Hunted a Pounded Civil War Camp

Baldingboy · May 14, 2010

There is a residence that was a Civil War camp and skirmish site back in the day and I got off work today and hunted it for a couple hours. This place has been absolutely vacuumed!!! Mastereagle hit it the other night and found a three ringer and two musket balls. This lit a fire under me to go try it again, and with rain looming, I wasted no time.

There is tons of rusty nails and such here, but I managed a few things.

Everything:

Does anyone know if the ball in the middle is a musket ball. It has a tiny little wire point sticking out one end. It came in on the detector more like copper (I think), but I thought it was a musket ball. It sure does look different than the one to the left. The one on the right is rusty metal and I guess it is like a cannister shot. Hmmm.

I actually think this is a percussion cap. What do you civil war experts think?

I didn't know they had bombs during the Civil War. :laughing7:

Guess ya get some modern stuff too.

I had fun; hope I can get the final word on a couple of these things though. Thanks for your help

Baldingboy

Tnmountains · May 14, 2010

Looks like a cap...

dick99344 · May 14, 2010

Baldingboy said:
There is a residence that was a Civil War camp and skirmish site back in the day and I got off work today and hunted it for a couple hours. This place has been absolutely vacuumed!!! Mastereagle hit it the other night and found a three ringer and two musket balls. This lit a fire under me to go try it again, and with rain looming, I wasted no time.

There is tons of rusty nails and such here, but I managed a few things.

Everything:

Does anyone know if the ball in the middle is a musket ball. It has a tiny little wire point sticking out one end. It came in on the detector more like copper (I think), but I thought it was a musket ball. It sure does look different than the one to the left. The one on the right is rusty metal and I guess it is like a cannister shot. Hmmm.

I actually think this is a percussion cap. What do you civil war experts think?

I didn't know they had bombs during the Civil War. Guess ya get some modern stuff too.

I had fun; hope I can get the final word on a couple of these things though. Thanks for your help

Baldingboy

The fins in your last photo. There was a sort of hand grenade used during the CW. I toured Fort Winfield Scott in San Francisco in 1971. It is under the Golden Gate bridge on SF side. There is a museum there that has a lot of CW era relics that were discovered buried on the property. I saw a pair of fins that looked much like this attached to and egg shaped device that had a large musket cap in the end. These could be thrown and because the shape would allow the device to hit nose first, I think they were very effective. Do you think an egg shaped device could be been attached to the one you found? It sure looks like those that I saw. I could be mistaken, but this photo sure brought back that memory.

Baldingboy · May 14, 2010

dick99344 said:
Baldingboy said:

There is a residence that was a Civil War camp and skirmish site back in the day and I got off work today and hunted it for a couple hours. This place has been absolutely vacuumed!!! Mastereagle hit it the other night and found a three ringer and two musket balls. This lit a fire under me to go try it again, and with rain looming, I wasted no time.

There is tons of rusty nails and such here, but I managed a few things.

Everything:

Does anyone know if the ball in the middle is a musket ball. It has a tiny little wire point sticking out one end. It came in on the detector more like copper (I think), but I thought it was a musket ball. It sure does look different than the one to the left. The one on the right is rusty metal and I guess it is like a cannister shot. Hmmm.

I actually think this is a percussion cap. What do you civil war experts think?

I didn't know they had bombs during the Civil War. Guess ya get some modern stuff too.

I had fun; hope I can get the final word on a couple of these things though. Thanks for your help

Baldingboy

Click to expand...

The fins in your last photo. There was a sort of hand grenade used during the CW. I toured Fort Winfield Scott in San Francisco in 1971. It is under the Golden Gate bridge on SF side. There is a museum there that has a lot of CW era relics that were discovered buried on the property. I saw a pair of fins that looked much like this attached to and egg shaped device that had a large musket cap in the end. These could be thrown and because the shape would allow the device to hit nose first, I think they were very effective. Do you think an egg shaped device could be been attached to the one you found? It sure looks like those that I saw. I could be mistaken, but this photo sure brought back that memory.

What!? You really think so. I never would have thought that in a million years. I thought it was a modern cap gun bomb. If that is CW related, that would blow my mind. Ya never know though.

