mangum
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- Jul 2, 2012
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- Charlotte, North Carolina
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- All Treasure Hunting
Hello all! I got out for 2 days this weekend in search of the elusive Rev War camp (that included an artillery regiment) I've been researching.
We hunted around the vicinity of the plantation the first day. On our last trip my buddies found 2 shells & an intertwined pewter USA continental army button. I didn't have much luck... I also found one of these mortar/howitzer shells a few years ago.
The first great find of Saturday was a 2 bit pistareen. It was tough hunting but a few relics were coming out. At the end of the day I got a really big 65 signal on the at pro. I could tell it was close to the surface. I removed a layer of soil from the top & I saw some exposed rounded iron! I called my buddy & said "Hey, do you want to come watch me dig a cannonball?". He came over & videotaped me pulling the shell out of the ground. I had been needing a good find to keep me going & this did it! Afterwards the other 2 guys came over to check out the find. Needless to say after this they were searching all around me. I told them jokingly "It's OK, you can look around all you want, I'M standing on my second one". Well, I was actually telling the truth! Less than a foot away from where I dug the first I got a great 65-70 signal. I told my buddy to come listen with a big grin on my face. A minute later I popped another one out!!! Amazing!
Sunday we spent most of the day searching for the camp with no luck. At least we marked some spots off the list. I did find a a Rev War period tombac button within a foot of where I had dug the 2 shells the day before. It was in a hole that had been dug by someone else, I guess they missed it! This was more than likely from a soldier's knee breeches or waistcoat but there's no way to prove that.
This makes 5 of these shells to come out of this site (and I've got 3!). They are a little over 17 inches in circumference uncleaned. I asked a friend who is a Revolutionary War artillery reenactor (who owns cannons) what he thought. I knew they are from a howitzer or mortar as "cannonballs" during the Revolution were not exploding shells with fuses, they were solid shot. My friend told me that "They would be from a howitzer or mortar. Both went by diameter, so it would be either a 5 1/2" mortar or howitzer".
It was a great weekend & glad that I found something to get me pumped up again! It was also really great to save some history. Through my research I found out that my 5th great grandfather actually enlisted at this camp with the artillery regiment. That makes these finds even more special!
Thanks for Looking & HH!!!
We hunted around the vicinity of the plantation the first day. On our last trip my buddies found 2 shells & an intertwined pewter USA continental army button. I didn't have much luck... I also found one of these mortar/howitzer shells a few years ago.
The first great find of Saturday was a 2 bit pistareen. It was tough hunting but a few relics were coming out. At the end of the day I got a really big 65 signal on the at pro. I could tell it was close to the surface. I removed a layer of soil from the top & I saw some exposed rounded iron! I called my buddy & said "Hey, do you want to come watch me dig a cannonball?". He came over & videotaped me pulling the shell out of the ground. I had been needing a good find to keep me going & this did it! Afterwards the other 2 guys came over to check out the find. Needless to say after this they were searching all around me. I told them jokingly "It's OK, you can look around all you want, I'M standing on my second one". Well, I was actually telling the truth! Less than a foot away from where I dug the first I got a great 65-70 signal. I told my buddy to come listen with a big grin on my face. A minute later I popped another one out!!! Amazing!
Sunday we spent most of the day searching for the camp with no luck. At least we marked some spots off the list. I did find a a Rev War period tombac button within a foot of where I had dug the 2 shells the day before. It was in a hole that had been dug by someone else, I guess they missed it! This was more than likely from a soldier's knee breeches or waistcoat but there's no way to prove that.
This makes 5 of these shells to come out of this site (and I've got 3!). They are a little over 17 inches in circumference uncleaned. I asked a friend who is a Revolutionary War artillery reenactor (who owns cannons) what he thought. I knew they are from a howitzer or mortar as "cannonballs" during the Revolution were not exploding shells with fuses, they were solid shot. My friend told me that "They would be from a howitzer or mortar. Both went by diameter, so it would be either a 5 1/2" mortar or howitzer".
It was a great weekend & glad that I found something to get me pumped up again! It was also really great to save some history. Through my research I found out that my 5th great grandfather actually enlisted at this camp with the artillery regiment. That makes these finds even more special!
Thanks for Looking & HH!!!
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