One Man's Trash...

Hey everyone!  I've been out a few times since my last update, with a couple of keepers to show for it.  The three ring minie ball on the left was mentioned in my previous post - but since I was taking pictures of my other finds, I thought I'd include it.  The rest of the finds in this picture came from a different Union Civil War camp here in central NC.  My detecting partner Jim got the best find from this particular spot - a gorgeous "Eagle I" infantry button with original gold gilt.  I'll put up a link here when he posts a picture online.

The brass rectangles are reeds from some sort of squeezebox musical instrument, similar to the flutina reeds seen here.  They may or may not be associated with the camp, as there were some post-war era items found nearby.  The other lead finds in the picture include the top half of a William's Cleaner bullet as well as some melted lead.  I didn't notice it at first, but Jim pointed out that one of the melted lead globs is actually a half-melted bullet - you can still see the nose and conical base cavity.

I first thought that the iron bar might be a section of a bayonet blade, but I'm not quite convinced.  It has a diamond shaped cross-section, unlike the triangular cross-section associated with typical Union bayonets.  The only period bayonet with a diamond cross-section that I'm aware of is the Lorenz Austrian bayonet, used by the Confederacy.  Based on the location of the find (a late-war Union Camp), this would be unlikely, though certainly not impossible.  Opinions are welcome on this piece!

While the coin may have the look of tarnished silver, I knew from the reading on my detector that it was not.  Despite being found very near to the camp, it turned out to be a copper-nickel 1/2 Swiss Franc coin from 1979.  It's still a neat addition to my collection, though.

One of my favorite recent finds came almost completely by accident.  We were wandering about in the woods looking for another Civil War site when we stumbled across a very large bottle dump.  Trash and broken glass were strewn about everywhere, and it obviously served as a trash dump for several houses over a period of time.  My eye was drawn to this collection of partially buried milk-glass jars, and I simply had to check them out.  The bottom of one of one of these jars identifies its manufacturer as the Woodbury Soap company.  Woodbury produced a number of cosmetics products, including the cold cremes and facial cremes once found in these jars, and was incredibly popular in the 1930's and 40's.  Although not as old as most things I look for, I thought they were great, and brought them home to clean them up.  I take the old adage of "one man's trash" quite literally!!

Back in the Swing of Things

It seems as though things in my life might finally be slowing down enough to allow for some regular hunting.  The weather this time of year still makes detecting difficult, but I’m determined not to let that stop me!  I got together on Monday with my friend Jim to do some more Civil War detecting here in North Carolina.

We started out the day by heading over to a river crossing which our research indicated was used by a great many of Sherman’s Union troops on their way through the Old North State.  We knew what to expect of the land around the crossing from our satellite image reconnaissance – the area was simply swallowed up by the asphalt and concrete of business development.  What we were eager to check out, though, was the river itself.  Unfortunately, the water level was too high and the current too swift for any water detecting at that spot, at least right now.  Even still, it was great to walk along the water’s edge with a good friend and really soak up the history of the location.  I could almost see the soldiers attempting to cross the swift current of the creek.

Not to be dismayed, we continued on to another local spot, a Union camp site.  It was off in the woods, and the summer growth limited our search area somewhat, but there was still plenty of open area to swing.  These open areas, though, have been heavily detected in the past, and we didn’t expect much.  We each found one bullet before the heat and humidity drove us off.  Jim’s recovery was a very cool half-melted three ring minie ball, found in an area where we have recovered a great deal of melted lead in the past.  Mine was a dropped three ring minie found not far away.

I know it’s not much, but any day when I get to walk in the footsteps of our ancestors is a good one.  Finding this bullet was just icing on the cake.  I’m researching another camp site right now that has my hopes up for sure.  I’ve really got the detecting itch back again, and can’t wait to see what other cool places we can discover before fall weather re-opens many of our old sites.  Thanks for reading!

University of Saxapahaw TODAY!

