AMERICAN DIGGER MAGAZINE

Volume 15 For Diggers and Collectors Issue 56

In This Issue:

Early Pioneer
Cabin Dig in Ohio

Virginia Relic Hunt
is Full of Firsts

Personal Find at a
WWII Battle Site

The importance of
Being Caretakers

A Misidentified
Civil War Bullet

New Home for
Lookout Mtn.
Cave Guns

Plus recent finds
& much more!

www.americandigger.com November-December 2019
$6.95 USA

LIMITED TIME

55th Year

Anniversary

Special

PN: 1140455

Civil War
Confederate spur

Items Included: $109.85*
SAVINGS
1. Pro-Pointer AT pinpointer
2. NEW Garrett “Keepers” Treasure Box
3. NEW Vaughan Garrett’s Favorite Finds Book

*Offer valid June 1 through December 31, 2019 at participating dealers only. Accessories items are subject to change.

November-December 2019 American Digger® 1

For Diggers and Collectors

Volume 15 Nov.-Dec.
Issue 6 2019

the ohio country - 1803 Page 28
A search for arrowheads in the Buckeye State leads a father and son to metal
detect an early pioneer settlement and learn about those who lived there.
By Ian “Mac” McAtee

A SHOVEL FULL OF FIRSTS Page 35
For this participant in this year’s spring Diggin’ in Virginia hunt, all three days
were marked by exciting first-time experiences and finds.
By Ralph Magee, Jr.

THE RING AND BLANKET HILLS Page 42
American Digger’s senior editor comes away with a few unusual but historical
finds when he visits a desert WWII battlefield in North Africa.
By Bob Roach

CARETAKERS OF THE SACRED Page 48
A dedicated collector and digger explains the importance of saving historical artifacts,
and discusses the contributions made by relic hunters and amateur historians.
By Richard G. Williams, Jr

THE .44 CALIBER TENNESSEE RIFLE BALL Page 52
Once identified as being for a Kerr rifle by the lucky relic hunters who found
them, this bullet’s true origins have now been uncovered via in-depth research.
By Dean S. Thomas

A New Home For The Lookout Mountain Cave Guns Page 57
Six of nine Civil War muskets, discovered in a cave in 1931, find a permanent home
where they are placed on display for the public.
By Jon Chadwick and Courtlyn Ison

2 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

American D-Mail………4 Founded in 2004 by those that love the hobby

Q&A....……….….……....8 Publisher

Stumpt.............................10 Butch Holcombe

Event Highlights..............11 Marketing Director

Just Dug……………......12 Anita Holcombe

Reviews.........................61 Photographer/Consultant

Current Events...............60 Charles S. Harris

Below the Surface...........65 Senior Editor

Talking Points.................67 Bob Roach

News-n-Views.................68 Copy Editors

Trading Post…………...71 Bill Baab Teresa Harris

The Hole Truth………...72 Eric Garland Steve Zazulyk

Cover Photo Field Representatives (USA)
______
Northeast Southeast
Recovered history throughout the ages
graces this issue’s cover. Shown is a Native Allyson Cohen Heath Jones
American stone blade (ca. 1,000-3,000 BC),
a Kentucky state seal button (ca. 1864), a Videographer
gold nugget (formed eons ago), a dish (ca.
1930s) made for a famous Detroit hotel, a Riley Bryant
Model 1851 sword belt plate, and a Confed-
erate Alabama Volunteer Corps belt buckle Webmaster
(ca. 1861-64). In the background, detector-
ists search an early 1800s Ohio cabin site. Randy Dickerson

______ Consultants

Photos by Troy Andrews, Spike DiBenedetto, Charlie James Cecil, Dennis Cox, Bill Dancy, William Leigh III,
Harris, Steve Phillips, Greg Shipley, and James Stottlemyer Jeff Lubert, Pam Lynch, Jack Melton, Mike O’Donnell,
Mike Singer, Pete Schichtel, M.A. Shafer, Bob Spratley,
Jim Thomas, Don Troiani.

Our Mission:
“To promote the responsible excavation and
collecting of all artifacts related to America.”

American Digger® (ISSN# 1551-5737)

published bi-monthly by Greybird Publishers, LLC
PO Box 126, Acworth, GA 30101.
(770) 362-8671.

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No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any
way without the written consent of the publisher.
American Digger® has no affiliation with any hobby
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our own. While we strive for accuracy, American
Digger® cannot be held liable for inadvertent misrep-
resentation. Reader submissions are encouraged, and
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Emailed submissions should be sent to publisher@
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© 2019

NNoovveemmbbeerr--DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001199 AAmmeerriiccaann DDiiggggeerr®® 33

American D-Mail

Digging Through Our Mail Box…

Got a comment or question? Write or email us!
[email protected]

The Colonial Road Inland Beepin ’ Steve Meinzer
I was flipping through the July/August 2019 issue today
looking at the pictures before doing any serious reading. I “I lost an earring in the shag carpet.
said to myself, “Self, where is the gold (contest) coin?” Ted is helping me look for it.”
Just then I turned to page 67, the “Talking Points” column
header, and there it was. I ended up reading the page and
to myself said, “Self, you have a couple of arrowheads that
look a lot like those in the article that you picked up in the
South Carolina Lowcountry.” Which brings me to the article,
The Colonial Road Inland, by Scott McLauchlin. Highway
61 is just across the Edisto River from Dorchester County
(where I live in St. George, shown on the map on page 54
of that issue) and we hunt a lot on the “Wire Road,” which
is the road parallel to the Edisto River on this side until you
get down closer to Chucktown, where the Wire Road ends.
I can vouch for finding artifacts from west of your map all
the way into Charleston on those roads, including a few nice
stone points.
Bryan Jordan
St. George, South Carolina

There have been countless artifacts found in the area you speak What Once Was Lost
of, from ancient Stone Age tools to modern junk, and everything When I was a guest on the Relic Roundup show (July 29,
in between. It has been especially productive for colonial and 2019), I was telling Butch about the watch fob I found simi-
Indian relics if one can get the right permissions—a must, not lar to the one that was in my article, What Once Was Lost
only in South Carolina, but anywhere.-AD and Now is Found, (American Digger®, Volume 15 Issue 4,
July/August 2019). In the accompanying photo you will see
Liking the Cover the fob I found two years ago in De Pere, Wisconsin, com-
I really like the cover (Septem- memorating the sixth annual Wisconsin Buttermakers Asso-
ber-October 2019). Yeah, the ciation’s convention held in Wausau, Wisconsin, February
relics and coins are cool, but the 5-8, 1907. This is the one that was included in the magazine
wooded background reminds me article I wrote. In July 2019, I went back to the same area
of some of my favorite camp-
ground sites I detect. Some of 407-282-3594
the parks in central Pennsyl-
vania are worth the trip even
if nothing is found because of
their views of the countryside. I was detecting with my
Garrett AT Max at one such park near Harrisburg and un-
earthed my first V nickel (1904), shown above. I thought
to myself how great it is to be able to enjoy nature today
and find something that someone dropped while enjoying
nature at the same spot probably 100 years ago. At that
moment I felt I was alive both then and now.
Darryl Croutharmel
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

4 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

and found the watch fob passing cars in the hopes of begging even more. We also
on the right about twenty liked the custom envelope (shown in the previous column),
feet from where I found hand drawn by Tom. Our apologies to any Postal workers
the one on the left. It has a who were traumatized by the graphic artwork.-AD
different design but clearly
reads “Buttermakers Asso- Magnet Fishing Success
ciation” with nothing on the At last, I’ve had success in magnet fishing! While stateside
back. I would assume both in Virginia recently, I used my 1,200-pound-pull magnet in
are from the same time period. It’s hard to imagine finding a creek under a Civil War-era bridge. I didn’t find anything
two of these watch fobs in the same area. Thanks again for old, but did recover a smaller magnet that I’d lost in the
having me on the show. I had a blast. same creek about two years ago.
Michael P. Counter Bob Roach
Appleton, Wisconsin Ethiopia

We enjoyed not only your article, but also having you as a Magnet fishing is becoming a very popular way to find fer-
guest on the Relic Roundup podcast as part of our “Author rous metal items on the bottom of waterways without having
Spotlight” series, where we talk in depth with to actually get in the water. Not only can relics and artifacts
our recently published authors. The show can be recovered; magnets are also great for recovering lost
be heard live or archived at www.spreaker.com/ gear, even including, as you have proven, previously lost
user/admrr or by scanning the QR code.-AD magnets.-AD

Ant T’dote Dirt Poets
Just a note in response to Here is a poem I composed years ago concerning the search for
Butch’s ant bite adventure the relics/history of this place we call the South. Many folks re-
(The Hole Truth, American member me as the Southeastern rep. for Fisher Metal Detectors.
Digger, Volume 15 Issue
4): I learned about them The History Hunters
years ago on my first trip By Burt Alderson
to Texas. Since then, I’ve
learned that ammonia will We searched the land, this Southern land, my Rebel
quickly neutralize the formic acid in their bites. It’s an in- friends and I, and found those things, those precious things
gredient in windshield washer fluid. If bitten, grab a Kleen- of days so long gone by.
ex or rag and turn on your car’s wiper squirts. Soak the rag
and place on the bite. Almost instant relief. I hope this will The seasons changed and so did we as older we became,
get passed around. but the history we hold so dear still calls us back again.
Tom Moss
Jefferson, Texas But the time shall come, just like the Silent September,
when to those special places of our lives we are destined
A great tip, although none of our staff has had occasion to never to return, but always to remember.
try it yet. However, given Butch’s history with fire ants, we
suspect it will be just a matter of time before he will be seek- Still we walk the land, this Southern land, the Rebel
ing relief by using not only his own wiper fluid, but chasing ghosts and I, and seek those things, those precious things, of
days so long gone by.

Burt Alderson
Memphis, Tennessee

November-December 2019 American Digger® 5

I’ve been detecting for eight years, and married just over Ring Returns
twenty years; I love both. When I was younger my cous- My friend Bill Beers and I run
in, Tom, took me detecting a few times and it piqued my a free relic recovery service
curiosity. He shared his stories and showed me his finds. called Pennsylvania Historical
Years after Tom passed away, I thought about him detect- Recovery Services. For the last
ing. With lots of stress in my life, I started detecting with a five years we have been doing
White’s Coinmaster, got detectoritis, switched to a Teknet- work for private homeowners
ics Eurotek Pro, then a Garrett AT Pro. My best finds to me and historical societies. We
are three rings I found and returned to owners. I do have a give back 100% of everything
passion for detecting, hence this poem: we find. While I was at a home
today, I found this really nice
The Love of Detecting half-carat diamond ring with three diamond chips on each side
By Greg Swanson of the center stone. The homeowner was very happy to re-
ceive this ring along with the other relics pictured. It has a .925
One day something caught our eye, something we just stamp on the inside along with an engraving: a heart with the
had to try/Seen in a magazine, or in a park, in our brain name “Kimmy.” The home is a carriage house that was built
it made a mark in the mid-1880s. Also found was an 1896 Indian Head penny,
1917 and 1919 Wheat pennies, a turn-of-the-century piece that
Seeing the things that can be found, we never knew has a floral pattern with a clear glass stone in center, plus other
it was underground/In the dirt and on the beach, finding assorted relics. These items were recovered with my XP Orx.
treasures is in our reach Jim Bongiovanni
Perkasie, Pennsylvania
Not knowing what you’re going to find crazy things
go through your mind/Might be silver, could even be gold, The “Three Amigos” Jim
maybe a pop-top I’ve been told. Camidge, Alan Huot, and Jeff
Calzarette, all members of the
Receive the permission to hunt the land, get a “yes” Yankee Territory Coinshoot-
or a shake of their hand/Turn on your detector and start to ers Club in Connecticut, are
swing, see what type of tone it will bring. shown here on a successful
ring recovery adventure re-
Could be treasure, could be trash, might be a coin cently. Jim was contacted by a
purse full of cash/Cut a plug and search the hole, could be lady who had lost the ring four
a meteor or a piece of coal. or five years ago while mowing
the lawn. The three of us were
Whatever you find, you hope it’s good, it’s yours to using Minelab Equinox 800s and it only took approximately
keep, it’s understood/Fill your hole, tip back your plug, twenty minutes to locate the ring. After seeing and holding it
leave the land like it’s undug… we knew it wasn’t a “Cracker Jack” special! Imagine our sur-
prise when the owner shared with us that it is a $12,000 asscher
It’s a great hobby, I’m glad I tried, nothing I love better cut diamond and platinum ring set. It was returned no charge,
except my bride. gaining another cheerleader for our metal detecting hobby.
Greg Swanson Alan Huot
Skoke, Illinois Granby, Connecticut

ADDAM’S RELIC
HUNTING ADVENTURES

Offering guided relic hunts in the
Charleston Lowcountry for over 14 years.

*Families, beginners, & seasoned hunters welcome
*Hourly & daily rates available year-round
*Use your own detector or use ours

Addam Coe and Robert Bohrn together have over 70 years
of experience. Call 843-276-8338 to reserve a hunt or inquire
about our services. Check us out on YouTube@REB DIGS or
visit our FaceBook page, Addam’s Relic Hunting Adventures.

(843) 276-8338

6 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

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What Sort Of Person Reads American Digger®?

