Can someone point me toward a web page where I can learn about where a military campsite might be positioned? For example history shows that there was a military campsite at say "CAMP BOB". Would the sight be more likely to be located on higher ground or could it be on unlevel ground, hillside, lower ground? How close to water would they be situated? More lickely to be in a wooded area where they would be hidden or to block the wind and sun, or would they be in the open where they could see anyone approaching? Just some questions that I have had. Thanks for your reply.
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Military camp sites?
- Thread starter olesoulle
- Start date
Really all of the above, as needed, but high ground preffered, water a necessity for consumption and defense. Was it a short lived camp or a long term camp? Long term camp will have pits easily missed by previous generations of hunters as well as tell tale hut depressions if not disturbed.
Most of the sites that I am looking at are short term, less than a few weeks. One site that I am looking for is along an ole road/trail near the site of a clear, flowing spring. The terrain at this site varies from hillside to flat forest floor. I am thinking that it must be within 100 yards of the spring but have not found it yet. Thanks for your reply.
It could be any where and for us there may be no rhyme or reason. I have found that most of the time camps are always exactly where you don't expect them to be.... at least in my area they are.
In my area for the most part we didn't have proper camps. Most of them were just hodge-podge sleep where you want type of camps. The camps that do fit into proper camps are very slim. In my area it was impossible to camp a large number of men in one spot when on a march. Most camped by regiment or company out to the side of the road or back in the woods behind an old farm. I don't look at camps like I once did. I thought them all to be proper and text book camps, that was until I started finding them and seeing something much different from what I was taught or told.
One area that we hunt is marked on a map drawn during the Civil War and it produces very little and most of what we find is along the old road. I think of it as road trash. The camp is right along the edge of a nice creek. You would think this camp would be covered with relics but it isn't. Two miles further along the road was loaded with stuff. Not a stitch of water for a couple of miles in any direction and no houses were ever located here either. The only reason I checked this area is because I found a diary from the regiment that camped on the marked area and they said part of the main column had camped two miles further down the road. I used to think that everyone camped close to water or at least a well but since my opinion has changed after finding this camp. I guess if you can carry water you really don't have to camp next to it. So why was a large column camped out in the middle of absolutely nowhere with no water anywhere to be had in a very dry summer? They had anticipated a large battle at the pass two miles further down the road and this was basically the forward operating base. They resupplied here and this is the reason there are so many bullets here. We have found just as many pulled bullets here as we have found drops. There is very little else here other than bullets and horseshoes.
You also have to figure in the rate of drops too. Some places are loaded with stuff and some places have very little. Bivouacs produce very little unless it was a resupply station. Think about a camping trip for you and your family. If you stay overnight somewhere your campsite is going to be fairly clean of anything the next morning. The more time you spend out there the more likely it is that you will loose stuff and have equipment break. And then you will always have the people that like to rile someone up by throwing a bullet across the camp at them. Also take in consideration how well supplied the troops were. In my area we find way more stuff at Union camps than we do Confederate. The Confederates in this area were very poor and were poorly supplied so it only stands to reason that you find very little here in the Confederate camps and you will find more in the Union camps.
Personally I would check every place possible and work it all over slowly. Just because a place looks like a good campground to me doesn't mean it looks like a ground campground to someone else.
In my area for the most part we didn't have proper camps. Most of them were just hodge-podge sleep where you want type of camps. The camps that do fit into proper camps are very slim. In my area it was impossible to camp a large number of men in one spot when on a march. Most camped by regiment or company out to the side of the road or back in the woods behind an old farm. I don't look at camps like I once did. I thought them all to be proper and text book camps, that was until I started finding them and seeing something much different from what I was taught or told.
One area that we hunt is marked on a map drawn during the Civil War and it produces very little and most of what we find is along the old road. I think of it as road trash. The camp is right along the edge of a nice creek. You would think this camp would be covered with relics but it isn't. Two miles further along the road was loaded with stuff. Not a stitch of water for a couple of miles in any direction and no houses were ever located here either. The only reason I checked this area is because I found a diary from the regiment that camped on the marked area and they said part of the main column had camped two miles further down the road. I used to think that everyone camped close to water or at least a well but since my opinion has changed after finding this camp. I guess if you can carry water you really don't have to camp next to it. So why was a large column camped out in the middle of absolutely nowhere with no water anywhere to be had in a very dry summer? They had anticipated a large battle at the pass two miles further down the road and this was basically the forward operating base. They resupplied here and this is the reason there are so many bullets here. We have found just as many pulled bullets here as we have found drops. There is very little else here other than bullets and horseshoes.
