Hidden Civil War Gold

[hardeodcafe]

I worked at Fort Campbell in 2004 clearing one of the Ranges, we were mixed U.S./Brit teams, one of the lads in the team I was in mentioned there used to be homesteads/houses all over the range before the area was aquisitioned by the Government for training prior to WWI and it was believed to have hidden caches of Gold from the Civil War.

Many a time we used our detectors that could detect ferrous and non ferrous metals, to search in several locations, we showed the American lads a technique they hadn't heard of called Winthropping, it was taught and used by us as High Risk Search Teams in Northern Ireland to find hidden weapons and explosives caches that the IRA would hide, using the same rules behind these techniques it was clear to us all that there was a chance soldiers would have had the same things in their minds when it came to hiding items with the thought of recovering them in the future or even sending someone to recover them based on a quick description.

Suffice to say, unfortunately we didn't uncover any Civil War Gold but we did find a couple of small Flint Quarries that Indians had made their arrows and spear heads from, most were chippings but there were some full heads found and handed in to the Range Authority, it was great to see these and to hold them knowing they had been made hundreds of years before and hadn't moved from their location.

Does anyone have any stories of uncovering any Civil War or earlier finds?

[revwardoc]

I was at the Morristown, NJ Rev War site doing a re-enactment several years ago and, while digging a fire pit, found a badly misshapen musket ball. I showed it to a history professor who identified it as a bitten bullet. I did more research and found that there was once a Rev War surgery set up on that spot. I can't imagine the pain and suffering that ball represents, and I wonder how many men bit down in it while having a limb amputated.

[Bev Stayart]

I imagine that sites of Civil War re-enactments could yield more treasures, even if just discovering them by chance. I wonder if anyone else has found an article of interest, even if it is not directly traceable to the Civil War period.

[revwardoc]

A former co-worker inherited her grandfather's farm in Vermont (don't remember the town). She decided to tear down the decrepit old barn and in the process found a space under the floor that held a box containing 12 "trade muskets" dating back to the early 18th century. These were cheaply made weapons usually sold or traded to Indians. Despite being wrapped in oil cloth they were rusted, pitted and most of the stocks were rotted. I offered to buy them with plans to re-assemble one out of the best parts but she wanted an un-godly amount of money. Don't know what she ever did with them.

[hardeodcafe]

I think this thread could unearth some hidden gems : )

I've not heard about the 'Bitten Ball' before... do you still have the ball? could you post a pic of it here if you do?

I think America is a fascinating historical place with plenty to find, those Indian Arrow and Spear Heads are a classic example, even if you have to either hand them in to the Authorities or leave them In-Situ... If I lived in the Southern States I'd definitely be out with a detector! you never know...

[eriksale]

I have a related story. My son Tim has a Masters in Archiology. One day he invited his mom and I over and had several arrow heads on loan from state Archologist. Tim said mom put out your hand and he dropped an arrow head in her hand and asked "Have you ever held someting 9000 years old!"

It really was a WOW effect.

Dave

[revwardoc]

My neighbor, who's from a small village on the Newfoundland coast, found an unusual rock on the beach. It had a round bottom but tapered to an hourglass shape, with a 2/3 larger bottom then the top. He had it examined and was told it was an ancient anchor for a small boat, probably carved by a local native tribe. He also found a spearhead that he showed to an Indian at a Pow-Wow. The Indian took a look at it and pocketed it saying that things like that belonged to his people, not white men. My neighbor called over a cop who told the Indian to give it back, which he did reluctantly.

[hardeodcafe]

Originally Posted by eriksale

I have a related story. My son Tim has a Masters in Archiology. One day he invited his mom and I over and had several arrow heads on loan from state Archologist. Tim said mom put out your hand and he dropped an arrow head in her hand and asked "Have you ever held someting 9000 years old!"

It really was a WOW effect.

Dave

WOW! indeed Dave! I had no idea the flint arrow heads could get back 9000 years! do you think that quarry, which showed evidence that it had once been next to a river that had long since disappeared, could have been thousands of years old and not hundreds then?! if any of you are still in the Military, based at Ft. Campbell and get the chance, this Indian Flint Quarry was within the boundaries of Range 28, we found a few interesting items between the teams...

[eriksale]

I'll ask Tim what type it was, but as I remember all the ones he had were from Northern California.

dave

[hardeodcafe]

Amazing that we have just been discussing this and look what was unearthed in the U.K. yesterday!!!

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090924/...a-dba1618.html

And more on other Treasure discovered in the U.K. -

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090924/...l-dba1618.html