3-16-09 Fellow Arkansan, Rick Steed from Chidester, Arkansas,
was up in our neck of the woods not too long ago. He was telling
about the fun digging he and sons did near a south Arkansas battle
site, and emailed some pictures later. They must have hit an area
or pocket that was missed by others, as they were really digging
artillery fragments and case-shot balls ! They detected the spot on
George Washington's Birthday, and then about a week later, hit it
again. On GW's Birthday, Rick, his son Ira, 14 years old, and his
son James, 12 years old, ALL had fun, and preserved history !
Ira managed to recover the real neat looking HALF of a Borman
fused ball, which is going to display great, and would make most
digger's day ! A week later, it was Jame's turn, and he dug 4-
fragments and 26 case-shot balls in one hole ! Rick said he digs
a fired bullet now and then, but mostly just carries the fragment
bucket around for the boys ! HEY HOSS, if you get to wanting
to dig some shell fragments too, I'm available to come down and
carry that bucket a while ! . . lol . .
Congratulations Guys !
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| Nice bunch of artillery fragments and case shot, dug by Rick Steed and Sons Ira and James. |
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| Ira's Intact Half of a Borman Fused 12-pounder. |
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| A week later, they're still carrying off the iron, and James dug the 4 frags & 26 case-shot balls from one hole. |
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3-2-09 Well, I'll be Dog Gone !! My digging buddy's been sneaking off to the
relic woods by himself ! If we were just running an old time still together, out
under the bluff, I'd have smelled this sneakiness ! . . lol . . At least he's been
having some luck, and I know where's he's going, so maybe I can tag along
next time ! In one damp afternoon recently, Jack Ferguson dug a lot of modern
trash, but came away with four nice relics. They include: a nice brass sword
hanger, a dropped Sharps Carbine bullet, a very rare but somewhat damaged
Cosmopolitan Type II Confederate bullet, and what sure looks like some
type of brass artillery fuse adapter, though unknown to us. Not a big bunch,
but all real good pieces, and I'll take one of those Cosmo Type IIs any
day !
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| Jack Ferguson with his Cosmopolitan Type II bullet ! |
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| Jack Ferguson's Sword Hanger, Sharps bullet, Cosmopolitan Type II, and Brass Fuse adapter. |
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3-2-09 Mark Daughtrey has just been having too much fun ! You can see
some of his nice recoveries on down in this column, from the very end of
2008. He's hunting an old US Camp in southern Missouri, that has been
developed and turned into new housing. Judging by his pictures, I'd say he's
doing very well too. Just recently, he was back at it again, recovering relics
as gingerly as a coin hunter on a manicured lawn. Has to, cause he hunting
lawns ! This time among other relics, he turned up this beautiful US Staff
Officer's Coat Button ! Looks like it's got 95-99% of the gold gilt remaining
on the front, with no pushes, cracks, or damage at all. The reverse has an
easily legible and correct " * Extra * Quality " mark, inside two rows of
dots, with a standup shank ! They just don't hardly get any better than
this ! Wow !
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| Mark Daughtrey's Beautiful US Staff Officer's Coat Button ! |
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1-16-09 I'm telling ya, if I didn't have my own website, nobody would be publishing my meager finds this season ! . .lol .. Just haven't had much time to get out this season, and myself and partner have been extremely lazy about seeking out a new site, instead choosing the easy route, and just running out to one of our known camps. It's TOO easy, we already know relics have been recovered, we already know the landowner, so we just drive out and hunt all day. Only MAJOR problem with that is, that those old sites are producing less and less. We're gonna have to get off our duffs soon, and locate one or more new sites. This is the best I've done so far this year, which is Not much !! If it hadn't been for the Half-Dime, I doubt I would have posted it. Yet, I know there are folks new to the hobby every day, and hopefully some of them will enjoy seeing these items. They include a nice .50 Smith Carbine bullet, a couple of .69 Musket balls, a .54 round ball, and the nice little 1858-O Half Dime. Here lately, I'm glad that I STILL get that "Contact With History" feeling, even if it's just a shot bullet ! SB
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12-28-08
Mark Daughtrey wrote recently to explain the nice finds he's been
making in southern Missouri . Man, he has had some good diggin
too ! Turns out he's found a US Camp near a modern community,
but it has been partially developed, and he is digging in yards,
instead of a field or the woods ! That of course, calls for more
careful excavation methods, and attention to the property owner's
concerns. However, it has panned out beautifully ! Among the
items recovered so far there is a US Puppy Paw buckle - Mark's
first, a carbine sling buckle, an 1856 silver Half-Dime, a kepi
buckle, percussion caps, several nicely gilted eagle buttons, quite
a few pistol bullets, and more. It's been 25 years since I was a
dedicated coin hunter, and asking folks to hunt their yards. Never
thought yard hunting would interest me again. Mark has sure
made it look like a worthwhile endeavor though, and saved
some nice historic artifacts in the process !
- Congratulations Mark ! -
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| Mark Daughtrey's US Puppy Paw |
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| Mark Daughtrey's Carbine Sling Buckle & Cavalry Relics |
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| Mark Daughtrey's US Camp Relics |
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| CLICK THE .69 GARDNER TO GO TO PAGE 12 OF JUST OUT OF THE GROUND |
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