Aperson who believes that giving is more
important than receiving; who enjoys seeing
faces of all ages glow with joy, yet knows
the reason for the season. A person who knows
that there is still a bit of kid in all of us. You read

American Digger... don’t you?

American Digger® Magazine

For Diggers and Collectors

PO Box 126 $3795/One Year
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*Continental USA prices
Contact us for other locations

S. Claus, North Pole 770-362-8671
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www.americandigger.com

November-December 2019 American Digger® 7

Q&A With

? Charles Harris

Here is one that has me Stumpt. Non dug example of a pocket An y
Notice the eagle head and stamp popular with soldiers idea
wings on the top, above the what
slot, and the arrows on the bottom. during the Civil War. this is? The
It’s about two inches in length and ap- _______ gilted side
pears to be made of lead. What is it? looks like
James Martin I’m guessing that some owners also may a general service Civil War-era eagle
have used the stamp on writing paper but it seems to have flattened button
What you have is the pewter (not lead) to make personalized stationary. These shanks on both sides. The entire but-
frame of an ink stamp bought by a sol- items are not just Civil War vintage, but ton(?) is extremely flat.
dier from his unit sutler, or possibly mail were also used during the Indian Wars. Keith Cochran
ordered. This stamp was for labeling his
clothes and other items. In the slotted Another item used by soldiers to During the Civil War, troops in camp
area on the face he would inset letters to personalize clothes and such are the thin often experienced boredom. This is es-
create his name using standard printer’s copper stencils that are occasionally dug pecially true in the long-term winter
lead type. After the letters were inserted from campsites. These stencils have the camps when no fighting was taking
properly, a thumb screw (missing on letters punched out of the copper sheet; place for an extended period. This idle
your example) cinched them in place the stencil is laid on top of the item to be time was a concern for the officers, for
tightly. The wooden handle on yours marked and ink is brushed through the a large bunch of young men with a lot
has rotted away, but the remainder is in letter openings. Often these stencils in- of free time can be a hotbed for mis-
good condition. cluded the soldier’s name, rank, and unit chief and trouble. While drilling, po-
designation. licing, and other duties occupied some
To print properly, he had to insert of that time, the rest of the period the
the letters into the allotted space upside soldiers had to find something to keep
down and in reverse order. As you can them busy and out of trouble.
imagine, this feat was easier said than
done. Many soldiers had enough trou- Church meetings were one such di-
ble writing their name on paper or carv- version, at least on Sunday, providing a
ing it into the buttstock of their rifle in constructive and much-needed morale
normal fashion, let alone upside down outlet. But what about the rest of the
and backwards. week? Whittling on pieces of wood and
bullets was one way of killing time, but
I haven’t seen any examples, but

8 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

some turned to games: checkers, chess, that, “MFG CO.” The “K” is larger market. Flat sheets of steel were fed
dominoes, and card games (considered than the other font and it is very fan- through a stamping machine and the
somewhat sinful by some, poker was cy and cursive. forks were punched out of this sheet.
still a popular activity). Whether gam- The bending process was also done at
bling for cash or not, poker requires I have tried to research this com- this stage of manufacture. This is how
chips. Although chips were made for pany and can’t find anything. I was your set was made. The bone or wood
card games, soldiers in the field im- told by the person I bought them handles were attached by pouring hot
provised by pounding bullets and but- from they are Civil War-era, circa pewter to create the designs and the
tons into round, flattened pieces. It was mid-1800s. Mine are bone handled heavy bolsters at each end of the han-
common for buttons to tear away from and I don’t know if they’re pewter or dle which wrapped around to hold ev-
the coats and clothing. If the eye or silver or what. Are they safe to use to erything together.
shank broke, the button was then use- eat with or is there lead in the metal?
less for wear and commonly hammered I would appreciate any help! I would Not being a doctor, I’m not quali-
out for making poker chips. If the eye also like to know what they are fied to give a definitive yes or no on
was still attached the button could be worth. I have seen very few for sale whether they are safe to use. Just know
reattached to the garment, but as you online and mine are in near pristine that caution should always be taken
found, this is not always the result. shape, unlike the others I have seen when using original eating utensils.
for sale. Health standards and regulations for
Sometimes the flattening process Kat Gregory manufacturers were nearly nonexistent
was accomplished by using a hammer at the turn of the century and before.
and anvil borrowed from the company The Knickerbocker Manufacturing Today’s pewter is held to safer stan-
blacksmith. But it was more common Company of Port Jarvis, New York be- dards, with a great reduction in the
to find a flat rock and use the butt of gan production in 1894, meaning that lead, while older pewter used a great
the rifle to hammer them flat. Another these pieces can date no earlier than deal of lead (pewter is a mixture of lead
method was to set the button on a rail- that date, and probably were made and tin). Also, uncoated steel utensils
road track and wait for the next train about 1900. Now for a little back- often impart a peculiar metallic taste,
to pass by. Several thousand pounds ground on the history of fork manufac- making them not the greatest choice to
supported by steel wheels did a marvel- turing and dating. First came the cast eat with.
ous job of flattening the buttons into steel two-pronged fork. They date from
poker chips. Your example still had well before the Revolutionary War up What is more dangerous to our
the eye attached and the button was so into the 1850s. The entire fork, from health than pewter is lead oxide, such
heavily flattened that the eye is easily the tips to the butt of the handle, is one as the white covering seen on the old
identified on both the front and back of piece. The bone scales are attached to bullets (50 or more years old) that we
your button, making it look like a but- the flattened handle by two or more dig. If you wash your hands after han-
ton with a shank on both sides. small pins. dling them, there is no health problem.

Although commonly called poker During the 1840s three-tined forks As to the monetary value of your
chips, there is no doubt some of these began to appear on the market. They forks and knives, I commonly see them
served as checkers as well. were also made of cast steel and looked in antique stores selling individually in
identical to the earlier two-pronged the $6 to $10 range each.
Ipurchased these four-tined forks fork in all of the other features. These
and matching knives at an an- two and three-pronged forks are the
tique show in Iowa. Etched on ones that are commonly found in the
the blade of the knife is the word Civil War camps; although four-tined
“ K N I C K E R B O C K E R”   a n d   b e l o w forks came about
in the 1850s they
did not gain wide
favor until long
after the war had
ended.

Sometime
after the Civil
War, likely in
the early 1870s,
stamped steel
forks began to
appear on the

November-December 2019 American Digger® 9

STUMPT! We don’t know what they are. Do you know
what they are? Send your guesses, facts,
theories, ideas, and related correspondence to:

Stumpt, c/o American Digger®,
PO Box 126, Acworth, GA, 30101
or email [email protected]

Billy Smith dug this cast brass Feedback:
piece at an 1800s house site in Bill Stroud contacted us to say
Virginia. A penny is shown for he believes the item (top left pho-
size comparison. Several ideas to) found by Dennis Hurley and
have been floated, including a shown in our last Stumpt (Ameri-
window sash hook or carriage can Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 5) is an
fixture, but all are just guesses. early Zerks lubrication fitting, and
included photos of a similar to the
Joe Owen found this cast brass David Lee found this brass piece one he dug (top right photo). Pat-
piece at a known Civil War site, while searching some rubble in ented in 1929, these fittings have
but so far cannot come up with Philadelphia. It is 2½ inches tall a ball-shaped end which allows
its actual identity. It measures and 1¾ inches at its widest point. grease to be applied under pres-
about five inches long and there It was attached by two threaded sure from multiple positions. Re-
is detailed casting and etching posts to something, but what? gardless of the later patent date,
on both sides, meaning it was Contact us if you think you can versions have been in use since
meant to be viewed from either help us find out what it is. 1919. We believe Bill may be right,
side. Also, are the birds depict- but those that we’ve seen have
ed cranes, or pelicans—which flats for a wrench to help install it.
might give it a Louisiana angle? Perhaps this is a latter improve-
Although a candle holder was ment over the round surface?
one guess, we think it mounted
on some sort of pole. Any ideas? The  iconic Dent “Wildman”  My-
ers of Kennesaw, Georgia is
We are stumpt on this lockplate seeking the identity of these
dug by Larry Hockman at a mid- odd pieces. They are 13 inches
1800s site in Virginia. At 4½ inch- in circumference (4.38 inch-
es long, it bears a slight resem- es in diameter) and weigh 2.5
blance to those used on the 1849 pounds each. They are either
Austrian musket. We suspect it is iron or steel, as a magnet sticks
for a single shot pistol, but can’t be certain. If you have any insight into to them. But what are they?
what this lockplate may be from, or better yet, a photo of the firearm,
please let us know.

10 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

EVENT

Highlights

Treasure Week 2019
July 13-20, 2019
New Stanton, PA
________

Treasure Week 2019 was again held at Fox Clockwise from top left: Debbie Smikoski of Minelab, one of the event’s spon-
Den Acres Campground in New Stanton, Penn- sors; one of the kids’ hunts; participants search a seeded hunt field; a memo-
sylvania. Each day of the seven-day event rial set up for event co-founder Mike Race, who passed away last year.
had a sponsor, including the FMDAC, Garrett,
Fisher, White’s, Minelab, XP Deus, Silverseek-
ers, and our friends from Canada. Between
fifty and seventy-five people attended multiple
hunts and took part in numerous events. These
included three seeded hunts each day, as well
as free novice and kids’ hunts.

The Ring Finder
European Book Tour

August 2019
________

Steve Zazulyk launched his popular new book, The Ring Finder, in Europe
this summer with a tour of Germany and several other countries abroad.
Steve, a columnist for American Digger®, reports brisk sales both in America
and across the pond. At right, Steve holds the book in front of a local castle;
also shown are three happy fans. The book can be ordered directly from
www.zazulyk.com or American Digger®.

40th Southeastern Civil War & Clockwise from top left: award-winning display of South Carolina brass by
Antique Firearms Show & Sale Jerry Kirkland; an overhead view of the floor includes the American Dig-
ger® tables; antique firearms of all sorts were for sale; awards were given
August 10-11, 2019 in several categories.
Marietta, GA
________ November-December 2019 American Digger® 11

Dealers and displayers came from near and
far to attend the 2019 Southeastern Civil
War & Antique Firearms Show & Sale, which
celebrated forty continuous years with this
event. The show is also popular with the
public in this historic part of north Georgia.
Sponsored by the North Georgia Relic
Hunters Association, the show was once
again held at the Cobb County Civic Center,
a large and modern venue well suited to this
type of event. For information on next year’s
planned show, contact Ray McMahan at
[email protected] or visit http://ngrha.
weebly.com/annual-show.html

Just Dug Recent finds by our readers...

Jeremy Studdard was detecting in Amy Garrison was detecting near William
Calhoun County, Alabama and re- Westminster, Maryland and dug this Ganues was
covered his first Civil War relic, this extremely rare “No Stamp Act 1766” detecting in
outstanding find. The CSA (Confed- button. Featuring a profile of British July 2019
erate States of America) belt plate Prime Minister William Pitt, this is near Mariet-
retains all three fastening hooks. considered to be the first political ta, Georgia
These sand cast brass buckles were button in America. The Stamp Act of and recov-
made in the South, with evidence 1765, created to pay the debts of the ered this rarely seen relic. The Ken-
that at least some were farmed out French and Indian War, caused dis- tucky state seal three-piece staff
to small shops. Jeremy made the sension in the American colonies. officer’s coat button retains most of
find in February 2019 with a Garrett Pitt was instrumental in its 1766 its original gilt finish and has a back-
repeal. Only a handful of these but- mark of “HORSTMANN & ALLIEN/
AT Pro. Photos by Jeremy Studdard tons are known to exist. Amy found NY.” The location was occupied by
the artifact on July 11, 2019 with a Kentucky troops of Bate’s Brigade in
Garrett AT Pro. Photos by Amy Garrison
June 1864. Photos by Charlie Harris

Spencer Phillips found this large gold Justin Gaver recovered this Con- Robert McCracken was hunting a
nugget while dredging in Alaska. The federate officer's button in July site in Cranford, New Jersey and
nugget weighs over a half ounce and 2019 at a house site near Lynch- recovered this silver 1888 New-
was found in July 2019. Alaskan gold burg, Virginia. Although the back- foundland five-cent coin. Robert
prospecting has been a part of the mark is unreadable, the rest of the made the find in July 2019 while
Phillips’ family life for many years, button is in good condition, even
a summer tradition began by father retaining much of the gilt. Justin using a Minelab Equinox 800.
Steve Phillips. Photos by Steve Phillips found the relic about five inches
deep with a Minelab Equinox 600. Photo Pete Schichtel
12 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6
Photo by Justin Gaver

