Searching for a camp site

[brnn53]

I have been told of a Confederate camp site near me. I know the land owner and he gladly gave permission to hunt but he had never heard of a camp on it. The ground is naturally wet there and it didn't seem to be a likely spot but I gave it a shot. There is a large rock outcropping that over looks some fields and that must have been where the "good ole boys" hung out because the entire area was full of pull tabs and cans. So... I headed out in the field about 100 yards thinking that maybe some of the Rebs, if there actually were any there, took target practice. Sure enough, I started pulling Enfields out of the ground along with what appears to be Ballard carbine shells and 1 whole cartridge. Now I just gotta find where they camped!
Mike

 

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[civilman1]

I would think they wanted a little shelter,maybe inside the wood line or something.Look's like you're in the right location though....Good Luck and keep us posted.

 

[brnn53]

The cartridges have been identified as Henrys. Now, this is interesting...they were found in the same area as the fired Enfields. Skirmish Thanks for the replies. I am looking forward to further exploration here.
Mike

 

[CWnut]

If you can find out who owned the land during that time, search the OR for any mention of the landowner's name. Also make some probes about 10-20 yards along side any creeks for camp relics . They liked to water the horses in places that were easy to get into and out of the stream and usually camped upstream from that location. Also look at some old maps for locations of old roads as these were needed for the wagons to haul supplies and firewood. If it was a winter camp look for southern exposures, these offered more sunshine. Were there any old plantation houses for officers to quarter in?


Ahhh, the mystery of it all. Fascinating, isn't it?

 

[bill gent]

did the cartridges have an H stamped on them ? then they are henrys if not and Id have to look at the size perhaps spensors henrys only came in one size believe 44 while the spensors (base) were 56 56-56 was common
csa stuff is hard to come by because they gatherd up everything ammo guns buttons etc

 

[brnn53]

The H is hard to make out because of the corrosion but it is there. The dirt at this site is very heavy black soil and as I said, it is a wet site hence the poor condition of the brass.
Mike

 

[BuckleBoy]

Those Henry casings indicate that the troops were taking aim from where you were hunting. They probably marched out there for a little drill. If you find the area they were firing at, then there will be many, Many fired bullets for you. I found one such area--by accident--in Virginia. I had my detector on while climing up a ravine and it beeped. I was surprised to dig the first minieball there--but the BIGGER surprise was 80 bullets later when it was getting dark and there were still signals everywhere!


The camps that I have hunted have been in low-lying areas near a water source--all of them. Artillery--if there was any at your campsite--would've been placed up high on a ridge very close to the campsite itself. All the picket posts that I have found were 1/2 mile or at most 3/4 mile away from the camp, and were situated on higher ground than the camp itself and a couple hundred yards away from an old road leading toward the camp. The sites for the pickets appear to have been chosen for their good view of many yards down the road in the opposite direction of the camp.


Regards,


Buckleboy

 

[brnn53]

Thanks for the info BB. There are several places nearby that fit your descriptions. This field is still in corn stalks which impeded my swing so much that I could only detect about every 3rd row. As soon as they disk this field I will return for a more thorough search. I'll keep ya'll posted.
Mike