Hauptmann

Closeups of our Confederate Enfield. I purchased this for Kim at J.M. Cohen & Sons in New Orleans over twenty years ago... I believe I paid just under $300 for it at the time and it was the pick of their Enfields they had in stock.

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Closeups of the date:

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And the makers marks from the central medal:

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Some GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) medals and insignia:

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Not sure of the exact period of this piece but I've seen many of these small pocket pistols from the Civil War and post Civil War period. It's only marking is the name Reliance on the top of the barrel. It's still in perfect operating condition:

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And the makers mark:

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Eastmann and Sons

Philladelphia

This is a cutdown NCO sword which I can only assume had been damaged so was remade into a dagger. I got this one at a small antique/junk shop that was about a half mile from our home in Dunedin Florida. I believe I paid $14 for it at the time which again was well over twenty years ago.

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And some miscellaneous miniballs that hit their targets and were flattened or otherwise mutilated:

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Here's some mini balls and bullets... first off, a grouping my father found at Gettysburg when he was a boy:

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A grouping I purchased there over twenty years ago:

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Some dug (by others) at various sites along with some buttons. The larger button (only the back) is Confederate and marked as having been made by a company in Richmond Virginia.

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The bullet on the bottom is a pain bullet showing teeth marks of a wounded soldier who chewed it to help ease the pain during surgery.

Here's what I'm guessing was a cap insignia showing the unit to which the individual belonged:

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These are Civil War Tokens minted and used by shopkeepers to make up for the absense of small change during the war as folks tended to hoard hard money during the conflict:

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The one on the left is unusual in that the reverse is rotated out of alignment from the obverse of the coin.

This is a set of pocket knives dug from an encampment (again not by me):

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And a round of shot I purchased in Gettysburg many moons ago:

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These on the other hand I did find... on our old property near Bristol Florida and not far at all from Torreya State Park... about five minutes or so as the crow flies.

I believe the first three items may have been from a cartridge box/pouch:

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This next item is a heel plate from a Cavalryman's boot:

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These were all found just outside our house.

At the Torreya site there are six gun emplacements which were used for cannons covering the Appalachicola River in case the Yanks decided to come inland from the blockade fleet. The C.S.S. Chattahoochee was a major presence on the river in helping to keep the Yankees out. But in 1863 she blew her boilers off Bristol and sank. She was raised and towed to Columbus Georgia, site of the iron works which are still there... however now being used as a civic and convention center. She was repaired just in time to be burned and sunk at the end of the war. The Confederate Naval Museum is nearby and has information and relics from her and several other wrecks discovered in the area as well as the raised remains of one of the Confederate ironclads as well as the Chattahoochee.

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Here's links to a couple of sites on her history:

http://www.hnsa.org/ships/chatta.htm

http://home.ozconnect.net/tfoen/tragic.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Chattahoochee

There were other Confederate units, both Infantry and Cavalry in our area and there are even legends of a payroll as well as much buried wealth from when there was a threatened Yankee invasion of the coastal areas and folks moved into our area to escape such a threat.

Hi all,

Here's a few odds and ends I've collected over the years for both myself and Kim as we're both very interested in the American Civil War... or as we Southerners prefer to call it: "The War Between The States" or "The Late, Great Unpleasantness".

First off, a cartridge pouch insignia:

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This was dug (not by me) and is in very good condition.

A hammer, most likely from a Springfield rifle... also dug (again not by me):

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Here's another view of the buttons showing the material and thread that is still attached:

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And here's a wheat cent found there on that same day:

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I was a late comer to this site. Many detectorists had gone before me and made alot more impressive discoveries... training grenades, canteens, helmets, bayonets, etc. You name it they probably found it. But it amazes me to this day that one could still find cloth and thread intact after sitting out in the weather for all those years. And also that you could still find things on the islands from the invasion practice after Lord only knows how many major storms, hurricanes, tourists, etc. had been through the area.

If you're ever in North Florida near Tallahassee I urge you to try and visit this site. Also, over near Hosford which is near Quincy and Tallahassee is the site of a POW camp. Men of the Afrika Korps were held there and worked the local farms. There's nothing left from what I understand but once in a while a relic of those men pops up in the farm fields... a belt buckle or button, etc. Sadly I never was able to visit that site... I wish I had but perhaps I'll have another chance when we go back to visit with friends from time to time.

Here's some sites on the Camp:

http://www.campgordonjohnston.com/

http://www.kilroywashere.org/004-Pages/Gor...D-GJohnson.html

I hope you've enjoyed my little journey through time.

Dan

Hi all,

Here's a few things I found back in 1995 with my detector. They're from Camp Gordon Johnson which was set up and used to train U.S. troops for amphibious landings.

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It was on May 21st 1995 that I detected part of the main Camp. There are still roads, the remains of concrete buildings and other structures, albeit overgrown in varying degrees. It was a chilly day and the wind was blowing. I was alone listening to my detectors signals in the headphones. As I started to find things I could almost see men in olive drab running, jumping... shooting at the range. The sounds of rifle and machine gun fire. Small squads of men taking breaks to eat and rest. I found one such spot where I found all of the buttons pictured. I also found the remains of their meal wrappers, cans, etc. where they'd been buried all those many years before. It was eerie and the closest thing I can think of to traveling in time.

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It's down not too far from Tallahassee, the Florida state capitol. A large part of the old Camp was long ago converted to homes, etc. and it's been very popular for retirees and is known as Lanark Retirement Village. Here's a shot of the converted officers quarters:

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The Camp was originally named Camp Carrabelle after the community it took over. Then it was renamed Camp Gordon Johnson after A Cavalry Colonel by the same name who was awarded the Medal of Honor in WWI. He was the son of Confederate General Robert Daniel Johnston.

