Union soldiers in Danville Va last days of the war.

[Skelly607]

When the Confederacy fell in the last days of the war 1000/4000 (I have heard/read both) Union soldiers came to Danville Va. and camped for a month. I have read that the camp was 2 miles south of what was then the city limits. By any chance has anyone came by a map or some other info to pinpoint where abouts the camp was?
How big of an area would it take to make camp for this many men? There is a creek near by that has to be the water source that I have read about. How far would a camp be from the water source? Would they camp on a sloping hill or would they have found a flat area to camp? How much trash would be prouduced? I have no clue of what Iam looking for,,,,,ANY info as to what to look for would be greatly appreacted.
Thanks in advance.....Skelly

 

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[Skelly607]

From what I have read they came in from the east and was greeted by the mayor and the mayor handed the city over to the Union soldiers. Then Union soldiers then marched thru Danville and set up camp on the south side. You have to remember,,,the war was over. They did however kept guard on the railroad line.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

I have the same info as Franklin, so the yanks PROBABLY came from Lynchburg, Va. (last VIRGINIA state capital); north and east. The railroad was PROBABLY watched from near Farmville, Va. before the "surrender", and MANY camps were established. I would look near creeks and the DAN River areas around Danville, Va., and look at old Civil War era maps for further "details". Wanna visit Danville, Va. someday, myself; currently live in NORTHWEST corner of Lynchburg, Va. (aka NORTHEAST corner of Bedford County, Va.).

 

[michellerosebowers]

I am new to this forum and noticed this post. My mother has a farm in Alton, Va. She is on 100 acres right in between Danville and South Boston. A family that owns the property next to theirs has had their property in their family forever. They said skirmishes were fought in the area, even though most weren't officially noted. Their existing house was used as a civil war field hospital.
We have been dying to use detectors on my mother's property. She also got permission from her neighbor for us to peruse his property as well. Their property has two original houses from that time, and two original out buildings. They also have slave graves in disrepair.

We are very new to this treasure hunting so any tips would be greatly appreciated! We are heading there not this weekend, but the following. While my husband and brother are treasure hunting, I plan to get as many pictures as I can!

Michelle

 

[Dwight S]

I am new to this forum and noticed this post. My mother has a farm in Alton, Va. She is on 100 acres right in between Danville and South Boston. A family that owns the property next to theirs has had their property in their family forever. They said skirmishes were fought in the area, even though most weren't officially noted. Their existing house was used as a civil war field hospital.
We have been dying to use detectors on my mother's property. She also got permission from her neighbor for us to peruse his property as well. Their property has two original houses from that time, and two original out buildings. They also have slave graves in disrepair.

We are very new to this treasure hunting so any tips would be greatly appreciated! We are heading there not this weekend, but the following. While my husband and brother are treasure hunting, I plan to get as many pictures as I can!

Michelle

Do some research relating to the farms. Check the Official Records of the Civil War, Google search them if you are not familiar. The websites that have them published allow searches for key words. Put in keywords such as towns, rivers, creeks, etc. If there is any mention of the area it will come up. Read and reread those passages and the correspondance on several pages before and after, there may be something you can key in on to help.

As for detecting the sites, put the metal detector in "all metal mode" and dig every target to start with until you establish if there is a camp or skirmish site there. Most camps were located at fresh water locations, along roads and sometimes within the yards of larger houses. River & creek crossing areas were vital areas to defend and lots of times that is where the skirmishes happened.

Good luck and let us know what you find.
HH

 

[michellerosebowers]

I know the farm and the land. I was in the civil war house a year ago and I saw stuff that made me think.............holy crap.
I'm not going to say much more. But there is only one person still alive in the family and I don't think he has a clue. There are a few random cousins, but other than that..............my mothers 100 acres are right beside his. He seems lonely and would LOVE to have us all around him.

He said he can show us stuff that will prove his house.

I don't look too bad to the eye, so we shall see.

 

[Tnmountains]

I know the farm and the land. I was in the civil war house a year ago and I saw stuff that made me think.............holy crap.
I'm not going to say much more. But there is only one person still alive in the family and I don't think he has a clue. There are a few random cousins, but other than that..............my mothers 100 acres are right beside his. He seems lonely and would LOVE to have us all around him.

He said he can show us stuff that will prove his house.

I don't look too bad to the eye, so we shall see.

Sounds like fun. But we are going to have to require some pictures,,,,of the hunt
Good luck.
TnMtns

 

[michellerosebowers]

Okay. We had FUN!!!! This was our first venture in metal detecting.

I am sure and POSITIVE we are on land that has NEVER been searched with a metal detector.

Now remember we are newbies. We saw stuff that confirmed what we knew..........1,000 acres in Alton Virginia, outside of South Boston, Danville area.........never been touched. Trust me.........I saw slave cabins that just gave me chills. A house..........back side was built in revolutionary war period, front was built in civil war and was used as a hospital. A doctor lived in the back.

Only issue we had is the owner of such history was SOOO nice to us, but clearly has no clue of his history. His parents have long died and he could care less. He told us we could go into his house and look for his Atlatl weight his dad found back in the 1970's while he was out of town all weekend. That atlatl weight is kept in a junk drawer in his kitchen.

We are going back after more research.

 

[michellerosebowers]

I posted our pictures from this weekend on facebook, so if any of you are on Facebook, look me up............I'm there as Michelle Rose Bowers.