Devonrex
Sr. Member
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2012
- Messages
- 351
- Reaction score
- 1,260
- Golden Thread
- 4
- Location
- SE Virginia
- 🥇 Banner finds
- 4
- Detector(s) used
- XP DEUS, Nautilus DMC IIB
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
It's been a while since I posted so I thought I'd let everyone see what I've been finding. I was fortunate to discover a trash pit in a Confederate occupied area that I have been hunting for several years. It was at the bottom of a steep ravine that I have crossed many times before. Because of the steepness of the incline the digging was extremely hard and dangerous. Many times the relic once dug out of the pit, slid down the slope and under leaves which required me to locate it again with my Nautilus metal detector ! It took me 5 outings to completely dig this pit out and each day was truly amazing. It was like a time capsule showing every day life in the spring of 1862. Obviously the men that camped here were from South Carolina due to the presence of South Carolina buttons. I dug a total of three, two coats and one cuff. One of these was an extremely rare local Wildt South Carolina coat. The Scoville and Co. backmarked cuff had 100 percent gilt on it. These South Carolina rebs also had Eagle "I" buttons on there uniforms as I found three of them......one coat, one silver plated vest with a Drucker and Sons New York backmark, and one cuff. One 14 mm navy button with an iron hook protruding from the back was also discovered. This looks like the remnants of a poncho hook that is on some federal eagle buttons but I have not had any confirmation as if that is what this is yet. Other noteworthy finds included a broken side knife with its brass handguard still present and the side plate off a flintlock rifle. This rifle was obviously from the Revolutionary War time period as it had a frizzen. Later rifles only had the hammer attached to the sideplate. I was hoping the rest of the gun would be there but it was not to be. Over 10 different Confederate minnies were found in the pit along with a TON of melted lead. The rarest of which was a Enfield bullet with a rose design in the cavity. This bullet is extremely rare and I have always dreamed of finding one. Now I can say I have! Many Georgia teats were discovered but 2 of these were the extremely long variety with rings very spaced out. 2 other bullets came out that are also very rare. At first I thought they were carved but it turns out they are extremely rare Sugarloaf bullets and have only been found in a few places! I also discovered a hand made lead ring in the pit along with its mate that is not yet finished. These items are what I truly like to discover as they are some of the most personal civil war relics one can find. This Confederate soldier was melting bullets to make himself a ring. He may have even intended to write something on it but because of what ever reasons didn't have the time and threw them in the company trash pit. The amount of melted lead that came out of this pit was astonishing. A few rifle bands were also discovered as well as 2 intact whiskey bottles and one base to another one. It was truly a memorable dig that I will remember always! HH Devonrex
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