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   | The Relic Hunter | Vol. 34 - June 2000 |
A Song For The South
By Ed Fedory
 "After half a century, my first view of the Mississippi River was awe-inspiring," Ed recalls. "Standing in Mississippi and looking across to Louisiana, I couldn't help thinking of all the history those dark waters witnessed... and contained!" |
I stood there transfixed... one hand on "The Widow Blakely," a huge cannon used during the siege of Vicksburg, with my eyes riveted on the passing dark waters of the Mississippi River below. I was surrounded by a sense of history from which the sounds of passing cars could not arouse me. There are singular moments in a man's life where an experience should just be allowed to flow over him. This was such a moment.
Within a couple of hours, my boots would be boarding a plane and heading north after my first experience of relic hunting in the old South. Those four days, spent in Mississippi and Louisiana during the GNRS (Grand National Relic Shootout), had left quite an impression on me. Was it the people I had relic hunted beside? Was it the sites I had viewed? Was it the history by which I was continually surrounded? Each contributed in its own way to what will always be remembered as a unique experience in the life of this relic hunter.
I know it wasn't the grits!
 The ironclad U.S.S.Cairo, on display at the Vicksburg National Historic Park, offers an incredible walk-through experience. The display of weapons, utensils, medical instruments, and personal items is amazing! |
The history of Vicksburg was inescapable. My first interesting experience was while crossing a grassy depression between my motel and a local eatery, in pursuit of a cheeseburger with a side order of fries. I thought I was walking across a drainage ditch, until I saw a historical marker situated in the middle of the hollow about 50' away. My curiosity aroused, I walked closer and found that I was standing in the middle of a Union trench once used by Orme's Brigade during the siege! The thought of what the soil beneath my feet might contain, of relics lost and undug, would continue to haunt me through the remaining days of my trip.
After that, I didn't see one piece of raw earth, washed-out gully, or plowed field without sensing a quickening of the heart rate!
One interesting experience built on another that first day, and my visit to the static display of the recovered ironclad U.S.S. Cairo was awe-inspiring. To walk her decks, peer from her gun ports, stand beside her massive cannons, and view the hundreds of artifacts removed from her sunken hull was more than enough to prime me for the two days of relic hunting which would follow. Very quickly, I found my appreciation for this dramatic chapter in American history growing by leaps and bounds.
 Typical of the relics recovered on those broad Southern fields are these Minie balls and buttons. |
There had been a number of times in the past when, during a relic hunt around an old cellar hole, we had recovered Civil War era buttons; and I knew of several Union belt plates that had been recovered locally, too. But to find those relics on a site where battles had been fought, and where troops had encamped, seemed to add so much more to their historical significance!
In a previous column, I told the story of what relic hunting during the GNRS was like; but for those of you who might have forgotten, the word grueling should be sufficient to describe the experience. Certainly, in the past, I had found more and older relics, in less time, with less fatigue- but few relics in my collection are more revered than the ones that were dug from those Louisiana cottonfields!
The variety of artifacts was amazing. I had never seen so many Seated Liberty coins and Civil War buttons come from the ground. Some of the relics I recovered were totally unknown to me, never having existed during the French & Indian or Revolutionary War eras. More than once during the course of the hunts, I felt like one of the relic hunting rookies I occasionally write about; and indeed I was, in light of the experience and knowledge of Civil War relics possessed by some of my Southern relic hunting brothers. I did a lot of listening... a lot of learning... a lot of appreciating!
 "Digging in the cottonfields of Louisiana was an experience that left me with nothing but praise for Southern relic hunters," says Ed. "Their tenacity and perseverance under a blazing sun and rough digging conditions, coupled with their collective passion for history, would be an inspiration to anyone!" |
One of the more interesting finds I made during the hunt was a small brass charm; a piece of "camp art" fashioned from a token. Cut in the form of a crude anchor, it was found not 50' from where a fellow relic hunter had dug a Confederate Navy button. It was one of those artifacts which had a story to tell, but whose words we'd never hear.Far too soon my "Southern Exposure" was to end. I wish I could have spent more time roaming through the cemetery at Vicksburg National Historic Park, walked the 16-mile tour road, and read legion of monuments that lined its path. I would also like to have lingered longer on the slate porch of the old Vicksburg courthouse where so many troops had once sat, as evidenced by their carved graffiti of names and regiments. I would have liked to have spent an afternoon beside a roaring campfire on the banks of the Mississippi, just to pass some time with its waters... just to wonder about it.
Strapped into the seat of a northbound 737, I thought about the South, and about this column. It was time to add a little "Southern flavor"... to tell some of the stories of great recoveries from that important chapter of our history.
 A constructed trench work, located at the Vicksburg NHP, offers visitors a clear idea of what the siege works around that city looked like 135 years ago. |
Within a couple of weeks of my return to the shores of the Hudson, I had been in contact with several Southern relic hunters whom I had met over the course of the last year. Once they had warmed to the subject, their stories began to flow, and their passion for the hunt was no less than those who sought the earlier relics of the previous great war in the North. I could see it would be time to spin some tales of southern adventures... to sing a long-overdue song for the South.
 A Union sword belt plate and large cent were among the finds made by Warren Wiggs in Louisiana. |
Speaking with Tennessee relic hunter Mark Swann, I found that our common passion had begun in much the same fashion... with the recovery of a single projectile. Mine had been a sorely battered musketball from the American Revolution. Mark's had been recovered at the age of eight, while walking to school one morning. That walk- that single recovery- had put him on the path to relic hunting at a time when most of us were beginning to collect baseball cards.
Mark's stories of cannonball and case shot recoveries, of Georgia and US belt plates, of buttons and balls, were intriguing to say the least... as was the subtle invitation to once again relic hunt in the South!
 Cut from a brass token, this anchor-shaped charm found by Ed was one of the more interesting pieces of "camp art" uncovered during the hunt. "Feeling a little awkward about bringing it north, I left it in the hands of one of Louisiana's native sons." |
Future columns and stories may find my boots planted in the middle of a Northern cornfield or pumpkin patch. Others may find them on the banks of a sleepy bayou or in the midst of a cottonfield. However, one element will never change...
The quest for relics of our nation's past will never cease!
 Mark Swann of Tennessee, who found these Confederate buttons, a US belt plate, and an exceptional oval Georgia belt buckle, stated that his relic hunting was a little "off" this year. So far, he'd found "only" four belt plates! |
A note from Ed: If you'd like to visit the Vicksburg National Historic Park and tour the U.S.S. Cairo and museum, you can visit the website at: http://www.pigpen.itd.nps.gov/vick/
| Copyright © 1995 - 2003 People's Publishing. All rights reserved on entire contents; nothing may be reprinted, or displayed on another web page, without the prior written consent of the publisher. |
