Confederate army in 1863. That evening I dug a few square nails, usually not considered a good find. However, the thought of a soldier leaving them on the ground for someone to find 132 years later was amazing! After that initial hunt, I knew I needed a metal detector of my own.

Here is where the story begins of how God blessed me with a great find. Normally, if I can find a few Civil War era bullets, I'm happy. At one time, I thought there were hardly any relics left to be found. I usually do not detect on Sunday, but on the previous day I had stayed at home and helped around the house. So, when I got the opportunity to hunt for a couple hours after church, I jumped at the chance.

Counting his blessings, author Bruce Conley displays the rare bullet he found, and says, "I hope one day my daughter, Sydnie, will take up this great hobby and become my new hunting partner!"

I decided to go detecting in Resaca, Georgia, just a few miles from my house. The property I had permission to search was the site of a major battle, with trench lines held by both Union and Confederate armies. The week before I had noticed that the property owner had been bushhogging his field. So, I began hunting on the hills overlooking the field and creek. I had been detecting for about 45 minutes, and had found only trash, when it began to rain.

The property owner was down in the field with his bulldozer, pushing up some stumps. After a while, he and his son got in their truck and left the area where they were working, and I decided to go down and take a look. Hoping that the bulldozer might have turned up the ground, I started hunting around the stumps and had reached the last one when my XLT gave me a solid signal. Actually, I was expecting to turn up an aluminum can when I made one pull with my digging tool, looked down at the loose soil, and saw it- the finest dropped hexagonal Whitworth bullet I had ever seen!

Finding a dropped .45 caliber hexagonal Whitworth bullet, one of the scarcest Civil War projectiles, is a thrill Bruce will long remember.

Just to find a fired Whitworth is a privilege. The rare bullet was used by Confederate sharpshooters in guns imported from England. To me, this dropped Whitworth was like a dream come true. I had always hoped to find one, but after a couple of years of detecting, I did not think it was possible... until now!

A few minutes later, as the owner and his son returned to finish their work, I was so happy that I just called it a day. Walking back to the truck, I couldn't help thinking of the series of circumstances that had led to the recovery. No doubt about it: I've been blessed!

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