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/gjohnstn.htm

It was in use from 1941 to 1946 and covered 165,000 acres in North Florida and also encompassed St. George and Dog Islands which were uninhabited at the time. They were used as the sites for invasion training/beach landings.

We once stayed on St. George Island for a family reunion. I walked the dunes and beaches with my detector and found one of the bullet shells in my collection. At the main camp I found the rest of the artifacts including buttons with canvas material and thread still attached! Most of these items were on or just below the surface and as you can tell by the buttons in excellent condition even after all these years.

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Hi all,

Seems we have a new section... hope these are appropriate here.

First off is a birthday card which was sent out by Hitler's staff thanking folks who sent him greetings, presents, etc., on his birthday:

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A piece of stationary... like a note card I believe:

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Closeup of the eagle:

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An envelope:

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Closeup of the address:

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A view of what the interior looks like where it was originally opened:

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And a note that I can only assume was from the GI who originally took this as a souvenir... or traded for it at some point. Seems it was filled with various ribbons:

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One can only imagine how many such things were brought back by all those GI's and various allied troops at the end of the war.

Dan

Hi all,

Just found this photo when I was looking through an old album and thought I'd share it. This was probably about a year into my Soviet collection. Yet another display I put together only to have to remake it and change it a gazillion times since as I've added... and added... and... well, ya'll know the drill.

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Dan

My Heer:

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And last, but not least... my HJ:

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Dan

Hi all,

Here's what I have left in the way of German buckles. Used to have Luftwaffe's in both combat and utility, a few more Heer, a couple more Imperial as well as one that had the complete belt dated 1916 as well as the SA that now resides with Pat up in Canada.

First off my two remaining Imperial's:

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And some shots of my other armbands, pennants and such:

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There's a few of those that I sure wish I'd held onto. But we can't keep it all. Wish we could.

Dan

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Hi all,

I believe what I have here is a Kreis level armband... but not positive as to the exact rank level within that group.

In my opinion it's about as mint as they come and complete with the RZM tag. No moth nips, no damage... nothing. Picked it up in an antique store over twenty years ago (yes, that magic number again ) for $45 if I remember correctly. No earthly idea what they would run now. It's one of only two armbands I still have from a slightly larger collection of armbands, pennants and such I used to have.

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Thank you for your comments!

Cam, It used huge 15,24 mm ammo /Russian 6 lines, or 0.60 cal./ The breech opens to the left, the fire rate is poor at 9 - 10 shots per minute. The extracting system was not good. The Ottoman army had much better weapons - the American-made Peabody-Martini /the same like the British Martini-Henry/ and Winchester.

Dan, sure I will, though have no idea whan will start rebuilding. A guy has the wood for the cavallery one, but still has no will to sell it. The other one needs also lots of work.

Dan /the other Dan/, that's a really bad story, any chances to get the pieces back??

Hi Theodor,

Short answer... I sincerely doubt it.

PM sent.

Thanks,

Dan

Hi Theodor,

"Very" nice rifle you have there! Only one I've ever seen. And the mechanism seems very reminiscent of the U.S. Trapdoor Springfield. Sounds like the same problem that was facing the U.S. at the end of the Civil War... tons of the old Springfield muskets/rifles but they were by then obsolete. What to do? Convert them to fire cartridges instead of the old front loading system.

I was supposed to inherit one from my father... sadly it, along with all his other guns and other collections were stolen from my. Long and rather sad, depressing and frustrating story. I sure miss his stuff as they were all pieces I grew up with. But I do hope to somehow manage to get a trapdoor one day... they are terrific rifles and great pieces of history. But these Russian rifles sure look tempting as well. I'll have to keep my eye out at future gun shows and such.

Thanks so much for sharing this great piece of history. And best of luck on the restorations.

Dan

For that kind of money back then it's probably 18k. Remember, gold was in currency circulation and "no big deal," although back then a dollar MEANT something. I've got an 1898 receipt for a delivery of two TONS of home heating coal that cost... two dollars.

I love the way that eagle!!!

Hi Rick,

Many thanks! Would still love an absolute confirmation if you or any of the others happen to run into such somewhere. But after having dealt with tons of plated or rolled items in my time dealing with pocket watches for instance, I've not often seen them look quite as nice or hold up quite as well as the gold on this piece. In fact, it must have been lovingly stored the vast majority of the time and only worn on very special occassions for it to be in such beautiful condition. And assuming that the ribbon is original, and I've never had occassion to doubt that, then it's survived amazingly well.

This was, if I remember correctly, my first "find" and I'm as much in love now as I was the first day I laid eyes on her. I would love to eventually find the other two but at the prices they run it would have to be another circumstance like the first... and I fear the planets don't tend to line up quite that often in one's lifetime.

And I agree... the eagle is something else! When you have this in front of you and check it out, even without a loupe the detail is exquisite! I simply can't say enough about it. I only hope someday we're able to get together and I can show this one to you in person. I think you'll agree that it's well worth it.

Dan

Gentlemen,

Hello.. I'd like to post one on my most rare pieces. I know it is pale in comparison to most of your prestigious and beautiful awards. However, I love the the fact that this soldier fought both in the Seven Week's War and the Franco Prussian War. I havent seen many Nassau medals out there. Are they rare? I thank you for your interest.

Regards,

Joel

Hi Joel,

Very nice bar! And I agree... these definitely seem underappreciated... seems everyone waits and gets really excited by 1870 IC's. I for one have always been hooked on the Kaisar medal pictured on the end of your bar.

Thanks for sharing.

Dan

I believe these are fairly rare in this older form (i.e. without flames) but I don't know exactly how rare. If anybody happens to have figures or even a rough guess I would be appreciative.

Hi Keith,

Just had to say... a lovely award! Love that beautiful enamel!

Many thanks for sharing!

Dan