A Perfect day Detecting, found more CW camp stuff, Weird Sharps Bullet?

[flyinryan2]

I went out after work today at our Winchester property and found a lot of bullets and some more camp goodies! All the targets were coming in very low on the AT PRO, around mid to high 40's. Some were coming in the mid 50's to low 70's but not many. I dug one Spencer bullet at 10+ inches and that one gave a good 60's tone. With the iron in the area it was hard trying to listen to the little higher tone over all the iron grunts but once i got used to it I really began digging good targets. I ended up digging 9 Spencer's, 1 Burnside, 1 Sharps, 1 Three Ringer. 18 Spencer cartridges, 8 whole ones, a button back, 1 Dandy button, My first Carved Bullet, a Brass buckle, a perfect square nail, "the mystery oval brass piece!".

I also dug what looks like a wire brush cleaner for a muzzleloader !! If this thing is CW era that would be awesome! Any thoughts on this would be appreciated!

The Sharps bullet has a pointed nipple in the cavity, does anybody know what type of Sharps this would be then?
The Three ringer also has a rounded nipple in the cavity, but it may be just extra lead that rolled in there when it was made?
I love the red patina these bullets have!
The one Spencer cartridge had a perfect line punched through the bottom, does anybody know why that is?

Thanks for looking and HH!!!

 

[flyinryan2]

I received an email from Vol1266X requesting my input.

The long brass cylinder with twisted brass wires on one end is a Sharps bore-cleaner brush.

The Sharps bullet with a nipple/teat is an "uncommon" variation of the common .52 Sharps bullets. It is definitely yankee-made. It is very seldom found in some states, but is not scarce at all in others (such as Tennessee).

Immediately upon seeing the sideview photo of the nipple/teat-based 3-groove minie, its unusually long nose suggested "Confederate." The base-view photo confirms that it is one of the four versions of what the McKee-&-Mason bullet book calls a "Georgia Troops" minie. (Yours is M&M bullet #390.) In my opinion, they were manufactured at the Augusta Arsenal, so that's what I call them. Reasons:
1- they are most often found in camps and trenches occupied by Georgia Troops,
2- Augusta is in Georgia,
3- several unfired CS Bormann-fuzed Case-Shot shells found in the river near the Augusta Arsenal were filled with these teat-based minies.

Vol1266X is correct, the thin brass oval with a long rectangular slot is a saddle-guard, from a US McClellan saddle ...which had four of them. See if you can spot all four in the photos below.

I should mention that they were on EVERY version of McClellan saddle, made from the `850s into the early 20th-Century. (Even the World War One version had them -- I'll include a photo of a Model-1904 McClellan, stamped with 1918 manufacture-date). So, they are not always civil war relics. But when dug in direct connection with minies & etc, you can feel sure yours is a civil war one.

That's awesome that the bore cleaner is CW era, and to know what gun it went to that's even cooler!!! Maybe the same person that dropped that Sharps bullet dropped the bore cleaner! That's the first teat Sharps found on this farm as far as I know so that's very special knowing that i was the one to find it!

Its weird that a Confederate bullet would be amongst all this Union stuff? My cousin found a Virginia Button very close to the Georgia Teat bullet, maybe some Confederate Soldiers camped in this very same spot before or after the Union Soldiers did. Did Soldiers take "War Prizes" from the opposing side? Maybe some Union Soldiers had these Confederate Bullets/Buttons as a Souvenir but lost them?

Thank you very much, The CannonBallGuy, your knowledge in CW relics are amazing. Your input is always appreciated! Thanks again!

 

[kuger]

A bullet worm to you mean it looks like a worm? because after i cleaned it i thought it looked like a fish sorta. but now it does resemble a worm more! Thanks man!!

I was wrong but a worm is to pull the bullet.......brush's are even more Rare!It is awesome to know what gun it even goes to.CBG is awesome!

 

[flyinryan2]

I was wrong but a worm is to pull the bullet.......brush's are even more Rare!It is awesome to know what gun it even goes to.CBG is awesome!

Yes that brush was awesome to dig, at first i thought it was trash, maybe an old fuse of some kind with wires coming out of one end but after looking at it closer i knew it was something good! That piece found its home in my display case very quickly! Thank you!

 

[flyinryan2]

Good hunt and a bunch of cool CW relics were dug out of this little spot. As far as the patina, everything has a thick layer of crust or crud on them and especially the bullets. The buttons are easier to clean, but the bullets pretty much stay a brownish-red.

Thanks Man!!! Yea looking at your Avatar, the buttons come out much nicer!! Thanks to Sam for asking to do this little field next to his house, its really produced some awesome relics!!!

 

[Davers]

A great group of relics ,BEAUTIFUL .bullets great bore brush & Spencers ;they seem to be abundant around here [n. of atl GA] I've dug a good number of them over the last year & last week .I broke 1 or 2 while digging but after that I dug very carefully & recovered about 3 or 4 complete cartridges /though slighty cracked @ the base /where the lead meets the brass .They display well in a riker type case .again GREAT FINDS & GOOD LUCK IN THE FUTURE : Davers

 

[flyinryan2]

A great group of relics ,BEAUTIFUL .bullets great bore brush & Spencers ;they seem to be abundant around here [n. of atl GA] I've dug a good number of them over the last year & last week .I broke 1 or 2 while digging but after that I dug very carefully & recovered about 3 or 4 complete cartridges /though slighty cracked @ the base /where the lead meets the brass .They display well in a riker type case .again GREAT FINDS & GOOD LUCK IN THE FUTURE : Davers

Thanks man! I had about three brake as soon as I grabbed the dirt clump I managed getting one in ok shape but after I piled more bullets on top of it, it soon broke also. Next time I'll have to put it in my little case to protect it better.

 

[matt092079]

Kevo rn, Its the carved bullet, but as Kruger said it maybe a "bullet worm".
John Boy, i think it's a valve stem,but it seems a bit small in diameter but may have went to an old time tractor.

Ryan, I found 2 of these. Remember when I asked if you saw how black the dirt was? That's what the signal was over there. 2 of those things.

 

[flyinryan2]

Ryan, I found 2 of these. Remember when I asked if you saw how black the dirt was? That's what the signal was over there. 2 of those things.

I have no idea what they are, i'm just guessing they may be a valve stem or something similar?

 

[matt092079]

I have no idea what they are, i'm just guessing they may be a valve stem or something similar?

I tossed them. They looked modern.

 

[flyinryan2]

I tossed them. They looked modern.

Yea, i put mine in with all of the other stuff i find that i'm not sure of.

 

[olekyground]

Awesome gathering of the goods! Keep em' coming!

 

[JmCraz8]

Wow awesome finds!!! Dream place to hunt there in Winchester so much troop movement, few skirmishes, and changed hands 75 times!

 

[flyinryan2]

Wow awesome finds!!! Dream place to hunt there in Winchester so much troop movement, few skirmishes, and changed hands 75 times!

Awesome gathering of the goods! Keep em' coming!

Thank you JmCraz8. Yea, Winchester didn't have the huge battles but had a lot of troops back and forth all over the place! This site is 90% Union stuff coming out with about 10% Confederate! It's so cool to be digging Union stuff all day then come across a Confederate bullet or even a button! It just makes you wonder what really happened here, how did this get mixed in with all this Union stuff?


Thanks olekyground, There is so much iron mixed in masking out the good targets I know this spot isn't hunted out yet, i need to get in there and dig some of the big iron and maybe some more goodies will turn up!