Nate Long was digging out an Mike Lyman Don Stolpman was detecting
old privy in New jersey and was detect- near Chickamauga, Georgia and
recovered this scarce 1870- ing a cellar recovered this artifact from the
1880-era whisky flask. It is hole in cen- battlefield park’s early days. The
embossed “WM J FERRALL/ tral Connecti- brass badge probably dates to
Y.P.M./DOWNTOWN DEPOT/ cut and dug the Park’s dedication in 1895.
Y.P.M./737PASSAYONY  AVE.” these artifacts The late 1800s iron The current administration was
Y.P.M. stands for “Young’s Pure is embossed “ABESTOES/72-A/ unaware that such badges were
Malt.” Nate located the privy SAD  IRON” and is shown here after used until this example was un-
in August 2019 while using a cleaning and preserving. The button covered. The artifact was dug in
is a mid-1800s United States Mili- February 2019 with permission
ground penetrating radar. tary Academy (West Point) cadet on private property, and directly
coat button with a “SCOVILL MFG. across the street from the Nation-
Photo by Nate Long CO./WATERBURY” backmark and
retains much of its original gilt finish. al Battlefield Park boundary.
Mike made the finds on Memorial
Day weekend, 2019 while using a Photo by Charlie Harris
Garrett AT Max detector with a 5 x 8

searchcoil. Photos by Mike Lyman

Abby Pittman was swimming in Ari Koutsoura- Kevin Gabrus was detecting a site
Pickens County, Georgia and dis was metal in Calhoun County, Alabama and
eyeballed this Native American detecting at a recovered this Confederate two-
point on the beach. The 1½- location near piece button. The Civil War-era
inch long stone tool is made Westminster, Louisiana state seal device shows
of an attractive yellow striped Maryland and a pelican feeding her young. Kevin
white quartz. The Late Archaic recovered this made the find on June 29, 2019
piece is estimated to be about 1745 Spanish half reale. The silver while using a Minelab Equinox 800.
coin has been made into a button or
3,000-5,000 years old. pin, as it has a damaged shank on Photo by Kevin Gabrus
the back. Ari made the find on Au-
Photo by Charlie Harris gust 9, 2019 while using a Minelab
Equinox 800. Photos by Ari Koutsouradis

NNoovveemmbbeerr--DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001199 AAmmeerriiccaann DDiiggggeerr®® 1133

Phil Myers, owner of Myer’s Metal Detectors of Tampa, Florida doesn’t Steven McFaden was relic hunting at
normally relic hunt in the heat of the summer in Florida, but sometimes a Union Army Civil War camp near
the temptation is just too great. He made these finds in a small area near Bealeton, Virginia and recovered
Tampa, the home of Seminole War-era Fort Brooke. Shown is an 1820s this silver identification shield. The
forage cap button, musket balls, four-hole pewter buttons, a gun flint with name is “L. Brown” but unfortunately
its lead pad, and a 1908 Barber silver quarter. The site was thick with iron no company or regiment designa-
targets; Phil picked through them by using a six-inch coil on his Minelab tion is present. However, the 118th
Pennsylvania Infantry, along with the
Equinox 600. Phil made the finds in July 2019. Photos by Phil Myers 17th New Jersey Infantry, camped in
the vicinity, so it is likely he belonged
to one of those two regiments. The
dark spot on the silver is where an
iron fastener was attached. Steven
made the find on July 14, 2019 with a
White’s MXT. Photo by Steven McFaden

Greg Adam Larrabee was hunting a Donnie
To n e y, North Carolina site where several Va u g h n
aka “SC early 1800 historic homes were made these
Digger,” located. While there he recovered finds while
dug this these coins, which he says are his relic hunting
bit of his- most memorable artifacts so far: an in Nashville, Tennessee. The bridle
tory while 1854 trime and a quarter-cut silver rosette is silver plated lead-filled brass
detecting pistareen. Adam made the finds in and measures 2.7 inches in diameter.
a house site in Pickens County, July 2019 while using a Garrett AT Its large size is evident beside the
South Carolina. Often called story- 1857 dime he recovered at the same
book buttons, these thin one-piece Pro. Photos by Adam Larrabee site. The company hat letter “A” was
copper or brass buttons were pop- also found. Donnie made the finds
ular in the late 1870s and 1880s. in July 2019 with a Minelab Equinox.
Most depicted a character or a
scene from literature and fables. Photos by Charlie Harris
Many are also quite large; this one
is 1.4 inches across. Greg made
the find in June 2019 while using a
Teknetics T2. Photos by Charlie Harris

14 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

Leroy Rabern was detecting in an John Lynch was detecting in Fay- Stephen Maddox found this
old Civil War-era roadbed near ette County, Georgia and dug this 1901 Barber silver quarter while
Gordon, Georgia and was reward- circa-1830s relic. The one-piece metal detecting near Valley, Ala-
ed with this Confederate officer’s patriotic/militia button measures al- bama. Although it is his oldest
relic. The broken sword guard is most half an inch across and has coin to date, he was gracious
believed, but not yet confirmed, no backmark. Variations of these enough to give it to the land-
to have come from an officer’s were used on militia uniforms and owner. Just minutes before this
sword made by James Conning for patriotic wear by dignitaries; find, he dug a 1934 Liberty dime
of Mobile, Alabama. Leroy made most are believed to be private and two 1943 nickels in the
the find in April 2019 while using a purchases. The front features an same hole. Stephen made the
Garrett AT Pro. Photo by Charlie Harris eagle and a banner proclaiming “E find in July 2019 while using a
Pluribus Unum” (Latin for “Out of
many, one.” John made the find in Minelab Equinox 800.

June 2019. Photo by Charlie Harris Photo by Troy Embrey

Bobby Ham- David Pietroski found these arrow-
monds was heads in a single day on a river
detecting near near Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.
Nashville, Ten- So far, he has recovered over one-
nessee and hundred arrowheads along a 40-
found these foot swath of shoreline. There is a
Civil War arti- span of about 9,000 years between
facts. Shown some of these stone points. A few
at top is an ar- weeks later in Somerset County,
tillery hat pin, Maryland he was walking a field at
found in June 2019. The civilian an early colonial site and eyeballed
buttons and carbine sling buckle this black glass insert for a colo-
were found in May at a U.S. caval- nial-era cufflink button. Embossed
ry camp in Nashville. Bobby made on the glass are two hearts be-
the finds with a Garrett AT Max. neath a single crown. This device
of the conjoined hearts commemo-
Photos by Charlie Harris rated the marriage of Charles II of
England to Catherine of Braganza
in 1662. According to author and 1155
consultant Bill Dancy, this device
on a glass cuff link is extremely
rare. Also found and shown here is
a plain glass cufflink button which helps to illustrate
how the glass was attached to the brass backing.

The finds were made in July and August 2019.

Photos by David Pietroski

NNoovveemmbbeerr--DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001199 AAmmeerriiccaann DDiiggggeerr®®

Mick Stormer was detecting near Eric Yohe Luke Hankins was detecting a site
Brookville, Pennsylvania and re- recovered in Virginia not far from Union winter
covered this intact powder flask. this 1847 campsites and the Battle of Brandy
The 1800s Colt-style eagle and Braided Station. Among the relics he found
shield pattern flask has copper fit- Hair Lib- there was this US cartridge box
tings and a zinc/white metal body. erty Head plate. These lead-filled brass ac-
Mick made the find in July 2019 large cent coutrement plates were fastened
while using a Minelab CTX-3030. at an 1843 homestead property to the leather cartridge box used
in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. by Union soldiers. Luke made the
Photo by Mick Stormer The coin exhibits very little wear, find in August 2019 while using a
indicating it was not in circulation Minelab GPX 4500 pulse induction
long before being lost. He dug the
target at nine inches deep beside a detector. Photos by Luke Hankins
small creek on September 9, 2019.

Photos by Eric Yohe

Sonya Harshman was detecting an Tim Bowman was hunting a colo- Andrew Benson was attending the
old ghost town in Huntington Coun- nial house site in Hardin County, Diggin’ in Virginia hunt at Brandy
ty, Indiana and dug this artifact. This Kentucky and dug this silver 1782 Rock Farm in March 2019. In ad-
one-piece brass U.S. Navy button Spanish half real along with other dition to many other great finds,
was used between 1810-1830. She early relics. The coin has been he recovered his first breast plate.
made the find on July 11, 2019 with “holed.” A common practice to pre- He says he couldn’t believe his
the “Hot” program on her XP Deus. vent loss was to put a hole in coins luck because so many other holes
and string them together or sew were dug close to the find. Andrew
Photo by Sonya Harshman them inside a garment. Tim made
was using an XP Deus.
16 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6 the find on August 31, 2019.
Photo by Andrew Benson
Photo by Kayleigh Warren

David Knight was relic hunting a Arthur Cook was detecting near
Civil War site near Triune, Tennes- White House, Tennessee and
see and recovered this Confederate recovered these buttons used
artilleryman’s artifact. The “Lined A” by cadets of the Western Military
button, missing the back, is a small Institute.All three retain most of their
size often used on kepis, and much gilt finish. Founded in Georgetown,
more scarce than the larger coat- Kentucky in 1847, the school was
size examples. David made the moved to Nashville, Tennessee in
find in July 2019. Photo by Charlie Harris 1855. Arthur also recovered this
Federal breastplate there. It is in
very good condition, with both wire
fasteners intact. He made the finds
in June 2019. Photos by Charlie Harris

Dale Beesmer found this reminder Roman Murray was
of the devastating 1906 San Fran- detecting near Get-
cisco earthquake at a former mining tysburg, Pennsylva-
town site in Lyon County, Nevada. nia and found this
The earthquake adversely affect- group of eight Gardin-
ed the wellbeing of surrounding er explosive bullets
mines and towns, including those together. A fairly rare
in Nevada,and donations were vi- bullet, there are tales
tal to rebuilding the devastated city of soldiers throwing
and, thus, the economy. The fob them away because
reads, “Official Souvenir/Inaugural/ of the devastating results if a cartridge box full of these “musket shells”
Celebration/Re Building/San Fran- were hit during battle. Roman found the unfired bullets on July 18, 2019.
cisco/1908 New Years Eve 1900/
Ring Out Old - Ring In the New,” Photo by Roman Murray
Dale made the find in August 2019
Emily Copeland, aka "Little Dirt Dig-
with a Fisher Gold Bug SE. ger" who is eight years old, was
hunting an old homeplace in Cart-
Photo by Dale Beesmer ersville, Georgia when she found the
“mouthpiece” from a toy telephone
candy bottle. It has a patent date of
1907. A non-dug example is shown
beside it. Emily made the find on Au-
gust 25, 2019 while using a Garrett
At Pro. Photo by Nakeisha Copeland, non

dug courtesy of www.flyingtigerantiques.com

NNoovveemmbbeerr--DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001199 AAmmeerriiccaann DDiiggggeerr®® 1177

Dan Centofanti James Stottlemyer was searching a bottle
dug this Union dump in Oakland County, Michigan and recov-
officer’s “Christmas” spur and one- ered this 1930s-era bowl made for the Wardell
piece Virginia button (backmarked Hotel of Detroit. The Hotel Wardell was built in
“YOUNG SMITH & CO, NEW 1926, and underwent several name changes
YORK”), along with carbine and pis- beginning in 1943. It was the hotel of choice for
tol bullets, at an old house site near Bob Hope, Gracie Allen, Raymond Burr, and
Richmond, Virginia. These spurs George Burns. Shortly after, James was detect-
got their nickname because they ing a site in Wayne County, Michigan and found this Civil War-era Union
are marked “PATENTED DEC. 24, general service button. Although the button itself is not a rarity, the remain-
1861.” The Mississippi “I” infantry ing uniform cloth stuck to the button is unusual. James, who uses a Garrett
button was recovered at a differ-
ent site, also near Richmond. The AT Pro, made the finds in September 2019. Photos by James Stottlemyer
coat-size two-piece button has a
backmark of “HYDE & GOODRICH, Jeffrey Johns was de-
NO” but was actually manufactured tecting near Stafford, Vir-
under contract by Scovill for the ginia and got an erratic
Hyde & Goodrich company located signal. Digging down, he
in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dan saw why: the hole was full
found the spur and Virginia button in of discarded .69 cartridg-
the spring of 2019, and the Missis- es. Before it was over,
sippi button in August 2019. All were Jeffrey had recovered
found with a Minelab GPX 4800. 357 of the .69 Minié bul-
lets from the hole, 12-16
Photos by Dan Centofanti inches deep and two feet
wide. He made the find in September 2019 with a White’s MXT All-Pro.

