CIVIL WAR HOSPITAL!! & old church

[beginner]

ok guys im excited about this one, i have a lead on an old civil war hospital..my dad said when he was young there was an old 2 story log cabin supposedly used for a hospital during the civil war. but here is were it gets interesting. my dads old church, where my grandfather currently attends was built beside it! So not only is their a civil war hospital to search around, but an old church as well. im new to detecting and own an x terra 30, not the greatest by no means. i would love any info about the depth of items lost during the civil war era. i would also like info on what kind of things to keep my eyes open for.. What im trying to ask is what kind of items am i most likely to pull out of a place like this.? any info would be greatly appreciated! East Tennessee area is where i will be searching.

 

[beginner]

btw the only two places i have ever used my metal detector is at my grandmas house and my own back yard.. never found any silver items and i have only found three wheat pennies, so you can imagine my enthusiam about this. its my first real treasure hunt lol! and i will also share all my finds on here! btw means by the way for all you non texters out there lol,, 16 year old lingo<<<

 

[BosnMate]

Welcome aboard TN. My wife is from Scott County, but that was a long time ago. The best thing you can do is get out there and use your machine, that's how you get aquainted with it and dig everything so you'll learn what it's telling you.

 

[beginner]

thanks! im a little past digging everything though,, got a little old after the hundredth pull tab! thanks for the advice tho!! im from union county. unfortunatly!

 

[Dwight S]

The best thing you can do is get out there and use your machine, that's how you get aquainted with it and dig everything so you'll learn what it's telling you.

BosnMate is right... DIG IT ALL. At a Civil War site, you can find targets that will range from iron horse shoes up to silver, don't pass anything up. If you do, you'll probably miss something good. Expect to dig lots of nails, but listen to them before you dig, eventually, you'll learn some slight variations in the signal sound that will most likely indicate nails. But even then, you'll probably want to dig it, may be something below the iron that is being masked. Good or bad, in relic hunting you don't pass over much. Also, you said that it got a little old after the hundredth pull tab... Well, what if I told you that the 101st pull tab signal may have been a gold ring?? If you bypass those pull tabs, you'll miss the gold!!

As for depth, it could be on the surface or as deep as a foot or more down. No set depth to ANY specific target. I've found Barber & Mercury dimes at 2" or less and memorial pennies at 6"... I've seen Civil War buttons on the surface and other similar targets deep. Don't be surprised at anything.

 

[AdDicted2Ag]

DIG EVERYTHING!! THAT IS A DREAM SITE>

 

[nsdq]

yep dig it all i have had wheats show up in pull tap range and zincs , most recenty was a flat button show nickle /iron range,,, good luck and hope to see some cool stuff

 

[beginner]

i went today, got rained out! i dug two holes, one containing some kind of make up box, doesnt look to old found it behind the church. but the whole time i had my metal detector on the ground it was giving bad signals..like -4 on my x terra 30, the old civil war hospital isnt there anymore. so im guessing it was nails. i looked for about 30 minutes just trying to map the area, and figure out where im going to look and how im going to do it... i had many good signals tho! just didnt want to start digging because the rain was getting worse. oh yeah there is also an old mill down the road like 50 yrds! looks really old! and got permission to hunt!

what is this