I found a Civil War relic

mr-dig-it · Jul 16, 2011

I'm very excited. I found my first Civil War relics. A couple horse shoes. I was visiting my sister near Gettysburg and introduced me to a young couple who had bought a house several years ago. Their neighbor, a long time resident mentioned that troops had moved through the area during the war. The couple gave me permission to detect their property where I found two shoes. Should I clean them up or leave them rusty as to preserve the historical value?

aquachigger · Jul 16, 2011

Cool shoes. With iron, I think it's best to clean it up. You don't want to end up with a pile of loose rust.

oldcoon · Jul 16, 2011

If you have the means, clean them up. Get a better look at 'em. Looking at the features I'd say they were pretty fancy shoes in their day. There's toe clips to prevent the hoof from slipping and weges to give the horse more grip. I doubt they were banged out on a traveling forge. They have 'shop' work written all over them. Civil War veterans? Dunno. Could be. I'd have to see more.

Very nice finds. HH! :icon_thumleft:

truckinbutch · Jul 16, 2011

Awesome matched pair of front shoes for a draft animal that had obvious hoof and leg defects . Custom made from the exagerated creases and the placement of the nail holes .
The failure of the toe weld probably caused the replacement of the pair . Must have been a rush job
during an engagement for them to have been discarded . Military farriers seldom wasted any iron .
I'd try some electrolysis to preserve this unique bit of heritage .
Jim

stefen · Jul 16, 2011

How about some more history...which troop? Yankee Cavary? Where on the property?

Personally, I'd leave as found...

However if cleaned, look for initials on the hoof side of the shoes...some farriers initialed or coded the shoes so they could duplicate.

The initials could tell a story...such as Union or CSA...maybe date by initials...sometimes the name of soldier...

Bavaria Mike · Jul 17, 2011

Cool shoes! I would clean them up since they seem to be authentic CW horseshoes. I preserved several iron relics in a wax seal and they came out real nice and preserved. HH, Mike

mr-dig-it · Jul 17, 2011

I'm perplexed. My bubble may have been burst. Someone sent me a personal message and stated that these may not be Civil War shoes. Just because they came from the area does not necessarily prove they are authentic shoes. Horses were very common into the early 20th century. What do you guys think.

truckinbutch · Jul 17, 2011

mr-dig-it said:
I'm perplexed. My bubble may have been burst. Someone sent me a personal message and stated that these may not be Civil War shoes. Just because they came from the area does not necessarily prove they are authentic shoes. Horses were very common into the early 20th century. What do you guys think.

Dadburn Naysayers just can't stand someone elses good fortune >:(

MKnTenn · Jul 17, 2011

truckinbutch said:
mr-dig-it said:

I'm perplexed. My bubble may have been burst. Someone sent me a personal message and stated that these may not be Civil War shoes. Just because they came from the area does not necessarily prove they are authentic shoes. Horses were very common into the early 20th century. What do you guys think.

Click to expand...

Dadburn Naysayers just can't stand someone elses good fortune

They look exactly like the shoes we find in Civil War sites. I would clean them. You should hunt some more on their land.

steelheadwill · Jul 17, 2011

Congrats on your firsts!
Many more to you :hello2:

romeo-1 · Jul 17, 2011

MKnTenn said:
truckinbutch said:

mr-dig-it said:

I'm perplexed. My bubble may have been burst. Someone sent me a personal message and stated that these may not be Civil War shoes. Just because they came from the area does not necessarily prove they are authentic shoes. Horses were very common into the early 20th century. What do you guys think.

Click to expand...

Dadburn Naysayers just can't stand someone elses good fortune

Click to expand...

They look exactly like the shoes we find in Civil War sites. I would clean them. You should hunt some more on their land.

...but how would you differentiate Civil War horse shoes from non-Civil War horse shoes of the same era?

poorhunter78 · Jul 17, 2011

Are those from the PA Cavalry? They Look Really Familiar to me :icon_scratch:

TommNJ · Jul 17, 2011

Congrats on the horse shoes, it's pretty neat you a pair of them :icon_thumright:

!

TommNJ

lumbercamp · Jul 17, 2011

I've never seen a Civil War horseshoe, but they look exactly like ones that I find from the lumbering era. Draw your own conclusion.

civilman1 · Jul 17, 2011

Spitfire

truckinbutch · Jul 17, 2011

lumbercamp said:
I've never seen a Civil War horseshoe, but they look exactly like ones that I find from the lumbering era. Draw your own conclusion.

Looks like you got right front and left rear rimmed and corked shoes . No forge welded toes .
Much easier on a draft animal negotiating uneven terrain such as yarding logs from where they were felled .

goldnugget · Jul 17, 2011

Try to clean them up real nice and maybe put both in a frame and give it back to the Home Owner. good luck, goldnugget-Charlotte,N.C.

olekyground · Jul 17, 2011

Awesome. I have always liked pulling up a horse shoe from the dirt!

TheCannonballGuy · Jul 17, 2011

Truckinbutch wrote:
> Dadburn Naysayers just can't stand someone elses good fortune.

Appararently, you would prefer for experienced relic diggers-&-collectors to lie to a newbie about the correct ID and time-period of his finds. But what happens when he eventually discovers the truth? (That is going to happen.)

Romeo-1 wrote:
> but how would you differentiate Civil War horse shoes from non-Civil War horse shoes of the same era?

Buttons are an example a type of object that existed during the civil war era and is still in use today. As with buttons, usually the form, construction, and method-of-manufacture of an object can tell you the era-of-manufacture. Unfortunately, those clues definitely exclude these horseshoes from being civil war era ones. Horseshoes having "cleats" and the long deep groove for recessing the nail-heads (to make them fit flush with the shoe's surface, helping to prevent them from getting worn off) did not exist during the civil war era.

stefen · Jul 17, 2011

Like I stated earlier, if you clean the flip side maybe you'll find the initials offrierrrier...

PM me and I'll cross index the initial with known ferrier initials from the Civil War...that should provide the provenance you'll need...

Now if there is a second initial...that will relate to the horseman.

The soldier is most likely a Yankee wrangler or drover...If the horse is a draft horse.

Most southern country boys would ride anything including a 4-legged chicken, but farrier records were offer spotty...

What is this about coming from a PA Cavalry horse? Might be a draft animal hauling cannons or as a Company support hauling supplies, tents, etc.

This is an important find worthy of some historic digging.

Ask the land owners what they know....

Company L of the PA Cavalry is known to be in that area...

Again, a great find for a new by...seems like a great many newbies are posting CW finds..