txkickergirl
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2007
- Messages
- 2,782
- Reaction score
- 25
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Location
- George West, TX
- Detector(s) used
- SOV, EXCAL, CZ20, & more
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
PALO ALTO BATTLEFIELD
On May 8 1846 American and Mexican troops emerged from thickets of brush unto the prairie known as Palo Alto (tall timbers). General Zachary Taylor with 2300 men and 400 wagons met General Mariano Arista and his 3200 men. This became the first battle of a 2 year conflict known as the Mexican American war.
A mist the flying cannon fire and heavy artillery the very confident Mexican troops soon realized they were out armed due largely to the advancement of the American 18-pound canons. By nightfall the battle ceased and was expected to resume the following morning; however this would not be the case, the Mexican troops withdrew before sunrise leaving behind 102 dead and over 100 injured, while only 9 American troops were killed and 44 injured.
Today the battlefield lies much like it was, the grass in some areas would still measure waist deep, and thickets of mesquite trees cover the plains. While standing among this harsh land it is easy to imagine the hardships and misfortunes both sides encountered, but lucky for myself at the end of the day I was able to crawl back into my air conditioned vehicle and return to modern day times. It makes me feel fortunate to be able to walk the land where such an important battle that ultimately shaped the land we call the United States of America occurred.
On March 28, 2008 a group of volunteers(Robert, Keith, Joe, and myself) along with archaeologist Rolando Garza met with our metal detectors and mapping equipment to survey and recover artifacts from areas within the national park. One area we searched will soon become a paved walkway for park visitors to meander through the battlefield. At this location musket balls, canister shots, and a button was located and accordingly marked. What a feeling to be able to uncover a piece of history from this era and know that it aides in the understanding and historic preservation of a site such as this. In addition to the good finds the everyday trash surfaced and was also removed, thus protecting the site from modern blemishes. As someone who enjoys history and metal detecting I can not begin to tell how honored I felt being part of this. It goes to show that yes, metal detectors and archaeologists can work hand in hand . We get to do what we enjoy the most, just being outdoors, and digging stuff, and they get the benefit of experienced folks that want to see history uncovered.
There is no greater joy then to know that something I dug will be shared and enjoyed by generations to come. I really want to again thank the folks at the National Parks Service for this great opportunity and a special thanks to Rolando for allowing us to come out and also treating us to lunch. I look forward to hopefully working with you again one day. To everyone else if you find yourself down In Brownsville Texas, you really need to take a trip over to the Battlefield. Along with pics from today I am including the website so you can enjoy this history and get more information, you can also go to the main page and locate other national parks that may be in your area. The site is : http://www.nps.gov/paal/
Today was I count as one of my best days not only did I get to hunt a sacred site, I was among friends and also made new ones!
On May 8 1846 American and Mexican troops emerged from thickets of brush unto the prairie known as Palo Alto (tall timbers). General Zachary Taylor with 2300 men and 400 wagons met General Mariano Arista and his 3200 men. This became the first battle of a 2 year conflict known as the Mexican American war.
A mist the flying cannon fire and heavy artillery the very confident Mexican troops soon realized they were out armed due largely to the advancement of the American 18-pound canons. By nightfall the battle ceased and was expected to resume the following morning; however this would not be the case, the Mexican troops withdrew before sunrise leaving behind 102 dead and over 100 injured, while only 9 American troops were killed and 44 injured.
Today the battlefield lies much like it was, the grass in some areas would still measure waist deep, and thickets of mesquite trees cover the plains. While standing among this harsh land it is easy to imagine the hardships and misfortunes both sides encountered, but lucky for myself at the end of the day I was able to crawl back into my air conditioned vehicle and return to modern day times. It makes me feel fortunate to be able to walk the land where such an important battle that ultimately shaped the land we call the United States of America occurred.
On March 28, 2008 a group of volunteers(Robert, Keith, Joe, and myself) along with archaeologist Rolando Garza met with our metal detectors and mapping equipment to survey and recover artifacts from areas within the national park. One area we searched will soon become a paved walkway for park visitors to meander through the battlefield. At this location musket balls, canister shots, and a button was located and accordingly marked. What a feeling to be able to uncover a piece of history from this era and know that it aides in the understanding and historic preservation of a site such as this. In addition to the good finds the everyday trash surfaced and was also removed, thus protecting the site from modern blemishes. As someone who enjoys history and metal detecting I can not begin to tell how honored I felt being part of this. It goes to show that yes, metal detectors and archaeologists can work hand in hand . We get to do what we enjoy the most, just being outdoors, and digging stuff, and they get the benefit of experienced folks that want to see history uncovered.
There is no greater joy then to know that something I dug will be shared and enjoyed by generations to come. I really want to again thank the folks at the National Parks Service for this great opportunity and a special thanks to Rolando for allowing us to come out and also treating us to lunch. I look forward to hopefully working with you again one day. To everyone else if you find yourself down In Brownsville Texas, you really need to take a trip over to the Battlefield. Along with pics from today I am including the website so you can enjoy this history and get more information, you can also go to the main page and locate other national parks that may be in your area. The site is : http://www.nps.gov/paal/
Today was I count as one of my best days not only did I get to hunt a sacred site, I was among friends and also made new ones!
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