Maybe a Small Civil War Camp Site

Jacobsdt

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Location
VA
Detector(s) used
XP Deus, Fisher F75 ltd, Garrett Pro Pointer and a little luck
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I started the day early and took my daughter out kayaking, it was her first time. It was still early and nice out, so I grabbed my gear and went out into the woods. I dug a lot of shotgun shells and finally got a dropped 3 ringer at the top of a hill. A few feet away, another one. Game on. I started working my way around the top of the hill and found a spot that was full of melted lead, probably 4 or 5 bullets worth. On the one side of the hill I found the 2 buttons along with the pistol bullet. I found a total of 12 bullets. I put in about 3 hours and it really started heating up, so I called it quits. I will go back tomorrow morning and see if anything else pops out.

Woods.webp Lizard.webp Had a little friend helping out.

Button.webp New York.webp New York coat button, cleaned up nicely

Button Back.webp Button Front.webp Train.webp Found this about 5 feet from the New York button. I did some searches on the Web, but wasn't able to find one just like this one. Anyone seen this one before?

Melted.webp Bullets.webp Key.webp Found the top half of a key, wish I could have found the rest of it, I love these keys.

Pistol Bullet1.webp Pistol Bullet.webp This pistol bullet has something stamped on the bottom, under a magnifier it looks like a flower or a star?

Group.webp Wood Bullet.webp One of the bullets I found was stuck in wood, I peeled one side off to expose it.

Thanks for looking, HH.
 

Upvote 21
Nice relics

Looks like a nice little camp site. I'd return and scour the area


HH Jer
 

Hey Jacobsdt, you have definitely stumbled onto an awesome, old, untouched camp site...what a collection of great finds! I'm hoping there is a few more keepers hiding, so I'm looking forward to seeing them too...great stuff, thx for sharing...ddf
 

Very nice relic hunt! Cool buttons! :occasion14:
 

Sites like that are hard to find. I'd be living there for a good while. Congrats on saving the history. [emoji106]

HH RN
 

Congrats on finding the site and some nice relics
 

Great finds theres sure to be more!!!
 

Nice job finding the site and the finds. That button cleaned up beautifully.
 

Nice finds, I'd say you're definitely on a camp site. However, the Union button is an overalls button & much later (20s or 30s). Congrats!
 

Maybe not a camp but possibly a picket post. Depends on how large an area it covers. Still I'm sure there is a lot more to find. That New York button came out great.
 

Great work. Keep the photos coming.
 

Awesome finds!! Incredible hunt! Nice Red Eft also [emoji3]
 

Nice discovery!! It's hard to tell what you will find in there !! Good luck!!
 

I think the idea of it being a picket post fits. In my opinion, I lean toward it being an overnight camp and not a long term one(unless there is a ton of iron signals, then I change my mind and it's longer than just a night or two.) Still...being a Union camp they discarded plates and other nice things even on overnight camps because they had such good supplies and didn't have to worry so much about things like the Confederates. It could also be that a much larger camp is nearby too. A super nice spot to grid off and I'm sure you'll find more goodies and a super spot for a plate to pop out! I would definitely look closely within an mile radius of there too and see what potential camp locations you can find and try to get on those properties.
 

Yes ... much potential for some exciting relics .

Hit it hard !
 

Dig out the melted lead spot. Should be a fire pit, lots of nice relics ended up in the fire. Good luck, sweet spot.
 

I think the idea of it being a picket post fits. In my opinion, I lean toward it being an overnight camp and not a long term one(unless there is a ton of iron signals, then I change my mind and it's longer than just a night or two.) Still...being a Union camp they discarded plates and other nice things even on overnight camps because they had such good supplies and didn't have to worry so much about things like the Confederates. It could also be that a much larger camp is nearby too. A super nice spot to grid off and I'm sure you'll find more goodies and a super spot for a plate to pop out! I would definitely look closely within an mile radius of there too and see what potential camp locations you can find and try to get on those properties.

I will agree with you on just an over night camp. I went back today and only found one more bullet. This is in the same area my partner and me found 3 US plates and 1 Eagle plate. It was about a quarter mile away from this current spot. We only found a few bullets with the plates. Maybe a few picket camps around in these woods, I do see possible old roads dug in near both these spots. Thanks for the input.
 

I will agree with you on just an over night camp. I went back today and only found one more bullet. This is in the same area my partner and me found 3 US plates and 1 Eagle plate. It was about a quarter mile away from this current spot. We only found a few bullets with the plates. Maybe a few picket camps around in these woods, I do see possible old roads dug in near both these spots. Thanks for the input.
Hey that's super you found four plates in that area. A spot doesn't get any better than that! Sounds like troops were all around and that old roadbed could hold the clue to finding out where others are. Sounds like a great place to do some exploring for sure and look forward to any other spots you find nearby and you might find a really big camp still yet!
 

What's not to luv about Virginia . The entire State was practically a campsite during the Civil War .
That is a plus when you have an interest in CW era of history . You are extremely fortunate to hunt the Great State of Va.
Keep exploring !

CMD
 

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