Civil War Campsite Hunt *Updated!*

[BuckleBoy]

Hey folks!

Here's the link to the updated post in this thread. It was a short hunt, but we got some good relics.
-Buckleboy

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,70921.0.html


Hello All!

I decided that I needed to rustle up a few sites...so since the weather hasn't been cooperative, I've spent the last two weeks doin' research and reconnaissance. Seems like it all paid off today. Just secured permission last night to a site that...well...was in the correct general area and just looked right for a campsite. I went there with my huntin' buddy Kindafoundabuckle (and I was a little nervous since I hadn't had time to check out the site previously to see if there was anything at all there!!!). But I had lined up a bunch of backup coin hunting sites just in case. But we walked onto that field this morning and within about 15 minutes I had a dropped .69 caliber minieball in my hands. We must've been a funny sight to see, giggling like a pair of schoolgirls. We found some good hotspots today. We'd dig a round ball, then another, then two in the same hole. And more .69's! Both fired rounds and drops everywhere. Some of the .69's had been pulled, so we knew we were close to the camp...but no camp trash. No buttons. No broken glass or pottery. No smattering of nails and ferrous items. Yet we were diggin' some campfire lead, and found some round balls that looked charred but not melted. It is odd that no no regular caliber minieballs came out of the ground today. The bullets were exclusively either .69's or round balls. Puzzling. Most of the round balls had seams down the middle, so the best I can figure is that they needed smaller caliber ammunition, so they built quick campfires outside of their main camp to melt the .69's into round balls in a bullet mold. So where is the main site? The area we're on is huge, but I think we're VERY close to finding it.

Here are the finds:

Campfire Lead...



Charred Round Balls...



KFB found this interesting .69. It appears to have been clipped at the third ring for some reason. It was also pulled...





We need an ID on these weird brass things. Found four of em today, and we have no idea what they are. We only found an occasional pull tab or aluminum can--no farm trash was found--so I really think these tiny objects (about 3/4 in. in length) are the right vintage. Any info is much appreciated. I will post these in the "What is it" thread as well...




And a photo of the goods from the whole hunt:



Regards,

Buckleboy

 

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[DetectorBase]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

The brass.. they're in the shape of tuners.. maybe for a banjo?

DB

 

[brnn53]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

Nice finds. You guys are on the right track! Keep at it. I have found one of those "whatzits" in a campsite too. Maybe someone can id them.
Mike

 

[AnOldPro]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

Congratulations on your great "detective work"! Looks like a good campsite will soon be added to your list of "favorite sites". You guys are hereby awarded AnOldPro "Silver Attaboy!" (You'll get a gold one when you actually pin down the campsite ;>)

Looks like DB nailed it on the 4 brass items ID. A CW banjo would have had four tuning knobs. Note that one has the threads broken off so that could well indicate the reason why that spot was the entire banjos last resting place. Suggest going on the web and seeing if you can find a CW era banjo pic or at least the pic of a replica CW banjo to help confirm the ID.

Keep up the good work! Man... thats almost good enough to make me brave the cold weather coming down on us today and start swingin for another camp that Jamie and I are looking for! Gotta go pull out some of my minies and just stare at them... I need a "fix". :>)

By the way... that 3-ring 69 missing a ring... it was not clipped... it was CARVED... cut off with a knife. Look at the base again and you will see where the knife blade slid under the lead at the point where the rest of it broke or was pulled off. Soldiers loved to carve on bullets to pass the time and a pulled bullet was useless except for re-melting or carving... or... CHEWING ON just like chewing gum... found a few of those in my time... the boys did not know about lead poisoning other than the kind that was introduced suddenly into them by the firing of a black powder rifle.

You obviously have found a major "picket post" site... as you surmised, a pre-cursor to finding the camp. Move toward the closest water source and/or defensive position and you'll get into the camp itself. Does everyone know WHY they are finding so many pulled bullets? Because black powder absorbs moisture and regs. for federal soldiers required that pickets pull their bullets and re-load every so many hours to assure that if the enemy attacked the guns would fire and alert the camp rather than just pop a cap and require precious seconds to re-load.

DC

 

[SCdigger]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

The brass thingy's are part of shoulder scale escutions (sorry for the spelling). Part of the plate piece attached to the uniform that held and locked the scales in place on the shoulders.

Greg
SCdigger

 

[BuckleBoy]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

I think you're right, SC digger! As a musician myself, I think these are too small for anything related to a banjo. Here's a diagram or two. Top one is 3D. The brass piece is protruding out from the scale. Bottom is a close-up of the mechanism. Thanks to everyone who helped make the positive ID!!

Buckleboy

 

[LJ]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

WTG guys....that is a cool site you have there.....I love that kind of stuff....I hope you find more which I have no doubts...good luck and let us know what else you pull from out there. Kudos.

BTW....great research work!!!

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

Nice research and finds! It's great when it all comes together, good luck finding the camp site. Maybe closer to water? Buckle looks old enough for CW. The small brass thing could be a watch winder, looks a little small to be a banjo tuning knob but that is also a good possible. HH, Mike

 

[BuckleBoy]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

Oh, and thanks DC for your "Silver Attaboy!!" I feel like I've just about won a Treasurenet Oscar! It really means alot coming from you. I needed a confidence boost like this after so much research. I'm finally feelin like I'm back in the swing of things after a few years off! Any ideas about why we're only finding those two types of ammunition there and no regular caliber minieballs? My theory was about the only thing I could think of, but I'd love to hear other ideas.

