Brass, whatisit?

[EZrider]

Found this along with some harmonica reeds in an old area. Its brass and about 5in long. Any idea?

 

[JoeinMemphis]

n/t

 

[daryllpugh]

What you've got is a civil war era tent rope tightner along with a harmonica reed. You need to get excited because you are possibly in a camp. I would suggest doing a thourgh search in this area you are hunting. Dig all targets. You may find some civil war camp items. Good luck!!!!

 

[Nemo]

EZ: I had a running gun battle with editors of American Digger Magazine about brass tent rope tighteners a couple of years back. They believe brass tightners are not Civil War but can be found on same campgrounds used later by military or even scouts. I checked as many CW photos as I could at the National Archives to prove them wrong. Every tent rope tightner I could find was the wooden "Dog Bone" tightner (see below). I think they are right. It was probably much cheaper to make.

If anyone can find a CW picture with a brass tent tightener I would really like to see it.

Dave Poche

 

[JoeinMemphis]

Seems that you have more current info than I. I have always heard them referred to as CW era, but your pics and the dollars and cents explanation makes me think you may be right. HH Joe

 

[Nemo]

Here's another one we are now beginning to understand. I've seen and even dug these in Federal CW campsites that are now farms. They are not "Confederate blanket buckles" but draught horse harness buckle covers. There is no way to date them. They are probably mostly non-CW period. They are even sold today in harness and tack stores (see below).

Dave

 

[johnreb1980]

I have heard both theories and was thinking they might be late war and even after the war while the Union was still occupying forts and such. My buddy recently found one in an old fort in Rome,Ga that closed right after the war. I don't believe the boy scouts were in this area camping so that is what leads me to believe late war and reconstruction period. I have no evidence of this just a guess.

 

[Nemo]

Maybe..They certainly were not standardized. Here a little something I got from the net.

Dave

 

[RustynailDan]

I found one on my place which is about 15 miles from the last land battle of the Civil War. The Battle of Gerard was fought one week after the surrender and Sherman's raiders burned a few bridges and towns near here. Have often wondered what it was for a while now.
Thanks
Dan

 

[RustynailDan]

PS: Strangely I have found harmonica reeds on my place also, but not close to the rope tightener.
Dan

 

[goldnugget]

I live in Charlotte,North Carolina. We have found alot of the tent peg tightener in our W W 1 Site 1917. This was Camp Greene, if I am not mistaken, it covered about 3000 acre,and I am still trying to locate the Hospital, Also we had during the time a Fairgrounds called Lakewood Park, where the soldiers went. It is mostly wooded and hard to find any coins. Also nearby was a Boxing Auditorium, with the admission price of 50 cent. Should be some Barber Coins, the trolley line stopped in this area and I'm still looking for the correct stop.. Duke Power Stop # 4 if I am correct. goldnugget

 

[ACEinOZ]

EZ: I had a running gun battle with editors of American Digger Magazine about brass tent rope tighteners a couple of years back. They believe brass tightners are not Civil War but can be found on same campgrounds used later by military or even scouts. I checked as many CW photos as I could at the National Archives to prove them wrong. Every tent rope tightner I could find was the wooden "Dog Bone" tightner (see below). I think they are right. It was probably much cheaper to make.

I've got one of those brass tent-rope-tighteners. It's 75 x 15 mm, and I found it (along with some US Army buttons and other military bits and pieces) on a site in South Australia were part of the US Army 32nd Infantry Division were camped in 1942. It was know as Camp Sandy Creek, and they were there for a couple of months, before going on to Queensland, and then into the South Pacific war region.

 

[duggap]

Gentlemen, I will argue with you all day long and tomorrow as well that those are NOT civil war related. I have them with patents on them. I have also heard the argument that they were late war but that is just not the case. They are from the 1880 on.

 

[Thommy]

I was the conservator of the Maple Leaaf shipwreck excavation, which is the largest and most significant repository of Civil War artifacts. I worked (full time, paid) 4 years on the project. We had HUNDREDS of tent rope tighteners from the hold of the ship, which held all the baggae and camp equipment from an entire Union Brigade (the 112th NY, the 169th NY and the 13th Inidana Infantry). ALL OF THE TENTROPE TIGHTENERS WERE WOOD. We hada lot of odd-ball stuff from the inside of the ship (sunk April 1, 1864) but we never found a brass tightener or anything resembling your finds. In my humble opinion, they are post-Civil War.

 

[cajintex]

They sure are nice to find regardless. Nice collection Nemo. My husband has several, but all the same size and style.

 

[Marcus Detectus]

I noticed one thing. All rope tighteners I have seen or made, have two holes, even the one in the picture on the post here. How would this work with only one hole? like to know for the heck of it.

 

[Larry (IL)]

One end of the rope goes into the "in line" hole and a knot is tied. The rope then goes to the stake and back up to and through the right angle hole and then attached to the tent. The secret is the rope going through the tightener at a right angle so when it is tightened, the rope is making an "S" through the hole and does a pretty good job holding it tight.