Hey everyone!  Just a quick reminder that I'll be speaking at the University of Saxapahaw lecture series tonight at 7PM.  It's held at the Haw River Ballroom, and completely FREE.  I'll be talking about my research methods as well as local and state history, and I'm bringing lots of neat finds to show off.  For those Civil War buffs out there, I've focused part of my talk on locating Civil War relics in North Carolina, and even right here in Saxapahaw!

I'm really excited about this opportunity to speak to the community.  It should be a lot of fun, and it's free, so I hope to see you all there at the HRB tonight!

What's Up with Detecting Saxapahaw??

Hey loyal readers!!

I just wanted to fill you all in on a few things that are going on around here at Det. Sax.  First and foremost, an apology from yours truly.  I realize I haven't posted in a while, a situation I intend to rectify shortly.  The reasons for this have been many.  First off, I haven't been doing as much detecting as I would like.  This time of year can be difficult, as crops are often in plant, yards are too dry to dig, and woods are overgrown.  But I've also been focusing my efforts lately on a few personal areas of my life.  You do have to prioritize, after all.  I have gotten out a little bit, but really just exploring a few "possible" spots that didn't pan out as I would like.  I do hope to get out more regularly soon, and I'll keep you posted on the results.

Up next, I just got my invitation to the November "Diggin in Virginia" hunt.  Detecting there is by invitation only, and this will be my fourth DIV invite (one in Fall 11, and two this past spring).  This hunt will be held at Beauregard Farm, part of the Battle of Brandy Station in Culpeper, VA as well as the site winter camps from both sides during the American Civil War.  Some good friends of mine (local and distant) also received invites, and it will be great to get to go out detecting with them again.  I can't wait!!

Last but certainly not least, I hope you can join me at the July presentation of the University of Saxapahaw at the Haw River Ballroom.  U.Sax. is a monthly lecture series about a variety of topics, and next month I will be the featured speaker.  I will be presenting on my local finds, history, and research methods.  I will most likely focus on my recent passion, tracking the movement of Civil War soldiers across North Carolina and detecting those sites.  My discussion will take place July 10th at 7 PM at the ballroom in Saxapahaw, and it's completely FREE, so I do hope to see you there!

Until next time, thanks for reading Det Sax, and I will hopefully have some more exciting finds to show you all soon!

The Next Frontier - Relic Hunting in the Water

For many relic hunters, this can be a tricky time of year to search.  Fields are typically in crop, and inaccessible to detecting.  Sites in the woods can become quite overgrown and difficult to get around in, let alone swing a detector.  But for a few die-hard relic hunters, this is the time to detect one of the last great frontiers - water hunting.

Now, water hunting is nothing new, particularly in the ocean for lost jewelry items and the like.  But detecting streams, rivers, and creek beds for Civil War and other relics seems to have been largely overlooked in the past.  Newer metal detectors like the Garrett AT Pro and AT Gold, waterproof and designed specifically for relic hunters, have begun to change that.  Now Minelab is getting into the scene with their waterproof CTX 3030 detector.  The results have been truly impressive - check out water detectorist AquaChigger's youtube channel for some incredible examples of water relic hunting recoveries.

Without a fully waterproof detector (it's only waterproof below the control box), I've yet to try any water detecting.  Today found me following the bank of a creek in the woods, once occupied by Union soldiers.  We have recovered a fair number of bullets from one shore of the creek, but never searched the opposite side, and decided to give it a try today.  Unfortunately, the underbrush had grown incredibly thick, and detecting was challenging at best.

From up ahead, I heard Jim call out for me to see something.  As I came around the bend, I saw him standing out in the middle of the creek on a huge flat rock.  It spanned nearly the entire width of the stream, and provided an excellent crossing point.  Jim commented that it looked like a great spot for some water detecting.

I joined him out on the rock, and submerged my search coil in the water.  To my surprise, it rang out with an loud, solid, high tone.  I knelt down on the rock, fished around with my pinpointer in the water, and came out with my only Civil War relic for the day - a piece of carved lead!  I love finding carved pieces, as it has a very personal connection to the soldier who made and subsequently dropped it 150 years ago.  This is my very first water find, and it will always have a special place in my collection.