Photo by Jeffrey Johns

Tommy Snellings was Stanlee Fazi was searching a
relic hunting in a Civil Civil War site south of Richmond,
War campsite near Rich- Virginia and found this cast brass
mond, Virginia when he relic. The cape pin is a bust of
noticed this bottle stick- General George McClellan, a fa-
ing out of the side of an vorite of the Union soldiers who
entrenchment located served under him. These were
there. The aqua blob top sold by sutlers and mail order
soda bottle is embossed to show the soldier’s support for
“DEARBORN/83/3D McClellan. McClellan ran against
AVE/N.Y.” Tommy eye- Lincoln for president in 1864, but
balled the glass artifact lost. The artifact was found in
August 2019 with a Minelab GPX
on August 3, 2019.
4500. Photo by Stanlee Fazi
Photo by Tommy Snellings

1188 AAmmeerriiccaann DDiiggggeerr®® VVooll.. 1155,, IIssssuuee 66

“ Te n n e s - Ken Jeff Cham-
see Jeff” Cunliffe berlain was
Warrick was was on detecting an
detecting a a metal early colonial
site in mid- detect- site in east-
dle Tennes- ing trip ern Virginia
see and re- in the and dug this
covered this United pair of Span-
unexpected artifact. The coin-like Kingdom when he recovered ish reales within twenty feet of each
item is a Jetton, produced in Europe this 1575 Queen Elizabeth I other. The 1738 has a “Madrid” mint
from the 13th through the 17th cen- three halfpence hammered silver mark on it and the 1734 has a ‘Se-
turies. These were used as counters coin. Queen Elizabeth I reigned villa’ mint mark. The other relic is
on a counting board, a lined board from 1558 until her death in a very ornate colonial dagger or
similar to an abacus and used for 1603 and was the daughter of short sword guard, recovered from
calculations. They were also used Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. a mixed 1700s-1800s site in central
as game pieces, often as a substi- Ken made the find in Septem- Virginia. It features the busts of a
tute for actual coins. These were ber 2019 while using a Minelab man and woman on each side. All
made in a multitude of designs. Jeff Equinox 800 equipped with a of these recoveries were made in the
made the find in mid 2019 with an spring and summer of 2019 with an
15-inch search coil.
XP ORX. Photos by Jeff Warrick XP Deus. Photos by Jeff Chamberlain
Photos by Ken Cunliffe

Jersey History Hunters Audra Thomas and Rachael
Elmore love to research and explore old homesites
to save history before it is lost forever. They are very
serious about saving history and have fun doing it.
Although they say their favorite finds are the amaz-
ing people they have met and become friends with
along the way, they still have some outstanding re-
cent finds. Shown at right are several. In June 2019
Rachael recovered this intact late-18th century shoe
buckle. In July, Audra found this coin silver spoon.
In colonial America, silversmiths decided to forge
their own silverware and goods to avoid patronizing
British purveyors of sterling silver. They collected
silver European coins, mainly Spanish reales, and
melted them down. Because coins were an alloy of
metals, their silver content was lower than that of sterling, only 90 percent. America did not adopt the Sterling
standard until 1870. Coin silver was made in the United States from the earliest colonial times until just after the
Civil War. Also in July, Audia dug this early 1900s 14K brooch with a large amethyst stone. In August Audra found
this Vietnam-era M6 Bayonet with a M8 scabbard and also a sterling silver 1800s matchsafe. All the finds were

made in central New Jersey while using Garrett AT Pro detectors. Photos courtesy of Jersey History Hunters

NNoovveemmbbeerr--DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001199 AAmmeerriiccaann DDiiggggeerr®® 1199

In Their Own Words:
Just Dug with a
Personal Touch

“I found this watch fob in Apple- “I have been hitting this spot for over “It has been a great year for metal
ton, Wisconsin in July 2019 [with a year. I thought it was over but my detecting here in Wyoming. I found
an XP Deus]. It reads ‘Army Minelab Equinox 800 has brought this leather punch in May on the old
Maneuvers/Sparta, Wiscon- it back to life. This old 1850s hotel Oregon trail. [The tokens are] ‘Fort
sin/1912.’ [These maneuvers in east Alabama has been a dream D. A. Russel/Good for 5 Cents in
were conducted from] Fort Mc- permission. I have gotten five seat- Trade,’ and the small ‘Fort Francis
Coy, a United States Army instal- ed coins from this one spot. [This E. Warren’ token is good for one
lation on 60,000 acres between early 1800s Federal navy button fare. The square ‘F’ has a large ‘5’
Sparta and Tomah, Wisconsin, found in June 2019] was a true on the back, so I’m guessing it’s
in Monroe County. Since its cre- shocker and is my oldest military some kind of five cent token, and
ation in 1909, the post has been button to date.” Andrew Engle. the small cadet button [is from the
used primarily as a military train- U.S. Military Academy]. I found
ing center. A part of Fort McCoy the three tokens on Pole mountain
is also used by the Wisconsin [with a] White’s v3I detector with an
State Patrol as a training facility.” 11" coil.” Bill Alexander
Michael P. Counter

“I found this Flying Eagle cent in “While knocking on doors in Scar-
mid-July [2019] while working with borough, Maine in July 2019,
archaeologists in eastern Colorado. I got permission to search this
Although this was a bucket list item early 1700s homestead. Using
and could very well be the only Fly- my White’s v3i I began my search
ing Eagle cent I ever find, this coin among some very old trees. Af-
was given to the archaeologist and ter an hour or so I got a hit; with
will end up in a local museum. This a VDI between 77/79, I knew I
coin was found using the XP Deus. had something good. At 4½ inch-
The site we were working had been es, I pulled up this King William
detected extensively in the 1980s the 3rd shilling, dated 1698! I was
and 1990s but somehow this target both shocked and amazed. My first
had gone undetected even though it was only a 1600s coin had me on cloud nine
couple of inches deep. It just goes to show, no site for days.” Ken Donahue
is ever detected out. Just a few feet away and only
a couple of minutes after finding the Flying Eagle
cent, this company hat letter ‘B’ would make its ap-
pearance. Could this company letter have been
lost during the battle that occurred there during
January 1865? We may never know. But it does give us a bit of information
on who was at this site during that general time frame.” Jeff Lubbert

20 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

“I dug this “I found this on February 15, 2019 in
amazing Long Beach, Mississippi just before
plate today dark. I was hunting with permission
[July 31, on about a three-acre property right
2019] near in the middle of town. My research
Haymarket, Virginia. The cabin shows that ancestors of the family
was on the 1850 census and is that still own it bought the property
still occupied today. It was a cold in 1884. I don't have any information
door knock [for permission] and a before that. My hope was, as people
very friendly old guy said, ‘Have at would do in those days, that there
it.’ I dug many Mason jar lids and were maybe some Civil War relics in an old barn
large nuggets of aluminum. Not a that had fallen down many years ago and later
single bullet or lead of any kind was pushed into a debris pile. I was finding a lot of
found. No camp here, I thought, farm-related items so I knew there was a lot of
but I had found a few older items... stuff in the barn when it collapsed. I had half jok-
enough to keep me swinging and ingly told the owner only three days before that I
pulling plugs. I got a solid shallow hoped to find a Civil War belt buckle in the area of the barn. He said good
signal and thought it was going luck but said there wasn't anyone there in the Civil War. I had swung over
to be another Mason jar lid. Out the area between where the barn was and the debris pile at least a dozen
pops this beautiful Virginia sword times in the past year and a half, sometimes finding something and some-
plate only about five inches down. times not. A few months earlier I had found the brass top to a [mule] hames
I figure it was tossed after the sol- after going over that spot before, so I was actually hoping to find the match
dier came home since there were to it. When I got the signal it was bouncing between ‘82’ and ‘84’ on my
no other Civil War relics. The back Garrett AT Pro. Figuring I had the other mate to the hames top I tried to dig
seems to have a ‘4’ stamped in it.” a plug in the dry soil. As I kneeled down to pinpoint the hole I could tell the
Troy Nocon target was only about four inches deep. I started digging in the loose dirt
with my hands, fully expecting to pull out the hames top. I could feel the
flatness and, at first, was disappointed. When I began to wipe it off and saw
the eagle I still didn't know exactly what I had. I am an arrowhead hunter
and have been for 38 years. I've only been metal detecting for about three
and a half years and, while Civil War relics are my favorite, I don't get to
dig many. The plate had only been in the ground since the barn had col-
lapsed, maybe thirty or forty years before, and is in remarkable shape. After
a couple of months I decided to clean it with some warm hydrogen peroxide
and a Q-tip. Ninety percent of the gilt is still on it!” Spike DiBenedetto

“I was fortunate enough to recover a great relic on our nation’s
243rd birthday. The July heat had been brutal here in middle
Tennessee, and I decided to go out in the early morning to get
in a few hours before it warmed up. I was using the 5 x 8 coil
on the Garrett AT Max in hopes of separating brass and lead
signals from the iron. The site was a long-term camp guard-
ing a railroad line and contained many iron signals from cut
nails. I decided to head to a portion of the camp where...I had
recovered a few good relics in the past. Working slowly, trying
to grid off as much as possible, I had already recovered a por-
tion of carved lead and an iron buckle, likely part of a cartridge box. I started searching around the base of a tree
and isolated a pure signal reading ‘87’... After pinpointing and digging a plug, I used my Garrett pinpointer and
a hand tool to carefully recover my target [which] had the shape of a washer...but, as I used a soft toothbrush, I
could see a rimmed edge and lettering…I thought maybe an ID tag or campaign token! Well, it turned out to be
an 1860 John C. Breckinridge and Joseph P. Lane presidential campaign token! It’s interesting, as Breckinridge
later would become a Confederate general, and this artifact was recovered in a Federal camp that didn’t see any
Confederate encampments. This recovery reinforced that a site is never ‘hunted out’ and there are many great
finds hidden amongst the iron and trees!” Richard Blake

NNoovveemmbbeerr--DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001199 AAmmeerriiccaann DDiiggggeerr®® 2211

“On July 13th, 2019, I was busy “I was hunting one of my old spots
door knocking in eastern Con- next to an [1840s Spalding County,
necticut, feverishly looking for a Georgia] grist mill . I decided it would
productive spot to dig (the tem- be best to stick to the shade of the
perature was around 95 degrees woods due to the very hot weather
that day). It had been a couple of conditions. This was an area that I
weeks since my last really good had avoided for years because of
find, so I was getting antsy for the the thickness of the vegetation. I...
next heart-pounding discovery. To- got a solid ‘19’ on my Minelab Equi-
ward the end of the day, my hunt- nox 600. I dug a plug and then out
ing partners and I visited a home popped what I thought to be a mod-
I’d had on my list of properties to ern penny. I kept trying to make out
door knock; it was a large, immac- Abe’s head, but I started to get a little
ulately restored house built sometime around 1840. We dug the yard confused. I didn’t recognize the de-
for a couple of hours and some decent finds popped out of the ground, sign at first until I got the coin lined
but nothing to write home about. With the intense heat beginning to up just right. As soon as I recognized
take a toll on my sanity, I hopped into the wooded part of the property it my heart started pounding and I
to catch some shade and found two stone walls roughly 100 feet long couldn’t believe my eyes. I never in
and separated by 30 feet of open space. My first signal was a large a million years thought that I would
brass ring that would’ve been used to tie down a horse and, as you dig a Flying Eagle cent, let alone
can imagine, it was a screaming signal...it was obvious nobody had one in such beautiful condition. This
detected this part of the property. Working a grid pattern between the is a day I will never forget!”
stone walls paid off when I heard a faint ‘18’ signal on the Minelab Michael Reese
Equinox 600 registering at eight inches deep. Unsure of what to ex-
pect, I fought through layers of roots until I pulled out what I thought
was a copper coin encrusted in dirt. I noticed some silver plating on
one side of the object and whipped out the water bottle to reveal what
was underneath the caked-on dirt. As soon as I saw “REGT” along
the edge, I knew what I had in my hands and became overjoyed—a
War of 1812 button! Further cleaning revealed a beautifully detailed
eagle and ‘U.S.I.’ stamped across the top, indicating that I
had found an infantry officer’s button. Without a doubt, this
is my most prized military button to date. The recovery may
be viewed on my YouTube channel, Stef Digs. You can visit
my channel at youtube.com/switchstef ” Stef Tanguay

“On August 14th [2019] while preparing to
detect [in Saratoga County, NY] with my dig-
ging partner Pat Whitton, we noticed on an
1866 map that the original road was on the
opposite side of the cellar holes we were
going to hunt, rather than where it is today.
Observing a small level of rocks and two de-
pressions in the ground, we decided to check
the soil with our detectors. One of the de-
pressions was a undocumented homesite.
Pat dug a two-piece button with a decora-
tive star, several flat buttons and a pewter
spoon. I was fortunate enough to recover
these three early 1812-29 New York Militia
buttons, Albert’s Number NY10. All rang in at
a solid conductivity of ‘86.’ I was using zero
discrimination and full tones [on an XP Deus
detector. ” Mike Kelley

22 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

“I was hunting a new permission here in middle Tennessee in March 2019. “These
This property is close to several Civil War camps that are located along an were dug
old road. I started my search around the front yard of the old house with my on August
Minelab Etrac. My very first signal was a nice brass sling tip also known as 24 [2019] in
a bat wing. I was excited to see relics left to be dug here. I continued on the western New York state [where] we’d
search digging a few nice dropped bullets, including some ringtail Sharps. I searched many times. We believe it
dug one more target right before dark and I could tell it was some type of a was the site of a tavern. This was the
token. When I got home I cleaned it up to see General George Washington first time out with the Minelab Equi-
mounted on his horse and a small disk with a series of numbers that turns nox. I had turned it on just once prior
around the days of the week on the reverse. After doing some research I to that day and had it in presets... I
learned that this is an 1858 George Washington mechanical calendar. I think was searching where I’d found a
it's a great piece of history and a lot of fun to imagine a soldier carrying this number of good targets but had
to keep up with the days.” David Johnson searched it hard. Within ten minutes
I had the half dime. Within ten more
minutes the three-cent coin surfaced.
The three-cent coin has a 180 de-
gree rotated reverse. Both coins are
correctly flipped in the photo, which
shows the rotation.”
Mark Schuessler

