A relic forum I visit had someone ask "what is your favorite find". That got me thinking about all the neat stuff I've found detecting and it's real difficult to narrow it down to just one find.
In thinking about it I decided it was a carved 3-ring mini ball from a Union Army winter camp in Fredricksburg, VA. The site also was a rail station during the Civil War and quite a few Confederate prisoners were held at the site during their transfer to POW camps.
Carved mini balls are called camp art. Soldiers were bored at camp so they often would carve lots of different things out of lead ... game pieces, busts of their favorite generals (I'm thinking Ray here) or wives, dice, etc.
If you look closely at the carved mini ball next to a non carved mini ball, you'll see literally hundreds of tiny cross hatched leaves to make the mini ball appear to be some type of bush or tree.
Since South Carolina featured the Palmetto tree on their uniform buttons and state seals, it makes me wonder if this camp art was done by a South Carolina confederate prisoner. I also wonder if the carving was dropped and lost or perhaps thrown away because it didn't turn out as well as the artist was wanting. It's my favorite find because of the personal work involved in creating this work of history.
What's your favorite find and why?
[attachment 28523 campart2edit.jpg]
In thinking about it I decided it was a carved 3-ring mini ball from a Union Army winter camp in Fredricksburg, VA. The site also was a rail station during the Civil War and quite a few Confederate prisoners were held at the site during their transfer to POW camps.
Carved mini balls are called camp art. Soldiers were bored at camp so they often would carve lots of different things out of lead ... game pieces, busts of their favorite generals (I'm thinking Ray here) or wives, dice, etc.
If you look closely at the carved mini ball next to a non carved mini ball, you'll see literally hundreds of tiny cross hatched leaves to make the mini ball appear to be some type of bush or tree.
Since South Carolina featured the Palmetto tree on their uniform buttons and state seals, it makes me wonder if this camp art was done by a South Carolina confederate prisoner. I also wonder if the carving was dropped and lost or perhaps thrown away because it didn't turn out as well as the artist was wanting. It's my favorite find because of the personal work involved in creating this work of history.
What's your favorite find and why?
[attachment 28523 campart2edit.jpg]