Time to reflect...

[ksdigger]

History has always fascinated me ever since I was a kid, there are somethings your born with. Yesterday, during the hunt I was taking a lunch break on top of this high hill overlooking the valley. I couldn't help but invision the soldiers that came across this land many many years ago. The best way to look at it is through personal diaries, military records and documents, these are ways that give life to what really happened to the soldiers as they made their journeys across the land.
What alot of people don't understand or realize is that during this time period (1840's-50's) most soldiers did not die from fighting the enemy but instead it was fighting natures elements or cholera outbreak that did many a soldier in. Couple years ago I found almost a full jacket of small cuff sized D buttons that had been thrown in the fire, I often wandered if this was the end result of a cholera outbreak. We will never know the full story but through reading diaries and personal accounts we do know this was a very serious problem during that time period.
It's never my intention to just pull a button out of the ground, clean it and display it just for the fact of showing others. Instead, these are REAL relics lost by REAL soldiers who had a mission and a REAL life. So from time to time...it's so important to sit and ponder upon these things and to bring back what the soldiers lived through. Maybe I'm a little strange but I have a real desire to understand what life was like back then and not to mention the historical implications it has on our local history.
So as I uncovered this button yesterday, it truely is something SPECIAL to me. Not just another button to add to the collection. It has sooooo much more meaning to me...

As the soil is turned over, yet another button is revealed...

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This turns out to be a coat size Dragoon button...

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Found two of these yesterday, here is one that is complete!

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Here is all the find...

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A closeup of Dragoon Button...

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Thank you all for looking and listening!

Steve

 

[ConfCav]

Great finds and post. I often wonder the same thing when taking a break while MDing, especially if in a undeveloped area without houses and commercial sites to distract my thoughts when trying to envision the activity back during that time period. Finding personal items such as coins, parts of watches, ID tags, rings....etc. from that period just increases the curiousity; was it lost by accident, and if so, was it during a battle or while marching or encamped? If not lost, was it due to the soldier dying of disease or from battle? Yeah, those thoughts often cross my mind. I have several items I wish could talk to me and tell me the story of how they ended up where they did, but thats also another good part of this hobby - the what ifs and how comes that add mystery to finding relics.

One particular thought I have over and over is with 2-piece buckles. Many find only one half of the set but never the other half no matter how hard they try. Where's the other half? Did the soldier who wore it take each piece and throw it away in different directions, discard the part that fell off the leather and still use the other half as a make-shift buckle, or did another MDer find the other half before you and wonder where the other half was? Just rambling.........

HH.

 

[Nemo]

Steve: the dragoon martingale and this button are the best I've seen this year from our area. As you know, I too, believe that our relic hunting should be trying to answer the questions: WHO? WHAT? WHERE? and WHY? I truely believe we have an obligation to do this.

Looks like I'll be seeing you in October at the 25th Ann. of the FMDAC in KC. Will be making a couple of talks there. Hope to see the martingale and button at that time. Dave

 

[ksdigger]

Yes, I've been asked to speak at the FMDAC convention here in Kansas City as well. We're still during research on the 1st Dragoon Martingale...should be interesting to find out how rare it is! Good to hear from you and look forward to seeing you in October.

 

[bboy522000]

Where is the convention at? I live just south of kansas city!!

 

[Cz7boy]

i have the same spoons

 

[ksdigger]

The 2009 FMDAC Fall Convention will be held in Olathe Kansas October 16-18

 

[bboy522000]

Cool, I might attend!!

 

[magpies]

n/t

 

[CSA GHOST]

Nice digs kcdigger!