“I was detecting at a park on Sep- “I grew up focusing on Civil War rel-
tember 6th [2019] about 30 minutes ics but switched gears this summer
from my home in Burlington, North [2019] focusing mainly on Colonial
Carolina, using my Minelab Equi- artifacts. I was lucky enough to recov-
nox 800, because of a tip I received er a late 16th-early 17th century po-
from a old timer whose yard I had esy ring in a Virginia waterway. The
hunted previously. He told me there engraving inside reads: ‘Remember
used to be a old school that was torn thy creator in thy youth’ (Ecclesias-
down long ago right where the flag tes 12:1). I was also lucky enough
pole stood... I had stopped in one to recover five cobs in the immedi-
day to try it with one of my detecting ate area. [Found with a Minelab CTX
partners from the NC Dirt Detectives
and we were both digging a lot of modern clad 3030].” Mike Conaboy
and the ground was like concrete. I started down
an incline around 20 feet or so from the road and I
noticed the soil started to change, I could actually
get my shovel to just plunge all the way in! I dug...
one clad quarter and a clad dime in the softer dirt
before it happened. I flipped the plug on a 28-30
signal, (about the same as all the clad quarters
had been ringing up) and checked the hole with the pinpointer, then the
plug. It was in the plug and I immediately saw it was kind of a funny size
and started filming as I called over my buddy Matt. I was ecstatic to see
that not only had a I found a 1781 2 reales but it also had a counterstamp
on the face, ‘W•BEERS.’ This is my first counterstamped coin.”
Jeff Zabodyn

NNoovveemmbbeerr--DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001199 AAmmeerriiccaann DDiiggggeerr®® 2233

“I had a couple of friends want to go “[August 2019 near Yulee, Florida] I
detecting with me since I had a few was scouring some woods, looking for
fields open. The downside was the a lost set of keys. I got a hard solid hit
field that we were able to go to, al- between a couple of trees and several
though it was a new site, had very inches down I encountered a solid
few signals. I had been there the day plate of iron, but it was well covered by
before and only found two buttons...I a network of thick roots. I hiked back
wasn’t excited about going back. I to the car and retrieved my lopping
got the shock of my life when I got shears and a piece of a 2 x 4 board. I
a sweet signal and out popped this located the edge and managed to get
plate. At first it was turned over so I the 2 x 4 under the lip... It was then
wasn't sure what type of buckle I ac- that I noticed the serrated teeth. It was
tually had. As I flipped it over, a huge a sawmill blade and a sizable one,
smile spread across my face. There too. I removed the roots and worked
was lots of yelling to my friends to as much soil from the top and sides as
come see and a very unprofessional I could. By alternating between the 2 x
sideways video that followed. It just 4 and my digger I raised the edge as high as possible, then got it free from
goes to show that sometimes your the hole. Twenty-four inches across and weighing over thirty pounds, it was
least favorite sites can turn up your another challenge hauling it to my car. Small saw mills once were common
most exciting finds. Found on Au- in the area and this will be a wonderful addition to my collection of 1700 and
gust 23rd [2019] with my XP Deus in 1800s farm tools. The next day my club participated in a community clean
Huntington County, Indiana.” up project in a historic area of town. We collected trash from the surface
Sonya Harshman and under it. In addition to the trash there were also goodies... I found $2
in clad, two 1952 Wheat cents, a silver ring and this railroad conductor’s
hat badge, circa 1900. Before airplanes, the term ‘Air Line’ referred to the

shortest line between two points.” Chip Kirkpatrick

“I was digging [September 2019] at “I was hunting with fellow relic hunter and good friend Tom Hobbs in a per-
one of our old schools here in Eliza- mission he obtained in central Virginia. Two days prior we hunted this same
beth City, NC while on lunch break. location and acquired the information that we were hunting a Confederate
I had found a few wheat pennies, camp site, given the types of drop and melted bullets we were finding. On
etc, and walking back to the truck, our return we would find a total of eight different types of bullets in our camp
got a decent signal [on my XP Deus] site. I was hunting a spot of the yard where we were finding a bunch of
and decided to dig one last time. I clad money while Tom had just found a 1853 Seated half dime only ten feet
dug this 1851-1874 sword belt plate. away. Amongst all the trash and clad I got a deep ‘96-97’ reading on my XP
Was an awesome find and awe- Deus. I dug down to what turned out to be the back of a box plate. With too
some lunch break to say the least.” much dirt on the face to make anything out, we returned to the car to see if
Charlie Fisher a little water could bring to life what I had just found. With a touch of water,
the letters ‘AVC’ ( Alabama Volunteer Corps) appeared in the sunlight. At 18
24 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6 years old, I was holding in my hand a lifetime find! After this discovery I was
speechless and spent an hour or so gathering myself and calling family and
friends to tell them what I was holding in my hand. You never know what can
come out the ground.” Troy Andrews

“About 3 years ago my Dad dug this brass cuff button in Portsmouth, Rhode
Island with a regiment number (“41”) on it. The button was French and belonged
to a Regiment known as the Soissonnais. Portsmouth is where the Revolution-
ary War Battle of Rhode Island was fought following the American siege of New-
port in 1778. A French fleet under Count d’Estaing arrived in Newport in 1778
to help fight the British...yet we could not find any indication that the 41st was
actually part of that campaign. After briefly landing troops on nearby Conanicut
island, (today known as Jamestown), d’Estaing feared a British reinforcement
fleet under Lord Howe would arrive soon from New York and he would be outnumbered... After only a few days ashore,
he re-boarded the troops from Conanicut and sailed out to meet the British in open water. That night a violent storm rolled
in and both the French and British fleets were heavily damaged. As a result, d’Estaing sailed to Boston for repairs, much
to the disappointment of the Continental Army.

“The Americans knew they could not take Newport without French help, thus the siege of Newport was lifted and
the Americans under Generals’ John Sullivan and Nathaniel Greene began a hasty retreat off Aquidneck Island. It was
then that the British pursued the fleeing Continental Army and the subsequent Battle of Rhode Island ensued. But to our
knowledge no French units had ever landed on Aquidneck therefore could not at that time have been present during the
battle. I did some more digging...this time not in the dirt, but into the history books and online and consulting with histori-
ans [including Don Troiani]. Not long after the Rhode Island Campaign, (October 1779) the British abandoned Newport.
In July, 1780 the French General Comte De Rochambeau returned with his own fleet and landed between 5,000-6,000
French troops, including the 41st Soissonnais. That French Army marched alongside Continental Troops from New
England to Yorktown, Virginia where they took part in that famous campaign and then marched back to New England.
Surely this explains how that little 41st Regiment button ended up in Portsmouth, RI.
Fast forward to [September 2019]: I was detecting a grassy field in southeast, Mass (with a Minelab CTX 30-30) when
I dug a very deep low tone that I was pretty certain was going to be another shotgun shell casing. About 9” down I
unearthed a flat button and was astonished to see that same exact French design and telltale “41”.... albeit on a bigger
button. What a great piece of history. I thought about something as I brought my new found button down to my hobby
bench and then retrieved the smaller one my Dad had found a few years ago. Both of these buttons had come from
French soldiers in the same Regiment who served in the American Revolution. After being lost and buried in the ground
in two adjoining states for over two centuries, I was re-uniting these buttons after 239 years. How cool is that? If only
those buttons could talk, what a story they could tell!” Joe Baker

“It was Saturday, June 1st [2019]. My son and I had gotten up early to go
meet our group, ‘All Metal Militia.’ We were headed to a yard in southwest
New Hampshire that one of the fellow members had gotten permission to do .
After a couple hours of not much success we decided to come up with another
plan but no one had any ideas. I let them know I had a permission at a 1761
house in southwest New Hampshire that we could detect. After contacting
the homeowner and assuring that it was okay we were on our way. When we
got there things started off good and continued to get better. First one of the
fellow members yelled, ‘I’ve got silver!’ He’s got a Mercury dime... About a half
hour later I hear [another] ‘I’ve got silver! “Another member had found another Mercury dime. I’m very happy my permis-
sion is producing and people are finding good targets.

“I decide to go over into this corner where I had found a Draped Bust a couple days earlier....coppers had also been
found in this corner and It had been absolutely pounded. As I’m walking along with my Garrett AT Gold...I get a nice
75-76 tone , and I know my machine well enough to know that it’s a copper. So I call the guys over and said, ‘What do
you guys think?’ One member scans it and says sounds like a coin on edge; another member scanned it and said it
sounded like trash. So at this point the whole group is watching me dig this target and filming live. I dig down roughly
five inches and pull out my pin pointer to scan the hole. My pinpointer beeps in the sidewall so I take my shovel and
gently break the sidewall I take my hand and scoop up a pile of dirt as I take the pile out of the hole A giant silver flips
out of my hand and hits the ground. [I think] What is that? That’s an eight reale! You just found an eight reale, dude! At
this point I have backed up; I’m shaking like a leaf and have tears in my eyes because we think I’d just found an eight
reale. So here we are all standing there high-fiving cheering looking at this coin in disbelief and I finally decide to pull
out my water to wash it off and come to realize it isn’t an eight reale; it is actually a 1771 French Ecu. We all continue
to sit there and admire it and take it all in and celebrate what I just found. It is probably the greatest find I’ve had in the
three years I’ve been doing this hobby. An unforgettable day for sure.” Joe Fostyck

NNoovveemmbbeerr--DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001199 AAmmeerriiccaann DDiiggggeerr®® 2255

“I’m digging September! On
Sunday, September 1, 2019
I went relic hunting at a cav-
alry camp once occupied
by General John Buford’s
cavalry as they pursued the
Rebel Army back through
Maryland after Gettysburg. My good friend Dustin Gordon and my dad
were along for the trip. Although this camp had been combed over for
years, we still had a great outing with our Minelab detectors. Five cuff-
size eagle buttons, numerous bullets, a kepi buckle, and a silver-plated
rosette emerged from the ground, proof that it’s never all gone. I also dug a rust-encrusted relic with a definitive
handle. I didn’t think much of it and sent it along with dad for a run through electrolysis. Little did I know, it would
become one of my best finds of the year. The next day I got a call from dad. The identity of the rusty iron item
had been revealed—it was half of a Civil War bullet mold! Once it was returned to my possession, I was able to
match a .36 cal. pistol ball and a bullet that I dug nearby, evidence that the mold half was a likely match for a .36
cal. Colt Navy revolver. It now resides in my relic room display with the matching bullets in place, as pictured. As
if that wasn’t enough, September offered up another bucket list find just a few weeks later. On September 17th,
the 157th Anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, my first SNY belt plate came to light on private property outside of
Sharpsburg! Given the location of this recovery, there’s a strong likelihood that this buckle was worn by a battle-
field survivor from the State of New York. Finding this plate on such a historic day was a thrilling and humbling
experience to say the least.” John Davidson

“I was digging at a colonial Cellar “[In the South Carolina Lowcountry] I dug this 1800 Mechanic slave tag on a
hole in southern VT with the All hot day in July 2019. It sounded like a deep button signal when I swung over
Metal Militia crew. I was using the it, just thought it was another flat button since I had dug about ten right before
‘9 Hot’ program with the XP Deus this. This is the first year of tags so it’s definitely a rare piece... On [another]
when I got a nice whispery ‘92’ high hot and humid day in July two friends and I decided to go to a new site. With-
tone that is indicative of a copper in the first 30 minutes we dug several King George Copper coins and many
coin, but when I dug down ten or so flat buttons...at that point we were digging as fast as we could without damag-
inches I found only a small, green, ing any relics! I started to wander off and then all of a sudden I walked into a
gear-shaped piece of copper, I hoard of signals. Flat buttons, shoe buckles, pewter spoons— I was digging
tossed it in my pouch and contin- it all. Then I got an ‘88’ signal...I was thinking a silver reale. I opened the plug
ued to hunt. When I got home later up and immediately saw the Masonic symbol! I called over my friends and
I took a closer look [thinking] ‘Is that we were all in shock that I had dug a silver Masonic broach with the English
a Bust?’ I broke out the tooth picks, broad arrow maker’s mark! I am thankful to have found it.
hydrogen-peroxide, and Q-tips and
went to work cleaning off the ver- In the same area in June at a very hot and mosquito infested site I dug an
digris and dirt to discover it was a 1842 Servant slave tag. We were digging a few military buttons and some flat
large cent, likely repurposed as a buttons when I...went back to the truck to get me a drink. After I cooled off I
spur rowel.” Kendall Edkins decided to turn on my XP Deus and swing right behind the truck in the middle
of the sandy road and got a ‘94’ signal load and clear. I dug up two shovel
26 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6 fulls of sand and rolls out this fantastic tag! This made my hunt and you bet I
soon had three bottom feeders within five feet from me swinging their hearts
out!” Harley Houston

November-December 2019 American Digger® 27

THE OHIO COUNTRY-1803

Recoveries from a pioneer homestead

By Ian “Mac” McAtee
Photos by Greg Shipley

It all began with a simple request through the years.” That was in the spring sidetracked by other projects. 
to a longtime landscape main- of 2014 and although Seth (my son) and The winter of 2015-16 had been
tenance customer of mine: I didn’t find any prehistoric artifacts that
“Hey Jean, could my son and I do some evening, we did manage to locate a scatter unusually mild and dry. On one beautiful
arrowhead hunting on your property?” of pottery and china sherds on a small rise. day in February I decided it was time to
Although we didn’t realize it at the time, We figured that spot was probably an old check out the area in Jean’s field where we
Jean’s reply would eventually open up a homestead. “If it’s okay with Jean,” I told had found the china. Seth couldn’t make
whole new realm of discovery. Seth, “We need to come back with our it on this hunt and it took me a while to
“Sure, go ahead and have fun,” she said. detectors someday.” That “someday” would find the site again. I fired up my Fisher
“There’s been a few found around here, be a full two years later, due to our getting F19, set the low iron tone to where it
was barely audible and started swinging.

