11-14-08 Well, I have been a real slacker lately about posting
any new relics, "Just Out Of The Ground." So, let me catch up a
bit here. Part of the problem here in Arkansas, has been the
record breaking rainfalls this year, causing every little wisp of a
green stem to grow up like Jack's Beanstalk !! And, now that
the Deer Season this year is one 3-week long season, no detecting
in the woods until December. Some folks have gotten out though,
and beat the briars to dig a relic or two.
First here is Larry Horton's finds from not too long ago.
Larry is our neighbor just over the hill in Bentonville, Arkansas.
He got out near one of my favorite spots, but it hasn't had any
cattle this year, and really requires poking thru the undergrowth.
Yet, Larry came away with a few bullets, and a nice soldier's
pocketknife. Seeing relics still in the ground always makes me
want to go check my batteries !
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Doug Dorothy and Jack Ferguson did much the same recently,
battling the briars and tall grass, and looking for a bare spot. They
are too secretive to tell where they were, but they also recovered a
few bullets, two sash buckles, and a general service eagle. More
relics brought out of the ground before the concrete covers em !
I know what they drive though, so I'll be waiting behind the
billboard like Smokey The Bear, next time they hit the trail !
. . lol . .
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Glenn Trask of Wichita, Kansas, sent these pics of relics he's
recovered in SW Missouri, just a few miles up the road. Top of
picture is items he dug on a briar covered, rocky hillside. Looks
like it requires further investigation to me, and I know a guy
who'd be glad to help him detect it ! Bottom of picture was in a
camp that's now partly Small Town City Park. Hmmmm, never
would have guessed that would ya ! Lot's of Coke Money, but
I see a nice .36 Teardrop in there, and what may be a spur
buckle too.
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Finally, Drew Johnston of SE Missouri sent these next images,
and although they were not just recently recovered, I thought you'd
like em as much as I did. Drew explained that he was hunting
a battle site on a slow day, and decided to just move on well
outside the known perimeter of relic recoveries. Before long his
travels brought him to a nice artillery shell fragment, laying right
out on top of the ground ! Amazing, but it got even better !
Soon he eyeballed an unusual colored little weed, sticking out
of a moss covered, rocky area. A little closer, and he began to
imagine what it was, . . . and a little closer, and it was what it
was !! . . lol . . . Not a piece either, but the whole artifact !
Good Golly ! I think anyone who can eyeball whole spurs in this
day and age, must be as Grandpa would say, "Living Right!"
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9-1-08
Well by golly, longtime Bentonville, Arkansas, Firefighter Larry Horton,
wrote recently to confess ! As my old buddy Jack West, [ passed on
to the big encampment now ] used to say, "Confession is good for the
soul." God Bless Jack West. Actually, it was very good to hear from
Larry, who I "confess" I have never met ! He told of himself and son
Christian, being lucky enough back in the late Spring, early Summer,
to find a small camp where the grass was NOT waist high, and one
associated with the Pea Ridge Campaign. Larry & Son managed to
find enough relics to make "contact" with history in a great way, and
let them know, there could be even more at their site ! It's just dog
gone good to know that some young folks, find an interest in the relics
of our past, and I wish them both good luck in all their future digs !
Their finds include a nice variety of bullets, such as 3-ring .58s,
.69 round balls, early Sharps Carbine patterns, round and conical
pistol bullets, Union general service and Infantry buttons, a brass
pocket knife, enfield tompion, and the usual camp lead ! Looks like
good fun to me ! No doubt these guys got the fever now, and I really
look forward to seeing their future finds !
Congrats Larry & Christian !
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| A good round selection of bullets, all recovered from a camp associated with the Pea Ridge Campaign. |
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| Some are rough, but here in Arkansas, a button alone, is a good day ! |
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5-11-08 Just a few days before the Big Civil War Show in Mansfield, Ohio, Tom
Bowen, & Earl Robinson [ Reunion Civil War Antiques ] came by . They had a
couple of days to spend in Arkansas relic hunting, and were pondering their
options. Now, . . . they could have just gone to any of several spots that Tom has
been researching, and probably would have done well . But, being the kind of guys
who like a challenge, they instead came to me, as they know I have a very long list
of camps. Camps that have been pounded flat, scanned backwards, forwards, and
sideways, in all frequencies. Camps that have been screened and gleaned, and
scoured clean. Camps where some unknowing local experts might say, . . . "This
ain't the camp Bud, you better back up, and take us to the REAL campsite, cause
we're tired of square nails !" . . . lol . . . Well, maybe I exaggerate a bit, but it's
been a long time since some of us walked into a camp, and thought . . . "Easy
Pickins." With all the rain we've had in Arkansas this spring the grass has
sprouted out like we're on the "Miracle Grow" test plot ! So, after checking a
few locations, Tom and I finally settled on a Union Campsite in a field chock
full of hungry cattle. It had been a fairly large camp, but detected for years.
Most of the big stuff was gone in the 1980s or 90s, but a close slow scan can
still produce meager results of small bullets, buttons or coins. I'm rattling on
here, so let me cut to the chase. We three spent about half a day at the camp.
First rattle out of the box, I dug a nice little .44 Slant Breech Sharps, but
couldn't follow up with much. Earl managed to dig a perfect little .36 Teardrop,
MM99, followed by another very quickly. Tom dug a teardrop that had a story
to tell, and a couple of small caliber round balls. But, Earl topped the day, just
before we broke for lunch. Popping his last signal as Tom and I stood waiting,
it proved to be a beautiful little early war, solid cast hat letter, for Company E !!
Not a great lot for three hunters, but coming from that old camp, we all felt like
luck was with us, and we had once more made contact with history in a
small way. SB
PS> You can connect with Earl's website, Reunion Civil War Antiques,
on our links page.
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| Our meager finds included: a .54 Merrill, a .44 Sharps Slant Breech, several .36 Teardrops, some button backs, camp lead, and Earl's beautiful Co. E Hat letter. |
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| Earl's excellent recovered Co. E Hat Letter . |
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4-5-08 Man, O' man ! Some guys have all the luck ! That dog gone
Jim Trammell, who dug the nice Leech & Rigdon CS Tongue, must have
known he was on a "streak", cause he got out the very next weekend,
and found another nice piece, along with several relics ! Sunday, March
23nd, Jim and his brother Jason Trammell, made a little foray into SW
Missouri, visiting a couple of Union Campsites with success. Both guys
dug several bullets, including a nice bunch of Sharps Carbine ringtails at
one of the camps. Jason found an early spanish silver coin, dated 1787,
and about the size of a quarter. Jim who you might think would be
jaded by a few bullets, after digging his CS tongue week before, dug a
really nice 1840 Counterfeit US $10 Gold Piece ! Beautiful condition
with so much gold gilt on it, he first thought it the actual item. But after
a light cleaning, tiny bits of the gilt flaked away to reveal the brass
underneath ! Still a GREAT relic, and probably actually rarer than a
$10 gold coin ! Jack and I are currently working on a minature
GPS transmitter, that we can attach to Jim's detector !! . . lol . .
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| Real Nice Bunch of Dropped Bullets, plus two great coins ! |
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| Jim's counterfeit $10 gold coin shows excellent detail and craftmanship. Wish all my buttons had this much gilt remaining ! |
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| Reverse shows same great details. |
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| Click the .69 Gardner Bullet to go to Page 13 of Just Out Of The Ground |
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