Results from water hunters like AquaChigger and HomeGuardDan piqued my interest in water hunting.  But my first water relic has really got me excited at the prospects from this site.  Anyone have an AT Pro I can borrow for a weekend??  ;D

The Hidden Dangers of Metal Detecting

As a relic hunter, I love trekking through the woods in search of forgotten homesteads or Civil War camp sites.  These can often be quite far from any actual trails, so it's important to be aware of the potential dangers that might turn a fun outing into a seriously bad situation.  I recently fell victim to one of these dangers that took me off my feet for nearly a week.

There are lots of things to watch out for when you're out in the woods, and it's particularly important to stay alert to your surroundings.  Here in central North Carolina, there are several types of poisonous snakes, so watch where you step.  I've yet to come across any of the poisonous varieties, but plenty of black snakes have darted out from under my search coil.  Another hazard below your feet are holes - it can be easy to miss step into a groundhog hole or rotted stump hole and wind up with a serious ankle injury.  In addition to dangers below you, watch out for dangers from above.  Dead trees and limbs are often hanging precariously in the deep woods, and can cause severe injury should they fall.

Even recovering a found target can be hazardous.  Broken glass or rusty iron has caused me some pretty nasty cuts in the past, and many detectors hunt exclusively with gloves on for that reason.  Poison ivy roots are not always identified, but can still cause the same skin reaction.  When you stand back up, it's easy to get disoriented in the trees.  A GPS and cell phone are a must.

The danger that got me was tiny in size, but sure packed a wallop - a tick bite.  Despite copious amounts of DEET, I still typically find a few ticks crawling on me by the end of a day out in the woods or tall grass.  And it only takes one bite to transmit any of the tick-bourne illnesses, including lymes disease.  For days I had been battling incredible muscle pain, chills, and a moderate fever.  When I finally went in to see the doc, I was diagnosed with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (or one of several other "tick fevers" with similar symptoms).  I'm feeling much better now that I'm on antibiotics, though.

I've been told that there's a fine line between passionate and crazy, and I'm not quite sure what side of the line I fall on.  But for what it's worth, I found these two bullets out in the woods on the day after leaving the hospital!  And yes, I had a new tick bite when I got home.  I'm starting to lean towards crazy...

Broken Buttons and Melted Lead

Hey everyone!  I'm back, with the results of another hunt at a central North Carolina Civil War camp.  I had a promising lead on a good spot, and spent the first half of the day tromping around in the woods to no avail.  They can't all be winners.  So I headed back to a local Union camp hoping to pick up some things that were missed in the past.  I was surprised to find as many targets left there as I did, as it has been pretty well detected in the past.

Here are the results for the day (excluding quite a few modern shotgun shells and buckshot pellets).  The button backs were exciting to find, although the cuff button was particularly heartbreaking.  It was recovered as a complete button, but while removing it from the dirt I watched the face of the button literally crumble away to nothing.  Late-war production general service buttons were of poor quality, and haven't survived well after nearly a century and half underground.  The backs tend to hold up better, but the button fronts are incredibly fragile.  While it is sad to see a complete button like that fall apart, it also underscores the importance of responsible relic hunting to recover the remaining pieces of our history before they all crumble away like this one.

In contrast to the thin brass button fronts, the harsh ground environment in which these artifacts were found creates a very pleasing white patina on recovered lead bullets.  The first bullet I found was a 44 caliber round pistol ball.  It is a fairly small bullet compared to the 58 caliber three ring minie balls, the cone shaped bullets used as the standard Union rifle round.  I recovered two "dropped" or unfired three ring minies.  My favorite find for the day I initially thought was simply a chunk of melted lead, which relic hunters refer to as "camp lead."  I discussed camp lead in my previous post.  Upon further cleaning, though, you can clearly see a conical base cavity and three side rings, identifying this as another three ring bullet which has obviously been melted in a fire.  I love finding the unique items like this one, that really add a personal feeling to the relics we find!