28 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

The 1787 U.S, Army pewter button Above, part of the recovery team Three “diplomatic” buttons. Like
(Albert’s GI-23) shortly after recov- search the site of the old cabin the 1787 button in the far left
ery. Very little is known of this style. (depicted in the artist’s rendition photo, little is known about them.
on the opposite page). Below, early
________ 1800s Chinese porcelain fragments. ________
I could hear the rapid-fire iron These sherds, which were found
signals faintly and yet a non- on the surface, led to the discovery
ferrous tone would come in loud of the homesite.
and clear. This is great setup for
relic hunting in dense iron and Pewterware, an ornate shoe
my F19 loves to pick out even buckle frame, a silver-plated
the tiniest non-ferrous targets in brass cloak brooch, a cufflink
that environment. Very quickly, with a four-leaf clover design
it became apparent that I was and a multitude of buttons were
on an early pioneer homestead. found.  Of the buttons, there
were late 1700s “dandy” types,
tombacs, flat brass—with some
having floral patterns—and a
lone pewter example. 
November-December 2019 American Digger® 29

The site was rich in but-
tons. Left, a group of
identical gilt brass but-
tons from the same gar-
ment. These date to the
first half of the 19th cen-
tury. The tombac but-
tons at right date to at
least the 18th century.

Left, standard unadorned
civilian “flat buttons” were
for everyday wear, as
opposed to those in the
photo at right. Shown be-
low are four eras of mili-
tary buttons found at the

Barbee cabin site.

When I carefully brushed the claim to vast amounts of land north
dirt off that pewter button, and west of the Ohio River which
I could faintly see an eagle had been technically ceded to them
with stars above it! Having been a par- by the British, at the Treaty of Paris,
ticipant of numerous Wayne’s Legion following the Revolutionary War.
and regimental “frog-legged” eagle General Anthony Wayne’s victory at
button recoveries through the years, I Fallen Timbers, over the British-
knew that this was different. I couldn’t supported confederated Indian tribes,
wait to check out Albert’s book, Record resulted in their signing the Treaty of
of American Uniform and Historical Greenville, which was held at present-
Buttons.  day Greenville, Ohio. This treaty led to the British abandoning
their posts within the acknowledged limits of American
Before I left that evening, I was able to pluck out one coin, Investigating the old stone-lined well with a metal detector.
an 1839 half dime. Later that night, I identified the eagle but-
ton as a 1787 pattern United States army button (GI 23 in Al-
bert’s book). Since there were only a handful of men enlisted
in the standing army of that period and if Albert’s designa-
tion was correct, I knew this button had to be rare. The only
other example I have seen dug was by Greg Shipley at an early
trading post site here in western Ohio. At this point I knew
what I had to do. I needed to do some heavy research on this
new site. It reminded me of a wonderful article written by
William Plummer, “Reverse Research,” that was published in
the March-April 2013 issue of American Digger®. It was about
stumbling onto a site and then trying to figure out what had
happened there. It would take two and a half more years of
research, detecting, and a bulldozer to do exactly that.

The year 1795 was a pivotal time in the American expansion
of the West. Peace had been established, at least temporarily,
between the United States and the British-supported Indian
tribes. The Americans had been victorious in establishing their

30 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

Many coins were recovered at the location. From left-right, large cents dating from 1818 to 1853, with an 1828 half cent
piece; another group consisting of a Flying Eagle and Indian Head cent, a half dime, and three local tokens; two genuine
Spanish silver reales sit below a pair of counterfeit “pieces of eight.”

______________

territory, and also established a boundary line that allowed the that Kentucky militia campaign he would march within a mile
various Indian tribes to continue living in the northwestern of where he and his family would resettle in 1803 just north of
part of present-day Ohio, while the rest would be open to where Troy, Ohio stands today. 
American settlement.  Having established a
Many, in the flood of homestead on a spot that was
pioneers that poured into the centrally located to this area
Ohio country during this Having established a home- of early pioneer settlement,
period, were hardened back- B arb ee’s residence so on
woodsmen. William Barbee stead on a spot that was cen- became quite a meeting place
trally located to this area
and his family were no ex- of early pioneer settlement, for the local community. His
ceptions. Born September 14, daughter, Lucy, was known as
1759 in Culpepper County, the “belle” of the neighborhood
Virginia, William served in and many a young man desired
the Virginia Continental Line Barbee’s residence soon be- to be a suitor. Barbee became
and was with Washington the came quite a meeting place a Miami county judge in 1807
night he crossed the Delaware. and invested in property where
He also served at the battle of for the local community. Troy would later be built.
Trenton and at the siege of During the War of 1812, and at
Yorktown in 1781. Having fifty-two years of age, he served
received land in Kentucky for his ser- as captain of a volunteer company that
vice, Barbee settled close to present- was raised for the relief of Fort Wayne.
day Danville and soon married a Miss Afterwards, he obtained a position in
Mary Smith. the commissary department in Piqua
A large-scale Indian raid in 1782 and worked with Indian Agent John
resulted in the Battle of the Blue Licks, Johnston.
at which Barbee was a participant in Barbee died of a sickness at his
a retaliatory raid made by the Ken- home in Concord Township, Miami
tucky militia, north of the Ohio River. County, Ohio on September 21, 1813
This successful raid, which was led by and was buried in the Barbee family
George Rogers Clark, ended with the cemetery, a mile to the south of his
destruction of two Indian villages at homestead. The details of the lives of
Upper and Lower Piqua and also Lor- this pioneer family are fascinating but
imier’s store, located a few miles to the the world in which they dwelt is all
north. The French-Canadian trader, but impossible for the modern reader
Louis Lorimier, had supported many to relate to. However, through the re-
British and Indian raids through the coveries of our amateur archaeological
years. (During the past few years, we investigations, perhaps we can at least
have actually conducted archaeologi- snatch a glimpse of what life must have
cal digs at Lorimier’s store site.) Un- been like, back in those Ohio frontier
beknownst to Barbee, when he was on Iron hearth andiron with “eagle” motif. times. 

November-December 2019 American Digger® 31

Above, a clock key, a shoelace hook, and miscellaneous brass buckles were all part of the many tangible links to
the cabin’s occupants of long ago. At right, other artifacts included thimbles, watch winders, and furniture hardware.

______________

Please take a moment and read the words of Abraham in Miami county, Ohio, a most worthy and brave man, with
Thomas, who lived beside William Barbee in Ken- whom I have hunted, marched, and watched through many a
tucky and then later in Ohio:  long day, and finally removed with him to Ohio. Our return

through the beautiful, and then untouched forest of Ohio,

“The next year, 1782, after corn planting I again was an irregular march, neighbors, friends and confidants

volunteered in an expedition under General Clark, with the bending in small parties as best pleased themselves. We lived

object of destroying some Indian villages, about Piqua, on the as we chose on our guns, game being exceedingly abundant,

Great Miami River. On this occasion, nearly one thousand re-crossed the Ohio and returned to our homes by the way of

men marched out of Kentucky, by the route of Licking River. the Blue Licks, where earlier, in the same year, took place the
We again crossed the Ohio at the present site of Cincinnati. bloody defeat and sacrifice of Kentucky’s choicest defenders.”  

We proceeded immediately onward through the woods, Here’s an account of William’s future wife in 1782:
without regard to our former trail, and crossed Mad River,

not far from the present site of Dayton; we kept up on the east

side of the Miami, and crossed it about four miles below the “Ours (Fishers station) was often beset, and several killed

Piqua Towns. On arriving at Piqua, we found that the Indians out of it. One evening at dusk, when everything had for some

had fled from the village, leaving most of their effects behind. time been quiet, several of the girls left the confinement of the

During the following night I joined a party, to break up an fort to recreate themselves; they were sitting on a log under

encampment of Indians, said to be lying about what was called the fence, chatting and laughing, when an Indian mounted

the French store. We soon caught a the fence just behind them; the girls

Frenchman, tied him on horseback happened to see him, and sprang up.

for our guide, and arrived at the place One of them, Patty Smith, afterwards

in the night. The Indians had taken the wife of Captain Barbee, seized a

alarm and cleared out; we however stake and threatened to strike him. On

broke up and burned the Frenchman’s this the Indian retreated and the girls

store, which had for a long time, been escaped into the fort.” 

a place of outfit for Indian marauders, Daniel Boone was also a frequent
and returned to the main body early companion of Barbee as seen here:
in the morning, many of our men well

stocked with plunder. After burning “Captain William Barbee, Jacob
and otherwise destroying everything

about upper and lower Piqua towns, Copelin, one Boon [sic] and I, started

we commenced our return march. out in January for Kentucky River,

On this expedition, we had with us to lay in a stock of provisions for our

Captain Barbee, afterwards Judge A brass toy Put-n-Take spinner from an station; we took with us eight horses,
Barbee, one of my primitive neighbors early 19th century children’s board game. with sufficient salt—armed to the teeth

32 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

with rifles, scalping knives, and tomahawks with our powder Above, a variety of lead recoveries, including rifle balls
and ball. We only took with us beaten and parched corn for our and scrap lead. Below, pewter tableware fragments. Like
substance, confidently relying upon our rifles for an abundant all finds shown in this article, they were found during the
supply. We made several hunts on foot, in which Boon got lost
and strayed to a party of hunters, out near the present site controlled excavation of the cabin site.
of Frankfort. We saw no more of him until our return to the
station, and suspected he had been killed by the Indians.”    Ian “Mac” McAtee is a landscaper by trade and hopes
his life portrays God first and then family and friends. He
Much more information about the lives of this enjoys working, hunting, fishing and, of course, pursuing
early pioneer family could be written, but is early-American history.
beyond the scope of this article. However, this
amount of research made subsequent relic hunts at Jean’s • Minelab N AORTH GEORGI • Whites
farm much more intriguing. In October of 2018 our small • Fisher DETECTORS • Tesoro
band of “misfits” congregated at the Barbee site to per- • Teknetics • Makro
form a “shave and save,” as Greg Shipley so fondly calls • Garrett • NEL
it; a method that we have employed many times through • XP Deus • Coiltek
the years, with great success, where we utilize a bulldozer
to push off the plow zone a couple of inches at a time. Van Boone [email protected]
We then detect the area after each shave and hope to find 7579 Nashville Street
sub-plow zone features such as cellars, privies, wells, and Veteran Owned and Operated Ringgold, Ga. 30736
trash pits. We did locate the well and the cabin fireplace
on this project. The privies and the trash pits must have 423-834-2628
been located quite a distance from the habitation area.
Many fascinating relics were located from the Barbee
settlement period and up to the Civil War era, which il-
lustrate the types of items being utilized by the settlers.
I’ll let the images and captions accompanying this article
speak for themselves. 

I would like to thank several people that were in-
volved with this project: Jean, who graciously allowed us
to pursue this excavation on her property; Juda Moyer,
who allowed me to copy out of her book, Pioneer Rec-
ollections: Miami Valley of Ohio 1797-1850; Patrick and
Jennifer at the Troy history library and, of course, my fel-
low history hunters Dave, Doug, Greg, Jim, Ken, Mark,
Marlan, Seth, and W.B. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing
if talented people, such as these, could be utilized by pro-
fessional archaeologists on sites that are off limits to us
and vice versa? Archaeologists could be invited to sites
that, quite frankly, would never be pursued or located
with monies from government grants. Wouldn’t this be
beneficial, or am I being absurd? After all, are we really
“pothunters” and “looters,” when after much hard work
(and at no expense to the taxpayer), this information is
being shared with the public and a nice display is being
donated to a local pioneer museum? The museum staff
is thrilled, the community learns, and everybody wins!
Some in the professional community accuse us of “rip-
ping pages out of history books.” On the contrary; I be-
lieve amateur archaeologists have added pages to the his-
tory of our respective areas. When it comes down to it, we
are all stewards of our heritage.

Northgeorgiadetectors.com

November-December 2019 American Digger® 33

WATER
PROOF

HIP
MOUNT

RELIC
SAVING

PULSE
INDUCTION

TDI

BeachHunter

for m3o4reAinmfeoricvainsiDtigugser@® Vwohl.i1te5,sIeslseucet6ronics.com

A Shovel InDecember 2018, I got a call from my digging
Full of partners saying that the sign-ups for Diggin’
FIRSTS in Virginia were live on mytreasurespot.com. 
Each encouraged me to sign up for DIV 45, which would take
A summary of Diggin’ in place at Brandy Rock Farm in Culpeper, Virginia March 28-
Virginia (DIV) 45 with the 30, 2019.  Having never participated before in a paid, orga-
nized relic hunt, I signed up and was pleased to be put on the
Gone Diggin’ Crew alternate list.  Over the next few months, my name continued
to rise on the list and miraculously, just before it was finalized,
By Ralph Magee, Jr. I was given the opportunity to participate.  Needless to say, I
was thrilled that on my first such hunt I would be hunting
with the Gone Diggin’ crew.
Soon, the excitement led to the realization that I needed
to prepare for this adventure. Living nearby, just outside of
Richmond, Virginia, I had seen previous footage of this hunt
on Matt Howell’s YouTube channel, “Gone Diggin’.”  I con-
sider myself a seasoned relic hunter, treasure seeker, and ad-
venturer.   I’m an experienced metal detectorist and typically
use the XP Deus.  I’ve been blessed to recover some unique
pieces of history.  However, this would be my first hunt in the
highly mineralize red clay soil (hot ground) DIV is noted for,
where traditional VLF machines tend to struggle.

