Vernon in Virginia~Formerly Alaska
New member
[size=large]Went out and did some more scouting, searching the hilltops for signs that Civil War troops were there. When I first got there, I went across the hilltop and got ten bullets in about a hundred yards. I was wanting to stay and dig more, but I had to remind myself that I was scouting... [/size]
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[size=large]Found a nice high knoll near the creek. Got a screamer signal right on top of the knoll, VDI 89. I put the XLT in pinpoint mode and traced it for size... just about right. Could this be my first Union sword plate? Cut a larger plug than normal, and when I turned it over I could see a lot of green patina stain in the soil so I knew that whatever it was had some size to it. I saw the edge of brass and pulled it out... OK, not a belt plate but a really cool musician's sheet music holder. This would attach to the end of a trumpet, trombone, fiddle, whatever. It had a small spring loaded clip that would hold the music sheet, enabling the musician to see it while playing. Checked the hole again and found the neck that attached to it. I felt good that it wasn't I who broke it, it was an old break. Slightly bent, but I bet if I oiled those springs it would still work. [/size]
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[size=large]Got another whole Spencer in perfect shape... well, other than looking like its been in the ground for 143 years. [/size]
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[size=large]Continuing searching the knoll, I found 2 Civil War era Indian head pennies, and the remains of this old pocket watch. I gave 3 bullets and 2 Indian head pennies to the land owners to give to their nephew.[/size]
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[size=large]So minus the Indian heads, here's my best finds for the day. To make Jim Campbell happy, I won't include the other ten bullets in the photograph. [/size]
[attachment 98360 d.jpg]
[size=large]Here's some examples of music holders out of Howard Crouch's Civil War Artifacts book. Thanks for looking y'all.
Vernon[/size]
[attachment 98356 b.jpg]
[size=large]Found a nice high knoll near the creek. Got a screamer signal right on top of the knoll, VDI 89. I put the XLT in pinpoint mode and traced it for size... just about right. Could this be my first Union sword plate? Cut a larger plug than normal, and when I turned it over I could see a lot of green patina stain in the soil so I knew that whatever it was had some size to it. I saw the edge of brass and pulled it out... OK, not a belt plate but a really cool musician's sheet music holder. This would attach to the end of a trumpet, trombone, fiddle, whatever. It had a small spring loaded clip that would hold the music sheet, enabling the musician to see it while playing. Checked the hole again and found the neck that attached to it. I felt good that it wasn't I who broke it, it was an old break. Slightly bent, but I bet if I oiled those springs it would still work. [/size]
[attachment 98354 A.jpg]
[size=large]Got another whole Spencer in perfect shape... well, other than looking like its been in the ground for 143 years. [/size]
[attachment 98359 c.jpg]
[size=large]Continuing searching the knoll, I found 2 Civil War era Indian head pennies, and the remains of this old pocket watch. I gave 3 bullets and 2 Indian head pennies to the land owners to give to their nephew.[/size]
[attachment 98361 x.jpg]
[size=large]So minus the Indian heads, here's my best finds for the day. To make Jim Campbell happy, I won't include the other ten bullets in the photograph. [/size]
[attachment 98360 d.jpg]
[size=large]Here's some examples of music holders out of Howard Crouch's Civil War Artifacts book. Thanks for looking y'all.
Vernon[/size]