tnt-hunter
Bronze Member
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2018
- Messages
- 1,924
- Reaction score
- 10,533
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Location
- Mountain Maryland
- 🏆 Honorable Mentions:
- 9
- Detector(s) used
- Fisher CZ-21, Minelab Equinix 800, ,Garret AT Pro,
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
As you can see I didn’t dig these. I just got very very lucky to have gotten what I believe is a civil war belt with buckle, box with plate and bayonet scabbard. The story of how I got it starts back in 1991 and ends a few days ago when this wonderful piece of history became mine.
When I joined the local Boy Scout Troop in 1991 as a volunteer they were moving their meeting place from the basement of a local business to a room in our sponsor’s building. I had a truck and carpentry experience so I had a big part in the move and building the shelves to store the gear and later the organizing of the things we moved. As we put things on the shelves I came across this relic in a cardboard box. Nobody with the troop knew anything about it or how it got there. I talked to former members and leaders and no one knew anything. It stayed on the shelf for 7 years until I had the idea to put it in a display case so people could see it. Our sponsor is the local American Legion post and the members thought it would be a nice addition to the hall. They already had some minie balls from Gettysburg and some Spanish American War cartridges on display.
My wife and I like Williamsburg and on one of our trips I talked to some of the leather workers about how to preserve the leather. They use a mixture of equal parts cod liver oil, neatsfoot oil, and castor oil blended and heated and applied while warm. I cleaned the leather carefully and applied the mixture. I then mounted it and put it in a display case I made along with a label and pictures I took with my film camera (no digital back then). I sealed the plexiglass in the front and the joints in the back with silicon caulk to keep it as airtight as possible to help in the preservation. It was presented to the legion and put on display July 4, 1998.
Jump to present day, the legion leadership had a major shake up recently. All the old leaders were voted out and a new group took over. The new group remodeled the hall so they could rent it out for special events. They felt the displays made it a less desirable venue and removed them. They said the displays belonged to the scouts and gave them to the troop. The leaders of the troop and the committee members decided they had no use for them. I was the only person who was interested in them and so THEY GAVE THEM TO ME! (Both the Cartridge box and bullet display). They refused to take any money for them. I have worked with the troop for a long time and have donated a lot of materials and time over the years so I guess they felt I had already paid for them.
The stitching on the box had rotted away so when I took the photos I opened up the box so you can see how the plate is fastened.
I have never found a CW plate of any kind in my 16 years of detecting so I don’t know much about them. From what I can see on line these look like the real deal. I would appreciate confirmation one way or the other from some of you experts out there.
The display
The front and back of the belt plate
The front of the box and the back showing how the plate is fastened
The back of the box with rivets and buckles
It would be great if I knew where this originally came from and could tell the story of its life in the war, but it is still a rare and wonderful piece of history. I am a lucky guy.
Thanks for looking and may your coil lead you to good things. Also may your karma be wonderful (I think mine must be good to have this wonderful relic come to me).
When I joined the local Boy Scout Troop in 1991 as a volunteer they were moving their meeting place from the basement of a local business to a room in our sponsor’s building. I had a truck and carpentry experience so I had a big part in the move and building the shelves to store the gear and later the organizing of the things we moved. As we put things on the shelves I came across this relic in a cardboard box. Nobody with the troop knew anything about it or how it got there. I talked to former members and leaders and no one knew anything. It stayed on the shelf for 7 years until I had the idea to put it in a display case so people could see it. Our sponsor is the local American Legion post and the members thought it would be a nice addition to the hall. They already had some minie balls from Gettysburg and some Spanish American War cartridges on display.
My wife and I like Williamsburg and on one of our trips I talked to some of the leather workers about how to preserve the leather. They use a mixture of equal parts cod liver oil, neatsfoot oil, and castor oil blended and heated and applied while warm. I cleaned the leather carefully and applied the mixture. I then mounted it and put it in a display case I made along with a label and pictures I took with my film camera (no digital back then). I sealed the plexiglass in the front and the joints in the back with silicon caulk to keep it as airtight as possible to help in the preservation. It was presented to the legion and put on display July 4, 1998.
Jump to present day, the legion leadership had a major shake up recently. All the old leaders were voted out and a new group took over. The new group remodeled the hall so they could rent it out for special events. They felt the displays made it a less desirable venue and removed them. They said the displays belonged to the scouts and gave them to the troop. The leaders of the troop and the committee members decided they had no use for them. I was the only person who was interested in them and so THEY GAVE THEM TO ME! (Both the Cartridge box and bullet display). They refused to take any money for them. I have worked with the troop for a long time and have donated a lot of materials and time over the years so I guess they felt I had already paid for them.
The stitching on the box had rotted away so when I took the photos I opened up the box so you can see how the plate is fastened.
I have never found a CW plate of any kind in my 16 years of detecting so I don’t know much about them. From what I can see on line these look like the real deal. I would appreciate confirmation one way or the other from some of you experts out there.
The display
The front and back of the belt plate
The front of the box and the back showing how the plate is fastened
The back of the box with rivets and buckles
It would be great if I knew where this originally came from and could tell the story of its life in the war, but it is still a rare and wonderful piece of history. I am a lucky guy.
Thanks for looking and may your coil lead you to good things. Also may your karma be wonderful (I think mine must be good to have this wonderful relic come to me).
Upvote
32