You also have to figure in the rate of drops too. Some places are loaded with stuff and some places have very little. Bivouacs produce very little unless it was a resupply station. Think about a camping trip for you and your family. If you stay overnight somewhere your campsite is going to be fairly clean of anything the next morning. The more time you spend out there the more likely it is that you will loose stuff and have equipment break. And then you will always have the people that like to rile someone up by throwing a bullet across the camp at them. Also take in consideration how well supplied the troops were. In my area we find way more stuff at Union camps than we do Confederate. The Confederates in this area were very poor and were poorly supplied so it only stands to reason that you find very little here in the Confederate camps and you will find more in the Union camps.
Personally I would check every place possible and work it all over slowly. Just because a place looks like a good campground to me doesn't mean it looks like a ground campground to someone else.
Digger70pa
Well-known member
I agree with campcashe. I've found stuff where the troops were refitted before battle. It'd incredible the amount of stuff that they dumped. You have to consider the weather also buddy. If it rained & there amo got wet it wasn't any good. So they tossed it. If my life depends on the paper covered black powder cartridge & its wet I'm looking for new amo. Look at the official war of the rebellion encyclopedia. The maps that come with it are a treasure. Good luck & HH.
Thanks fellas I am looking at one site where the Republic of Texas Militia was camped expecting a fight with indians and they got it the next morning. This was also supposed to be the site of an old indian village but I am not finding any pottery or flint chips so I know I am not in the right place yet but I am in the right neighborhood. The other site is a site along the Old Camino Real at a spring that still flows. This site was used by a variety of people for more than 150 years. I may just venture out a little farther away from the spring itself. You have both given me something to reconsider. Thank you again.
fowlercharles
Member
Hi CampCache , that's some great info! What has your experience been in locating /digging camp latrine areas? I've never seen much said about that but it has to be a really productive area if they can be located. I've found what I suspected to be a latrine in an 1815 era camp but it may have been just a couple of filled in stump hole depressions . I was expecting more latrine evidence since a few relics were there and I had walked to where I thought the latrines may have been. On a CW site we found all along the downside of a hill/gully a scattering of items that caused me to wonder if the troops had just one handed a sapling and let it go, or possibly tied off a horizontal sapling or two for a more comfortable ''seat" and letting everything go down the gully. It doesn't really fit the idea of military neatness and not burying the mess, but if it served the purpose and saved some labor and was far enough but not too far from camp maybe it was done that way. Likely it would have depended also on how long they planned on being there as to how much effort would go into their 'neatness". I'm pretty sure that back then as well as now especially for longer duration camps there would have been some procedure other than just wandering outside camp a ways and doing their business. Thanks and HH, Charlie
Funny the topic of latrine came up because I am honestly just getting into trying to locate latrines so I have no real experience on such. I have been really wanting to locate to the latrines for a few camps that I hunt often. I would guess it would all depend on the length of stay at a place. I know I wouldn't dig much of a trench if I was just planning on staying the night at a place. A lot of it would possibly depend on terrain also but then again I don't really know for sure. So far I haven't had any luck as of yet. These and picket posts seem to elude me. I wish I could be of more help but I am just starting to try myself.
fowlercharles
Member
You have to believe there would still be some strict guidelines for latrines, just for one overnight especially when large groups of troops were involved! It was likely that everyone was in the habit of burying their waste though they may not have gone about digging a trench for an over night camp but there were probably procedures for determining what areas away from camp were set aside for that purpose. That could still get to be tricky in the middle of the night trying to scratch out a hole where a bunch of guys had all just made their deposits. Trick would be not needing to go in the middle of the night, but as the saying goes that would be a bit of a crap shoot itself! Lol, HH, Charlie
Cajuncoinhunter
Moderator
Ask the farmers....