Oh, and the VERY best of luck in finding your campsite with Jamie. I heard from Tom a few very rough details, and I have a story about a similar virgin site I was lucky enough to hit back in 1995. After that experience, I'll tell you that such a site is the best of every world! Fantastic old coins AND loaded with relics. I really hope you guys nail it. I have never experienced such ease as finding the current site--there was a period in time where I hunted for over a year practically non-stop for three sites (two CW and one pre-Revolutionary militia). Only found clues and did a lot of research and burned up a lot of batteries. So I will say that unless you're finding other items that make the quest for the site worthwhile, be careful! My finds really suffered during that year and a half because of relentless hope of pinning down those few spots. Now while it's true that the longer the soup simmers... I really hope you guys find it without an excruciating amount of effort!

Thanks again,

Buckleboy

 

[AnOldPro]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

Sorry I missed the ID on the brass... nice work, SC Hunter! I think if you had just found two instead of four it would have dawned on me right away as I am familiar with the shoulder scales. Seems like, though, if that is what they are from, there should be more parts there to be found. Time will tell.

Quite a few Federal CW units were equipped with only 69. cal. rifles hence no surprise if you find few, if any, other cal. minies. You might find some 54.'s if they had a sniper in the unit.
The round balls puzzle me a bit... not what you would ordinarily expect to find in a Federal pickett post along side 69.'s Definitely "fieldcast". Thus I would like to advance two possible theories on that occurrence... 1. Site was used at some point by both Yanks AND Rebs at different times. 2. Rebs had some captured Yank 69. minies being used in their 69. cal. Austrian rifles that were fairly common among the Secesh troops. By the way.. for any that don't know. The normal Rebel ammo for their 69. Austrians was a 2-ring 69. cal. minie. I have hunted Confed. sites before where round balls and 3-ring 69.'s were in abundance together.

As for all those dry runs, Buckleboy... when you find your first buckle in that camp... THEN tell me it wasn't worth it... if you can. ;>)

DC

 

[trk5capt]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

BBoy, Nice Haul On The CW Relics, Congrats. trk5capt...

 

[BuckleBoy]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

DC,

I think you are correct in your second theory. I'm pretty certain that the site is solely Confederate. Had us puzzled for a while though!

Regards,

Buckleboy

 

[kindafoundabuckle]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

Thanks for a great hunt. Til next time.......

BTW you owe me a buckle

 

[1320]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

Man, you guys ROCK! I was excited hearing the story on the phone but after reading the post and seeing the pictures, I'm ecstatic! That had to be an absolutely thrilling experience.

I spoke with both of them after they had concluded their hunt.....they were STILL giggling like a pair of school girls!

Congratulations gentlemen, you deserve it!

Jamie

 

[BuckleBoy]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

Thanks all. KFB, I still owe ya a whole buckle??! Thought I only owed ya 3/4 of one by now!


Buckleboy


P.S. I tried to take a picture of KFB's "Purple People Eater" searchcoil, but it wouldn't fit in the photo. Gotta get one of those darn panoramic cameras I guess...

 

[cavers5]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

Whew! We sure don't get that lucky here!

Great finds and research!

Cavers5

 

[AnOldPro]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

Hey Buckleboy... there's a rumour that KFB is gonna put a fuel injected Hemi and four all-terrain tires on the Purple People-eater coil and... mount a big industrial grade vacuum on top of it like they are using to excavate dirt and rock in the archaeological digs these days. That way... he can suck those buckles right out of the ground and into his pocket so fast you won't stand a chance at findin any more of em'. Better enjoy that one buckle you found... looks like KFB is going to counterattack with a vengence! LOL

DC

 

[1320]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

LMAO Will, DC! I insist that Tom give us 15 minutes at the conference in regard to the garbage can lid! No doubt that Tom's Hemi power will be in the form of a nitromethane burning, flame puking, 500 cubic inch, blown, injected engine that John Force would fear.

Can ya put two chutes on that thing Tom?!

All kidding aside, I must say it again, nice digs guys. During our conversation...I felt like I was there.

And to think that we could have been digging in a dirt pile for bottles....

 

[cavers5]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

Well, I'm about to ask a big one! Here goes....

Fellas, would it be possible to do a quick sketch of the sites if you find relics, such as Minies? It just makes sense that since these relics are recovered, a few minutes of time to plot their positions would be worthwhile to future hunts. Some coordinate readings with a GPS and a sketch showing the date and approximate locations of recovered clusters is all that would be needed. Of course, I would like to see more detail, but every little bit helps, esp. on down the road if you're looking for the camp and/or an archaeologist like me comes along and gets to do a dig and says, "Well, they weren't here....when, ooops! yes, they were, it's just that nobody has a record of it!" A journal with just a few notes is more helpful than no journal at all. Nobody's memory is that good, say, tweny years from now!

Remember, I'm just a little female. Be kind with any replies!

Thanks a whole big bunch,
Cavers5

 

[BuckleBoy]

Re: Civil War Campsite Hunt, 3rd Installment!

Caver,

I appreciate your honesty, but I must say that no one worth his salt as a detectorist would reveal a CW campsite he just found after hunting it once! I keep a metal detecting diary, and in it I record what I find and where I found and other details like how much time I spent, what my discrimination levels were, etc. Comes in handy! Now, some information about you please...Are you working on a book on the Civil War in Kentucky? What exactly does this GPS info you've been asking for in several of your posts on other threads serve? For example, you also replied about the site "Olympian Springs" in another post, asking for GPS coordinates. Is this site archeologically significant to you, and if so, why? If you're worrying that these sites will be lost to history, I assure you that my detecting diary will survive me. I seldom hunt alone, and one of my best friends goes with me on most of my hunts, but I don't like to telegraph to everyone where my best sites are. Word travels fast. So if you are seeking a hunting buddy, just say so. Otherwise, please give me a little more information...

Kindest Regards,

Buckleboy