November-December 2019 American Digger® 35

Left, the Gone Digging crew are shown
taking a break in the pit; below, the au-
thor poses with Loy Milam. Loy is found-
er and producer for Diggin’ With Seven
podcasts every Thursday night, as well
as producer and cohost for American
Digger’s Relic Roundup, heard on Mon-
day nights. On the previous page, finds
from the hut site are shown.

It turns out this encompassed a bunch of
“firsts” for me. The first decision I needed
to make was regarding equipment.  Over
the next month, I struggled to determine if I should pur-
chase a pulse induction machine.  All of my teammates
have a Minelab GPX 4500. These require some experi-
ence to master the setup and tones, but is more capable
in hot ground, not to mention the additional effort it
takes to swing this detector.  Let’s face it, compared to
the XP Deus, which weighs in at a whopping two pounds,
the GPX is heavy.  Many relic hunters add a larger after-
market coil (making it even heavier) but even the stock T The First Day 
GPX coil can find relics deeper than what some people he team started in what is called the “Bean Field”
want to dig.  Next was to set my first goal.  This one was which first saw Confederate usage, followed by the
much easier. I wanted to dig a Civil War hut and recover a Union winter camps being set up there in 1863/64. 
Civil War glass artifact.  So, with the first of these “firsts” Thousands of relics have come from this field, and it’s amaz-
checked off the list, I made the reservations, signed the ing what is still being found. This is where I received my
release forms, submitted my payment, and secured my first GPX tutorial given by the team.  A few years back, Ross
event ride and accommodations.    was given this same lesson and now has become a seasoned
The day before the hunt, I was holding a Minelab GPX user.  Within a few minutes, and after comparing some
GPX 4500 in my hand for the first time as I loaded it into signals with the team, I had found my first good target, a
my vehicle for the trip to Culpeper.  Yes, I’m crazy and cuff button back.  I was quickly getting the hang of it and
this story is the first time my wife knows about my buy- had already pocketed a few pieces of melted camp lead and
ing a new detector (sorry, honey).  As I drove to pick up poncho grommets.  Targets in this field are tough and those
Jamie Henley, I was nervous. Would I be overwhelmed who could slow their search pace to a crawl were reward-
with frustration?  New machine, new tones, new soil, new ed with relics from the heavy iron patch. The tones on this
targets, and an all-new experience, I’m sure I’m not the pulse induction machine remind me of sounds from an old
first to ever question their abilities while embarking on a video game and the constant hum of the headphones can be
new adventure. mentally draining.  
The drive to Culpeper was beautiful; that coupled
with encouragement from Jamie settled my nerves.  Upon After a few hours, we decided to move to another part
arrival, we met up with Matt and Ross Walker of the Gone of the farm known as Wisconsin Hill, named for the troops
Diggin’ crew, checked into our rooms and made dinner who camped there.  The iron mat was again thick, and slow
plans.  Over dinner, the team established our first plan of and patient sweeps of the coil was key.  This location lived
attack for the coming days and turned in early with bat- up to its reputation of holding lots of buttons and produced
teries charging for a full day of hunting. my first general service eagle button and quickly yielded
five more.  I also witnessed my first shallow trash pit, found

36 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

Right, the bottle sees daylight for
the first time since a Federal soldier
discarded it during the Civil War.
Both sides are shown below.

the hole was showing a good ash line.  It wasn’t long be-
fore we found some brick and a few bullets.  Though the
pit fizzled out relatively quickly, the hillside produced a few
relics, including an eagle “I” coat button, and a Carson City
minted Seated Liberty dime. As lunchtime approached, we
decided to return to the Bean Field, pushing farther and far-
ther up the hill in search of Civil War hut sites.  Upon enter-
ing the field, Matt chased a good, high-tone signal and dug
by Matt, that produced a few pieces of glass, miscellaneous a part of a crossed cannon insignia.  I had carried both a
brass, and some bullets.   Minelab GPX and XP Deus into the field, so I stopped to see
Ross had moved down the hill and located what he what the VLF machine could do to help find any remaining
thought was a pit, so he called in the cavalry (us) to help pieces.  Luckily, the XP chased down two more pieces and by
move the dirt.  On the way down with Jamie I had a signal the time it was all done Matt had found roughly 90% of two
I just couldn’t pass up, and dug my first knapsack hook.  As sets of crossed cannons.  
we joined the rest of the team, we found another signal that The team pushed on, farther towards the back of the
ended up being a barrel band, a good sign that you’re digging field, finding a few bullets and some small brass targets
a possible hut site (wooden stave barrels were used as chim- such as button backs and rivets.  Matt and I climbed the
neys).  Unfortunately, the best relic we recovered was a busted ridge and noticed Ross was hunkered down just below us. 
food jar, coupled with lots of iron and ash.  The team searched He soon motioned for us to check a signal he had located,
for another pit signal for an hour and Matt quickly confirmed it
or so without luck, then decided sounded good, a deep large iron
to end the day with a boost to our tone.  Digging down, we found
confidence.  We moved to a spot several barrel bands crossing one
known to hold a decent number of another and knew we needed to
deep, shot bullets. Here I dug my expand the hole.  Just beyond we
first DIV bullet, followed by sev- found a light ash line and then a
eral more, and we ended day one color change in the soil only a foot
with over 30 bullets. into the ground. We wondered if
it was possible that we were in
T The Second Day  a shallow hut site as the color
his was by far one of the change was indicative of a floor. 
most exciting days of relic Veteran digger Tony Hochstetler
hunting that I’ve ever ex- was nearby, and we asked if he
perienced.  We spent the morning Not all bottles survive the trauma of over would give us his opinion, as
looking for pits.  Within minutes, 150 years underground. This small food we value his hut/pit digging
we had located a good signal and jar is slated for reconstruction. experience.  He confirmed our

November-December 2019 American Digger® 37

initial thoughts and stayed to provide the bottle. With each probe of the tool
guidance, as we followed the floor more and more of the bottle came into
and worked to establish the corners view and we started to see embossed
and walls of our first hut.  writing.   Ever so slowly, I continued
The first brass relic was the keeper to work around the bottle, and, with
to a sword belt plate and at this point every clump of clay removed, it ap-
we were starting to get pretty excited peared to be a complete flask.  With
about the potential of this hut site.  one final movement I freed the bottle
In no time we started to see pieces of from its red clay grave and proudly
whiskey bottles, followed by several displayed my first complete Civil War
larger iron pieces.  After some research bottle for the crowd of folks watching
we determined that one was the side us dig the hut. It read, “WESTFORD
breach loader mechanism of a Sharps GLASS CO, WESTFORD CONN.” I
carbine rifle and the other piece was was completely overcome with emo-
related to a cannon.  The first non- tions, asking myself, how did I get
metal target at the site, other than glass sherds, was found here?  What have I done that deserves this kind of recog-
by Jamie: a lice comb manufactured by the Vulcanite Rub- nition from my friends?  Little did I know, it was about to
ber Company. get even better.
Continuing down one of the hut walls, we exposed As the high fives settled, our team went back to work
another glimpse of a glass bottle.  Admittedly, as I write in the hut.  Continuing down the far wall, Jamie found a
this, the emotions of the good concentration of ra-
day still strike me.  You tion cans and began slowly
see, being new to DIV and “And then it happened: the Predator hand chipping them out off the

digging huts, my crew had tool sent a pile of ration tin across the hut floor and sidewall of the
already determined that hut.  And then it hap-
they wanted to fulfill my floor and suddenly the green patina of a pened: the Predator hand
goal of digging a DIV Civil round disk appeared.  Each of us yelled tool sent a pile of ration

War bottle.  Immediately, ‘STOP!’ at almost the exact time.” tin across the hut floor
everyone stopped.  I was and suddenly the green
put into the position to ex- patina of a round disk ap-
cavate this potential glass relic.  Completely humbled, my peared.  Each of us yelled “STOP!” at almost the exact
nerves racing and heart pounding, I took hold of my hand time.  We knew immediately, based on its size and color,
digger and slowly started picking at the red clay to expose that this could be a Civil War ID tag.  Any doubt was
erased when we picked it up, and ex-
citement filled the air again.  This was
the first ID tag any of us had ever dug
or even witnessed being recovered. 
This find would go to Ross, who found
the hut.  I have no words that can de-
scribe our feeling of accomplishment. 
An overwhelming amount of the rel-
ics we find as hunters and preservers
of history don’t have a positive link to
an individual.  However, I believe this
is one of the most personal relics one
could ever recover.
At this point we had found three
corners of the hut and most of the
fourth wall was exposed.  Eventu-
ally we would find the firebox, which
surprisingly yielded few relics.  This
soldier must have taken pride in his
Matt’s two crossed cannon artillery insignias, along with his other hut and appears to have been highly
finds. At the top of the page is a Union artillery “A” cuff button organized.  The hut floor had a thin
found in the hut. ash line, showing that it was possibly

38 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

Private William Quinn, Battery A,
First Massachusetts Light Battery

On March 29th, 2019, Ross Walker found a deep iron signal
which led the Gone Diggin’ crew to the excavation of a ten-by-ten-
foot winter hut site where the identification tag of William Quinn was
found. Finding a Civil War hut site is treasured in and of itself, but
to be able to know the name of the man whose hut you’re standing
in 155 years later, is an anomaly. Since the historic recovery we’ve
learned the following about this soldier:

William Quinn was born in 1842 in Providence, Rhode Island.
On August 28, 1861, when he was nineteen years old, he and
151 other men enlisted to serve a three-year term with the First
Massachusetts Light Battery. Battery A was under the command of Captain Josiah Porter of Cambridge.
Private Quinn was assigned to the 6th detachment of the third section (Centre) of the battery. The bat-
tery was armed with four brass smoothbore 6-pounder cannons, and two 12-pound howitzers. The
center section would have initially been assigned the smoothbore 6-pound guns, but for only a short
duration, as these were soon exchanged for four 10-pound Parrott rifles.
During Quinn’s term of enlistment his battery, attached to the Sixth Army Corps, fought in many Civil
War battles—Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill, Glendale (Charles City Crossroads), Malvern Hill, Antietam,
Fredericksburg, Salem Heights, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, and
the Siege of Petersburg, to name a few. Astonishingly enough, it is recorded that this battery lost only
21 enlisted men during the war. Impressive, given the intensity of some of the battles listed above.
From December of 1863 to May of 1864 the battery was ordered to make winter quarters at Brandy
Station, the site of DIV 45, in modern day Culpeper, Virginia. The battery was to dig into the red clay
hillside of what is now called the Bean Field to prepare for a long and cold winter. There Quinn likely in-
dulged in the camp life of a seasoned battle veteran, drinking whiskey and telling stories by the campfire
about the hardships of battle.
It was very common to find sutlers in these winter camps; civilian merchants who sold provisions to
the enlisted men. By this time in the war, mortality had to be on every soldier’s mind. A common item
a soldier could purchase from a sutler was an ID tag to carry on his person. If the soldier was to fall in
battle, it allowed him to be identified, with the hopes his remains would be returned to his family. Sutlers
were common folk and not always highly educated. This can be seen in the spelling used in certain
words on Quinn’s ID tag.
William Quinn survived the war and mustered out of service August 29, 1864 in Charlestown, Virgin-
ia. He would go on to live in Rockingham, New Hampshire and marry Harriet Mellissa Sanborn. In 1882,
at the age of 40, he passed away in Hennepin, Minnesota of reasons unknown at the time of this article.
The research continues, but if readers should have information not mentioned here regarding Wil-
liam Quinn, or can locate a photo of him, please contract Ross Walker at [email protected].

regularly swept. Trash was not scattered throughout, the W The Third Day
firebox wasn’t full of discarded junk, and the recovered e started the day back in the Bean Field, spend-
relics were well kept.  The spoils pile of the hut gave up a ing significant time around the hut site we dug the
few additional relics including a Union eagle “A” cuff but- day before.  The team looked for that next signal
ton, likely belonging to the soldier whose name is on the which would get us into another hut site.  Right out of the
ID tag.  We wrapped up day two with the least fun part gates, we scored a few more bullets and Jamie found the first
of pit digging: filling in the hole.  It’s easy to forget how carved bullet.  Not having any luck identifying hut signals
much dirt you’ve moved to find relics but you sure won’t with the metal detectors, Ross decided to step out a test hole. 
forget having to move it back into the hole.  Oftentimes these winter camp layouts were regimented and

November-December 2019 American Digger® 39

additional hut sites may be located a set distance from a pre- The three-day hunt provided a lot of “firsts” for
viously confirmed site.  Sure enough, Ross’s test hole showed author Ralph Magee, including the finds shown here.
signs of ash, so we began to expand the hole.  We moved a lot
more dirt to find two broken bottles—a barrel mustard and a _____________
cathedral pickle bottle.

Soon the hill became crowded.  Word quickly spread
about the huts and before you knew it there were lots of hunt-
ers searching for their own hut site to dig.  Our team decided
to venture out to new ground and spent the next couple of
hours searching for new targets and finding scattered relics. 
To put the icing on the top of DIV 45 cake, so to speak, we
met up with Diggin’ with Seven (Loy Milam) and the Hoover
Boys back at the shot bullet field, each of whom are celebrities
in the YouTube metal detecting community.  However, I must
say you’d never meet more down-to-earth guys who share our
passion for relic hunting.  All of us put a few more bullets in
our pocket and it was a perfect way to close out my incredible
first DIV experience.  

