Unbelievable Civil War Camp (Warning Contains Stunning Relics/Great Pictures)

pitdiggers

Full Member
Feb 16, 2009
178
0
Northern Virginia
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT, Shadow X5, Tesoro Cibola, Minelab XTerra
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hey TNET,

It's been a while since my last post but life sometimes just gets in the way of digging... Or maybe I was just waiting for a post that would blow your socks off. Today we decided to hit a new site that we have been looking into and little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. It has been a while since I have done a full day of digging and this was one of those days where you just couldn't stop. The site appears to be a Union camp based upon the research we have done as well as the real supporting evidence.... the relics! The day started off with only the occasional bullet until we stumbled upon the money hole. We began popping bullet after bullet with the occasional uniform button or knapsack hook. The sight of green brass in the hole is always a welcome sight, however the ground action wasn't too kind to many of the buttons. Most of the button backs we found did have matching fronts but as soon as they met the air they crumbled into what seemed like hundreds of pieces. The first great find of the day sounded just like any of the other button backs but instead out popped a star and crescent cape pin (our FIRST). This was just the start to the list of incredible relics we found today. After admiring the relics during a quick break it was back to metal detecting. The next hit was a solid signal on the MXT and was almost too good to be true which means almost always a Mason jar lid or can. After flipping over the plug there laid the white oval back of a cartridge box plate and the impression in the mud of the "U". After flipping it over and doing a quick celebration it was back to digging. Within a 20 yard radius there was soon to be three more plates coming out of the ground; another cartridge box plate, a carbine sling buckle, and a puppy paw "US" buckle. I normally dream of a one plate day nowadays yet today it was an unbelievable 4 plate day. Well instead of writing a book about every second of the day I'll let the pictures tell the rest. Hope you enjoy! What a great start to the year!
Oh wait don't forget the list of today's finds....
2 US cartridge box plates
1 US puppy paw belt buckle
1 carbine sling buckle
2 canteen spouts (1 engraved JNW)
200+ bullets (I lost count at about 206)
1 cape pin
1 brass artillery fuse
Buttons include general service eagles, eagle I's, Connecticut cuff, and New York cuff and coat
Knapsack hooks
3 bayonet scabbard tips
Camp lead
Various brass buckles, fasteners, grommets, and etc.

Happy hunting,

Pitdiggers
 

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Upvote 0
Wow, what a hunt!! I guess there are still some undug camps, awesome finds.
-Evan
 

What a day!! I picked the wrong time to oversleep and get there late!! :BangHead:

Hoping that is a small fraction of what is left!!! ;D
 

Congrats on your finds Pitdigger! :hello2:
Love the insitue pics!
You're lucky to have so much history in the ground! :thumbsup:

Dave
 

My mind is blown!! I can only dream of such a hunt! I would have been happy just finding a US plate!!
 

you boys back East got some awesome sites and CW history, just a CW bullet would make my year :love4: awesome hunt and finds Pitdigger love seeing the nice patina on the Pics straight out of the ground...ACW_Inf_box_art.jpg
 

Alright, welcome to the Club, very nice site. Congrats on the Banner :icon_thumleft: :wink:
 

pitdiggers said:
Thanks everyone. What is interesting about this site is that we are not the first to hunt it. The landowner has had numerous people over the past 20 years hunt the site but in the last 10 they stopped giving permission. I can only imagine what it was like 20 years ago. Not one time has anyone ever offered the landowner any relics that were found. Actually I had the owner out with me using one of my machines and he was digging right along side me. Many of the artifacts you see here are going to the landowner. In return we have the site all to ourselves!

Virginia is a great place to hunt but hitting some of those new england cellar holes would be awesome as well!

I'm sure the reason you were able to get the opportunity is your integrity and thoughtfulness toward the people you've dealt with in the past. No doubt it has passed along to other's ears. This is a lesson to all of those people who ask permission--share, and the word gets around. You've uncovered one heck of a trove and congratualtions are in order. I hope to see more of these posts as your digging and recovery continues. This is just stellar.
 

AHHHHHHHHHBANNER I would get the sifter and go over everything thats a lot of digging in one day.

Jonnie
 

That is a dream site that most of us can only wish to hunt someday.

kakcsdad said:
thats why i would love to go hunting up there instead of florida where i am at :icon_thumright:
You know Andrew Jackson camped his troops in your town back during the war of 1812. There is the potential for old finds up there. Moreso than down here anyway.
 

Thanks everyone for the Banner votes! This is awesome and your comments are a pleasure to read. To all of you who pm'ed me I will try to respond this evening. Ok, to answer a few of your questions...the WE I refer to is myself and my sons! Better than sitting in front of the Xbox they say. Monkeyboy was also in attendance but slept in and missed most of the morning. He was there to see the buckles pop out of the ground though. Actually Monkeboy and myself watched helplessly as the boys each pulled out the plates. It was surreal. In 30 minutes all four of those buckles and cape pin were in my boys hands. Talk about exciting.

Have not posted in a while. Been real busy publishing a bunch of new historical books which will be coming out later this year. I will update this thread as we continue to dig the site.
 

Will some please help me retrieve my lower jaw. It seems to have hit the floor and rolled away.
 

To all of you Florida folks...you may not have all of this civil war stuff but have you ever tried the local fossil hunting? What I would do for some of those Peace river fossils!!
 

pitdiggers said:
To all of you Florida folks...you may not have all of this civil war stuff but have you ever tried the local fossil hunting? What I would do for some of those Peace river fossils!!
Was on the Myakka river ( just west of the Peace ) hunting an old swimming hole the rivers are almost dry this time of year and found a couple megladon teeth . come on down .

Jonnie
 

BornOnFire said:
That is simply a great day. You must be on cloud 9! The fact that you gave all relics to the Landowner was a very admirable move. I'm sure a lot of folks wouldn't do the same. Well done friend.
Not all the relics happily to announce. They get to keep what they want but they did let my boys have all of the buckles. I will probably give the something else in return.
 

WOW That's a Dream come true !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :notworthy:
 

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