2 Days in Search of the Revolution!

[mangum]

Hello All! It's been a while since I've posted. I haven't had much luck & have been focusing on research. It's finally January & now I can get in the woods! Anyways, I have been researching a Revolutionary War camp that was a considerable size & duration. It is on or near a homesite I have been hunting off & on for years. I found a cannonball here 3 years ago. I included it in this post (It's the one currently undergoing electrolysis). I have also found other colonial related items at this site. It was in use from the mid 1700s to the early 1920s. I invited 5 guys this past weekend to do some exploring on this land & hopefully run across the camp. At the end of day I was detecting beside one of my friends & he says, this sounds pretty good, what are you getting on the AT Pro? It was a solid 70 that sounded close to the surface. He dug down & some rounded iron was exposed. It was a cannonball! It's exactly the same size as the one I found. A few minutes later I see a group of people gathering. A USA button had just been found! Amazing! It should clean up nice. What a great piece of history! I'll have to admit I'm pretty jealous but I'm glad that it was saved & will be preserved! These 2 items were also found near the house. On day 2 another cannonball was recovered by another guy! It was not far from the other cannonball. However, the one I found was a good ways away. The hunt ended on a high note. Everyone found an interesting assortment of relics. I had a decent hunt. I recovered some colonial buckle pieces, buttons, musket balls, etc. The copper wedding band is interested. I'm thinking that it may have belonged to a slave (there were a lot of slaves here). Another copper wedding band was also found that wasn't as bent up as mine. The large button? Has an interesting back, I've never found one quite like it. It was a fun weekend with some good friends & we had success! However, we think a large camp is still out there. It wasn't enough musket balls etc. to be the main camp. We speculate the artillery was guarding the house. We did a lot of exploring & didn't come across much. If this camp is found it will be glorious! Hopefully you'll see some USA buttons of my own in some future posts! Thanks for looking & HH!

 

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[ModernMiner]

Yaba bada doo!! Congrats on the cannonball. I've always wanted to dig a whole one. Great finds the Mangum.
I remember you were looking for a Rev camp. Looks like you are on to something.
Great job,
Doug

 

[mangum]

Yaba bada doo!! Congrats on the cannonball. I've always wanted to dig a whole one. Great finds the Mangum. I remember you were looking for a Rev camp. Looks like you are on to something. Great job, Doug

I didn't find any of the good stuff, my buddies did.... Just sharing the overall hunt. I wish I could take credit!

 

[vpnavy]

 

[Tenspeed]

Go Josh! Eventually the camp will be found.

Lets hope our luck is good this weekend down south!

 

[ironhorse]

You guys certainly are on the right track, the continental army USA button is a great Rev War prize.
Your last pic looks like a fused cannonball, I always thought those were a post Rev War invention, you guys may have more than you originally thought to deal with!

 

[mangum]

You guys certainly are on the right track, the continental army USA button is a great Rev War prize. Your last pic looks like a fused cannonball, I always thought those were a post Rev War invention, you guys may have more than you originally thought to deal with!

They had fuses in the Rev War. I'm still not sure what kind of gun these came from. We will have to get precise measurements after electrolysis. There is also record of artillery being there with the camp.

An example: Howitzers : The howitzer was designed to have a much higher trajectory, for the purpose of lobbing shot over obstacles. A popular projectile was the shell, a hollow ball filled with powder and lit by a fuse from the igniting cannon charge. If the timing of the fuse was calculated correctly, it would explode in the air over the troops, sending a shower of fiery debris down onto them.

 

[ironhorse]

They had fuses in the Rev War. I'm still not sure what kind of gun these came from. We will have to get precise measurements after electrolysis. There is also record of artillery being there with the camp.

An example: Howitzers : The howitzer was designed to have a much higher trajectory, for the purpose of lobbing shot over obstacles. A popular projectile was the shell, a hollow ball filled with powder and lit by a fuse from the igniting cannon charge. If the timing of the fuse was calculated correctly, it would explode in the air over the troops, sending a shower of fiery debris down onto them.

I know the howitzer is an old type artillery, I always understood that the fused exploding sphere was invented by Shrapnel in 1784

ADD ON
I think the finds made are very good ones
I don't want you to feel I'm pooping on this thread, I'd be excited to find relics both of and post war as you did, best of luck there in the future

 

[mangum]

I know the howitzer is an old type artillery, I always understood that the fused exploding sphere was invented by Shrapnel in 1784

ADD ON
I think the finds made are very good ones
I don't want you to feel I'm pooping on this thread, I'd be excited to find relics both of and post war as you did, best of luck there in the future

Actually, they exploding balls have been around a long time. I'm thinking these are howitzer shells judging by the size. Please see the link to the NPS site. I also included another link on this subject to clarify. And you're not pooping on the thread, I'm always up for a discussion...

Revolutionary War Artillery - Yorktown Battlefield Part of Colonial National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Exploding Shells Timeline:
Exploding Shells - Timeline? - Traditional Muzzleloading Forum - Muzzleloader Flintlock Black Powder

 

[ironhorse]

Actually, they exploding balls have been around a long time. I'm thinking these are howitzer shells judging by the size. Please see the link to the NPS site. I also included another link on this subject to clarify. And you're not pooping on the thread, I'm always up for a discussion...

Revolutionary War Artillery - Yorktown Battlefield Part of Colonial National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Exploding Shells Timeline:
Exploding Shells - Timeline? - Traditional Muzzleloading Forum - Muzzleloader Flintlock Black Powder

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=934575"/>

Very good info
I guess when you called it a cannonball my thought process remained on one tangent
Hope you guys nail it big time

 

[mangum]

Very good info
I guess when you called it a cannonball my thought process remained on one tangent
Hope you guys nail it big time

I learned something from reading that. Now I know that the actual "cannons" didn't have exploding shells in the Revolution but howitzers & mortars did.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

That's like a great early site Josh! Didn't realize that kind of activity took place out your way so kudos for the research effort. I'm sure more awesome finds will come from that spot. Keep hitting it hard.

 

[ShovelNose]

Nice finds Josh. Fresh air and buttons=good times.

 

[The Rebel]

Very nice finds! Could the musket balls & cannon balls be down range from the camp, as if they had been fired for target practice?

 

[mangum]

Very nice finds! Could the musket balls & cannon balls be down range from the camp, as if they had been fired for target practice?

I doubt it. They were all found basically in the backyard. We think the artillery was guarding the house & the officers.

 

[CASPER-2]