What can be said about all the “firsts” in this article? Well,
first (sorry, I had to get one more in), I want to publicly thank
the DIV hunt committee for inviting me to participate.  I have
done my very best to accurately depict what an opportunity it
is to participate in their event.  To my Gone Diggin’ crew, I’m
proud to call you guys my brothers.  Thank you for encourag-
ing me to share this experience with you.  I will never forget
those three days of “firsts.”  I’m humbled by your friendship
and generosity.  Finally, to the readers: if you made it this far,
I thank you.  I hope each of you has a partner or friends who
you value and values you in return.  Finding relics is a pretty
sweet bonus, but experiencing it alone isn’t near-
ly as satisfying.  I hope to meet you at a future
event because this will not be my last.  To close,
I encourage you to follow the adventures of the
Gone Diggin’ crew on YouTube.

Ralph Magee lives in Hanover county, Virginia and is an
avid outdoorsman who loves recovering colonial and Civil
War history. Ralph also enjoys finding Native American arti-
facts, shark teeth, and fossils. 

40 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

POWERED BY

November-December 2019 American Digger® 41

The Ring and Blanket Hills

A WWII battlefield in a North African desert provides a relic hunting adventure.

By Bob Roach

42 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

t was when I was visiting rural southwest Vir-
ginia, oddly enough, that I was able to locate
traces of several WWII gun emplacements on

Ia desert battlefield in North Africa. I was at
my mom’s place, and she and my wife and I were
watching a rather dull DVD movie that made lit-
tle sense to me. So, while sitting on Mom’s couch I
started studying Google Earth imagery on my iPad
and found the visible traces of military activity on
a particular battleground in the Dark Continent.
That was in January, I think. In late July, back in Af-
rica where I was living at the time, I made the long
road trip to the battlefield.
American, German, and Italian troops had
fought there, in a sprawling area at least seven
miles long and I suppose four miles wide. Driving A full bladder led to the accidental
to there, I was still some distance from the areas of discovery of this WWII ordnance.

the heaviest fighting when a full bladder required
me to pull over to the side of the narrow, fenceless
highway. There in the dirt at the roadside, lying on
the surface, was the nose-cone of an artillery shell or aerial several miles, and most of them had witnessed military ac-
bomb. The German columns using that same road in 1943 tion. First occupied by Italian soldiers before being captured
had been strafed and bombed repeatedly by Allied planes by American G.I.s, shortly afterward they had been attacked
during the battle, and the nose-cone was likely a relic from by German troops. So the potential was there to find artifacts
those attacks. from three nations. The weather was more pleasant than it
I had several interesting adventures over the next two had been two months prior, with the temperature only get-
days in the desert’s 110 degree heat, but most of those esca- ting up to the mid 90s. Which might seem uncomfortable,
pades, to include two unsuccessful attempts to locate some but the humidity in Africa, or at least the part I found myself
particular remote American infantry positions, don’t fit into in, is much lower than where I grew up in the American
the context or confines of this story. However, on the after- southeast. 
noon of the second day and for a brief time on the morning These days I drive a Jeep Patriot, which, while not the
of the third I was able to visit some of the positions, located absolutely perfect vehicle for off-road driving in rugged con-
in a long and undulating range of hills, which I’d spotted ditions, serves close enough. After I’d motored to the day’s
when I was visiting mom. These two sojourns produced hunt area, I parked my car a few hundred feet to the side of
a paltry handful of bullets. But more interestingly, I came the one main road in the area. Hidden behind some hills,
across dozens of foxholes, ranging from slit trenches, small hopefully no one would bother it. Then I started hiking.
one-man holes, and positions clearly dug for two or more After going no more than a quarter of a mile from the
men. Still larger holes were obvious artillery emplacements road, the very first places I searched were in and around some
and observation posts. I of the same foxholes I had
took a keen interest in all explored on my first trip.
these excavations, and used Right away I found the slug
up just as much time wan- of a .50 caliber bullet, a bat-
dering about and taking pho- tle relic that was just under-
tos as I did detecting. neath the sand, and which
I drove back in Septem- gave out a loud and solid
ber for three days of search- signal. Two or three car-
ing, and after checking into tridge casings from smaller
my hotel (eighty dollars caliber bullets quickly fol-
for three nights, but you lowed. These were not in the
get what you pay for), be- foxholes, but nearby them.
gan the return to the ridges Aside from some ration
where I’d found the bullets A relic of the fighting here, this. 50 caliber cans, I was to find nothing
mentioned above.  bullet was found by a foxhole. One of these in any foxholes themselves;
not on this day, or on the
These rocky and sandy defenses is shown on the opposite page.

ridges and valleys ran for following two. 

November-December 2019 American Digger® 43

Imight point out that the detector I normally use for This 1942 high school class ring was lost by
desert hunts, such as on this trip, is a very lightweight an American soldier. It was probably given to
model, and perfectly suited for breaking down and
fitting into a backpack. As it detects objects at ade- him by his sweetheart back in the states.
quate but not great depths, it is reasonable to assume that
on this three-day hunt I might have missed some buttons
and bullets and such buried under some of the partially
collapsed foxholes’ foot or more of gravel and sand. On
the other hand, I know from experience that my machine
would have picked up larger signals, such as canteens and
helmets, at good depths.

About an hour into the first day’s hunt, about a foot
away from one of the dozens of foxholes on the very front
line of the American positions on that part of the battlefield,
I quite unexpectedly pulled up a high school class ring. It is
10 karat gold, and in excellent condition, but it wasn’t until
I examined it closely that night with the aid of a magnify-
ing glass that I saw the number “19” on the exterior of one
side of its shank, and “42” on the other. The ring seems too
small for a man’s finger, and my guess is that this belonged
to a G.I.’s sweetheart. Assuming that the couple both gradu-
ated the same year, the soldier was likely 19 years old when
44 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

Almost every hill in the area was fortified and occupied by soldiers from one
of three nations: Germany, Italy, and the United States. Foxholes, such as
those on the previous page and below, are scattered throughout.

he somehow dropped the ring. It is engraved with the ini-
tials “R.W.,” and the words “Central High” appear near the
head. A likeness of what is probably the school’s central
structure is also visible. Unfortunately, the actual name of
the high school is nowhere to be seen.  

I searched that area of that particular ridge very closely,
but other than numerous additional cartridge casings and
bullet tips the only thing I found was a tiny broken... some-
thing. I’m not sure what it is, to tell the truth, but on its face
is what appears to be a large sailing vessel. Other finds on
the first day included a handful of unfired bullets raked up
from the lip of a foxhole. I say “raked,” because on this ex-
pedition I was using a telescoping hoe/rake device, which
more often than not spared me from having to bend my
back or get on my knees to dig, and which also very usefully
doubled as a walking stick.  Shortly after unearthing the live
rounds I hiked back to my car and called it a day. 

I was back the next morning, early, for the first full
day of hunting. The day actually started out rather chilly
and would grow hotter as the hours drew on, and the force
of the winds ranged from a welcoming and cool breeze to
strong gusts which tossed sand and dust in my face. Flies

November-December 2019 American Digger® 45

This two-foot section of an army blanket
was eyeballed by the author. It is shown
in situ (left) and after being removed from
the ground (below). On the opposite page

are the total finds from the trip.

and other bugs often swarmed around me. I was appro-
priately clothed and equipped, though, to deal with these
vicissitudes. And, having long since learned not to overex-
ert myself, I would take frequent breaks whenever I felt I
needed them. 
I began by re-searching some of the same spots I’d hit
the day previous, then moved farther into the ridges and
valleys, at one spot being about, I guess, two miles from
my parked car. There was little vegetation in this part of the
desert. Largely barren it was, unattractive it was not, and I it loose from the earth and stretched it out a little, it turned
thoroughly enjoyed the scenery.  out to be a square segment cut from a green Army blanket,
Bullet tips, to include many more of those from .50 just a little larger than 2 x 2 feet. I left it behind, and started
caliber rounds, were plentiful. Just when I began to think to move on. Then I had a change of heart, walked back, and
it odd that I hadn’t found any of the cartridge casings for retrieved it. Cleaned up as best it can be, it now rests among
this type of ammunition, my detector gave out a powerful other artifacts in a display case. 
signal. I dug carefully, fearful that the object might prove Later, in the twilight, I was descending yet another
to be a hand grenade or small mortar round, but instead hill, progressing toward my car, when a small pack of wild
what came out of the earth were two dogs trotted by, two hundred feet or
.50 casings, within an inch or two of more from me and further down the
one another. Not far away I found an Later, in the twilight, I was slope, moving at an angle ninety de-
descending yet another hill, grees from my intended path. These
Ounmarked button. progressing toward my car, canines either didn’t notice me, or
ne small, flat valley, mea- when a small pack of wild simply chose to ignore my presence.
suring perhaps 50 x 50 I’m a dog lover, but these mutts were
yards and surrounded on dogs trotted by... probably best left alone. I got to my
three sides by low hills, car, ate my second MRE of the day,
produced a handful of bullets, a 1922 French coin, and a and then drove back to my hotel.   
small, tin square marked with the words “FOR CANNON,” The third day... Well, what about it can I recount to
“U.S.,” and the symbol for ordnance. I also found several our readers that would be of any interest? Likely, not
“whatchamacallits” which are almost certainly ordnance much. I purposely slept late that morning to recover from
related.  Leaning against one hillock, and with my head the exertions of the previous two days, and in the late
resting on my backpack, it was here that I took my longest morning and for most of the afternoon spent a largely
rest of the day. fruitless but nonetheless mostly enjoyable time trying to
The most interesting find of the afternoon was a non- find two other parts of the battlefield, each located several
metallic one, protruding from the sand, which I spotted on miles from where I had been searching earlier. I couldn’t
the slope of yet another hill. It appeared to be a tarp, or locate one area at all, and the second area—a large hill
something of the sort. I photographed it, and when I pulled mass where German troops and tanks had attacked

46 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6

American infantry—I think I did at last find, but to The very first find had me excited for a blissful
ingress it would have required parking on what was likely moment, as I believed I’d recovered a badge, but
a private dirt road and then walking a very good distance brushing away the sand and encrusted pebbles
across plowed fields. And there was no one around to ask revealed the object to instead be a tiny, mangled
permission to park there. I now regret that I didn’t simply nose cone to some sort of ordnance. From a German rifle
put a note on my windshield, to let people know where grenade, perhaps.  Or maybe it wasn’t from a piece of ord-
I’d be and what I was doing. I even had several prepared nance at all. Whatever it was, though, it wasn’t a badge.
notes typed out just for this and similar contingencies,
written in the native language. The truth is that I forgot A few cartridge casings and pieces of shrapnel later I
about these notes’ existence, and I was kind of fed up came across nine spent .45 casings, some of which I had to
by that point, anyway. I’d been driving around, often in dig, and some of which were on the surface. As the magazine
circles, for about four hours.   for the Army pistol of that caliber held only seven rounds,
the casings I found were almost certainly from a Thomp-
So back I went to near where I’d hunted for the first son submachine gun. I photographed these, trekked to and
two days, this time managing to find a dirt trail leading searched a deep and wide ravine that produced nothing,
off from the paved road a little farther west than where explored another hill that produced some fired bullet tips,
I’d earlier exited. I took this trail for a few minutes, and called it a day, and drove back to my hotel.
then took off cross country, northeast, for about half a
mile. I was apprehensive about this short drive, fearful This expedition didn’t produce any spectacular finds, I
that my car might not clear some of the larger rocks, or must admit, though the class ring and blanket square were
that the wide, high, dry brushes that I was driving over kind of neat. But I absolutely enjoyed myself; had had a blast,
might do some harm to the undercarriage. But it did, and in fact. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
they didn’t, so all turned out well.

November-December 2019 American Digger® 47

When all is said and
done, it is up to each
collector to preserve history

Caretakers ofby preserving the artifacts.
the Sacred

by Richard G. Williams, Jr.

O n a hot, humid Sunday afternoon, July 20, 1997, I
drove a van full of my teenage boys’ Sunday school
class to Lexington, Virginia. The town that holds the
remains of both Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson lies about
thirty miles south of my home in the Shenandoah Valley. We
were headed there for a historic event—the funeral of Stonewall
Jackson’s horse, Little Sorrel. Men and women in period dress,
a bagpiper, Confederate reenactors and a cavalry unit added to
the solemn atmosphere. The bones of the legendary horse had
been stored in a box in the Virginia Military Institute’s museum
since 1989. 
When that information was made known to the Virginia
Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a prop-
er interment and funeral were planned. The bones were to be
cremated, put in a walnut coffin and then buried in front of
Jackson’s statue on the parade grounds in front of the VMI
barracks. The ceremony lasted forty-five minutes and includ-
Yes, give me the land where the ruins are spread, ed four reenactors lowering the casket into the grave. Those
And the living tread light on the hearts of the dead… in attendance were then invited to take a handful of dirt col-
Yes, give me the land that hath legends and lays. lected by the UDC from the Civil War battlefields from across
That tell of the memories of long vanished days… Virginia where Jackson and Little Sorrel had battled Yankees,
and toss it in on the casket while a band played “Dixie.” I ea-
Abram Joseph Ryan, Poet-Priest of the South gerly participated, but also held back a small portion of the
dirt and slipped it into my pocket. 
48 American Digger® Vol. 15, Issue 6 The crowd was dismissed after a closing prayer, and a lone