Kemosabe · May 14, 2010

The 'finned' object actually looks like a modern day toy I use to have. It appears to be missing the detonating cap assembly on the nose. One would insert a toy pistol paper 'cap' in the assembly and toss it into the air. When it landed impacting the nose, the assembly would compress the cap, exploding it with a loud cap pistol 'bang'. My thought anyway....

Nice finds. I would think that as technology continues to advance, there wouldn't be any such thing as a 'pounded' out area.....

BamaBill · May 14, 2010

There were grenades during the CW, with fins like that, but they didn't look quite like that. See
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=picture+of+civil+war+grenade&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

comfortablynumb · May 14, 2010

http://cgi.ebay.com/CAP-BOMB-Metal-...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c125394d2

Your grenade on sale for $1.99

dick99344 · May 14, 2010

comfortablynumb said:
http://cgi.ebay.com/CAP-BOMB-Metal-...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c125394d2

I stand corrected. I was mistaken. The grenade I was referringt to was called a Ketcham grenade. I found a picture of one and it is somewhat different. How the old memory serves. The fins on the Ketcham were different but the shape was basically the same. HH

allen · May 14, 2010

looks like a few good finds there and im with kenosabe on the toy grenade !

bigealive · May 14, 2010

Nice finds!!!

mastereagle22 · May 14, 2010

Do NOT encourage BB. He once found a foil Arby's wrapper in a hole and swore it was Civil War related! ::)

Nice finds. Still more there. I'm telling you I can feel it in my bones. There is a stellar find there waiting for one of us to dig it up!

Tin Nugget · May 15, 2010

mastereagle22 said:
Do NOT encourage BB. He once found a foil Arby's wrapper in a hole and swore it was Civil War related!

Nice finds. Still more there. I'm telling you I can feel it in my bones. There is a stellar find there waiting for one of us to dig it up!

Hmmmm, now that you mention it, everything he found at the CTH III hunt he said was civil war related but no way I was buying into the rusty door hinge being a belt plate!

Juanmoretime · May 15, 2010

He had me convinced at CTH3 that a 1905 Indianhead penny was actually an 1863 Civil War penny, it was just a mistake by the mint! Lol!!!

Steve

Baldingboy · May 16, 2010

Juanmoretime said:
He had me convinced at CTH3 that a 1905 Indianhead penny was actually an 1863 Civil War penny, it was just a mistake by the mint! Lol!!!

Steve

Tin Nugget said:
mastereagle22 said:

Do NOT encourage BB. He once found a foil Arby's wrapper in a hole and swore it was Civil War related!

Nice finds. Still more there. I'm telling you I can feel it in my bones. There is a stellar find there waiting for one of us to dig it up!

Click to expand...

Hmmmm, now that you mention it, everything he found at the CTH III hunt he said was civil war related but no way I was buying into the rusty door hinge being a belt plate!

Steve, It was a mistake by the mint....I swear it on Mastereagles life! :icon_pirat:

Tin, It could have been made into a Civil War plate, the people back then just fashioned it into a door hinge instead.....and the people then had Arby's too...you think the soldiers really ate hardtack in the field? I am not buying it. ::)

8)
Baldingboy

Baldingboy · May 16, 2010

bump

Bikerboyzx6r · May 16, 2010

Hahaha Good finds & funny replies :hello2:

HH Dan

Juanmoretime · May 16, 2010

I agree with you Baldingboy, I think they had Arby's and McDonalds too........and lots of pop top beers!!!! You know, you always find that stuff at Civil War sites so it must be true!!!

mastereagle22 · May 21, 2010

After giving it much thought and research I simply do not believe that is a percussion cap. How the heck would that fit on a drummer boys head

?

sandtrout · May 21, 2010

nice finds! just goes to show you on a field that's been "pounded" and "vacuumed"...they were 1. swinging too fast, 2. coil too high off the ground, 3. machine not set right 4. coil swings not overlapped enough (one of my early problems!) 4. didn't know their machine and maybe didn't "dig everything!" actually, all of these (and more) were my earlier problems! i go back to places i've previously hunted and still find stuff! you'll probably find even more on your next hunt there! dan in so cal