FG+ finds Civil War Gold....The kind of find that tugs at your heartstrings

Was out hunting a bad dirt site Yesterday...

A site that's has been good to me over the years...but usually in terms of a Pulse machines finding the goodies...Dirt is just atrocious..maxed out bars on F75 type dirt...Plus it has iron scattered everywhere..its a camp site.. no big iron just mainly lots of nails and usually concentrated...


To say the site is slim pickens is a understatement...But its a sort of shrine site to me because of I'm very intimate with the soldiers who camped here..

Intimate you say???Yes I know there every thought I almost feel...from the Diaries to the field finds their lives have been painted in my mind countless times over ..

There was a band of Sharpshooters in here...and I've tracked them back for a couple of miles on this winding Road.....Louisiana Boys...Austins brigade of Sharpshooters..


On this ground here 150 years ago there was an elite Group of Fighting men.....there battalion had dwindled to 45 by this time of the war....They were Confederate Sharpshooters..
This is the high ground and they guarding Johnstons Army behind them across a large creek..there in the no mans land out with the Texas and Alabama and Mississippi Calvary brigades harassing and slowing the enemy .. These Boy's job all 45 of them was to try and kill high ranking officers from hundreds of yards away..




See that ridge out front from here Some of the Sharpshooter's were out there till they fell back to this spot....

When they were out front this was a camp spot ..and it's been good to me over the years in terms of finds...Yet Yesterday I found one of those Heartstring tugging type finds...

A piece of a writing implement..not the foot soldier type implement which is usually a rolled piece of lead or carved lead field turned into a pencil shape...an Actual writing implement that would of only been owned by a more well versed well written type an educated man if you will.....that's right a officer..

Here it is fresh from the soil


Yes clean... Its 14Kt Gold.. very thin Very delicate.. partially damaged..maybe the reason for the discard..

What is it ???Its the tip of a Dip pen....the type you stuck into a Ink well to write with....

It was made in New York between 1843 and it seems with this style to 1851..Leroy W. Fairchild made it..



So we have a utensil here that was being used by a officer most likely to send field reprots to Genral Johnston or Some other even officers or..Or could of been used for daily record's...If it wasn't in this spot I would of thought it could of been used for correspondence home...but probably doubtful in such a hot bed area...

Whatever the use it was Lost here on around may 25th 1864...

Ive alway's wanted to find such implement ..I've found dozens and dozens of the pensills but never the gold implement..

A few feet from this spot years ago I found this R Button...



Most of the Sharpshooters out of Louisina were pre war Sharpshooter for the U.S. Government..The U.S. stopped using the R buttons in 1861...so most if not all of them found in late war sites are used my the Reb's..

Heres another I found 3 miles back from this spot same road on other side of the creek behind me dropped around May 28th 1864..


What does the guy using this utensil see in this 3 miles and and three days.???

15 men from his Brigade will be killed in action...They go from 45 Elite to 30 elite..

Things like that will send chills down your spine..Think of the times its maybe had to write the parents or Wives of the departed soldier...a battalion that started with 392 men in the summer of 1862 was down to 45 men in the spring of 1864.. and by the surrender date still a year away they will drop to just 22 men...

To some it would be a piece of junk find..Not for me and not for the Other Relic hunters who spend countless hours and days studying and reliving the lives of our ancestors one piece at a time....

to me its a Museum Quality piece...

I could go on about the FG+ finding it in nails and it did...and it sounded awful and only read 41 I.D. out of the hole....While I'm thankful to have had a machine that could get it..I think most will see why I HAVE to have a machine be able to get it

What say YOU??

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

Very nice find.

Nice history as well.

Trophy case find IMO.

Congrats

That is a fantastic find Keith and much thanks for the History behind it!

Tom

Congratulations Keith!
You are truly a professional relic hunter.
Your extensive research, hard work and no doubt skill have paid off.
You can give the detector a little credit but I give most of the credit to you.
Thanks for sharing your find and the history of the site.
Bryan

Awesome gold find Keith. I'm glad you explained what it was. Nice buttons too.

Sweet !! Great pics! Thanks for the show and tell Keith, enjoyed it.

Awesome. Knowing the provenance makes it that much sweeter. The rifleman buttons are nice, never found any lettered regular eagles other than the I's.

I got curious.

This is good reading.

[www.richardspens.com]

Keith
Awesome find and knowing the history of the spot makes it extra.special. Love to read your post on these type of finds.

Brian

Keith,
WOW WOW WOW! Having the Civil War history behind it makes your find extremely special. Thank you for the sharing pictures and story. - Jim

Possibly equal to finding a gold coin dropped by a officer! Stunning. Congrat's!

Thanks for the post. Probably like most, I find stuff and have no clue to the story behind it like you have on that area. It's that type of find that gets your mind racing when you know the story.

Glad you decided to post the find Keith!

One can only speculate as to why it was lost/discarded/etc. being that it is made of gold because that's not something one would seemingly just toss to the dirt as if it were mere junk.

Like Tom said = on the same level as a gold coin find imo too --- maybe even better being it was "1" individuals personal belonging

Congrats on finding such a great piece of history!

Keith, you have done your homework...and then some. If anyone deserved to be rewarded with a piece like that, it is you. I can hear the sentimentality in your writing. My hat is off to you for the homework that you have done. It must be immensely satisfying to see all of that reading and poring over maps come to fruition. Yes, I would say that the gold pen is a museum piece and the plaque underneath should be written by you. And yes, I can see why it is of paramount importance that you have a good, sleuthy, machine for pulling finds like this out of nails and other ferrous debris. Well done, and a hearty congratulations. You have made me really think harder about why I hunt relics and why they seem important to me. I have access to some diaries about soldiers and skirmishes in my area and I think that I will start re-reading some of them and see if I can 'step up my game' . You are an inspiration. I don't mind saying. VERY WELL DONE, KEITH!!!!!!!

Congratulations Keith, Super find!! ,....that's flatout putting in the time and getting results. Well done Sir. MRB

Very good read right there Keith. You know your history for your spots and it shows. Awesome find! Just imagine what else may be hidden amoung the iron.

Thx for sharing

Keith, I know that you have been following these boys for years. Great find man! I'm surprised you weren't using your PI machines. But the FG+ must be a great unit!

Outstanding, Keith! Is the 14k marked on the nib?
Thanks for sharing your intimate knowledge of the history association, too. Very remarkable!

Wayne

Pleasant Garden, NC
AT Max, Nokta Impact, MX Sport, Nokta FORS Relic, GPX 4800, Infinium, Racer, Deus, F75SE, Nautilus DMC II (order of acquisition, last to first)

Does an archeologist argue with a plow? A bureaucrat with a bulldozer?

Gracious replies Fellas!!

Thank You each and every one as always!

Wayne N.C.=no marking just a requirement I believe for the time period...ink was corrosive then so gold held up and brass and such did not..I believe by later on they were gold over brass as the ink got less and less corrosive...maybe around 1880s and up...

Not even sure when Karat marking's were started on gold myself!

It was as clean when I dug it as after I cleaned it ...gotta love gold!!LOL!! 150 years and no corrosion..

Wayne Michigan= I believe once it broke in the middle it was of no use and was discarded..kind words!

Kevin B =Home work Is paramount...Kind words!

Tomkowski=The Gold coin dont get off my list that easy..LOL...its still got to get in my display case one day!!...Yes still a true Historic piece of Americana this is ..at least to relic hunters that is!..Thanks!!

Sharp= Nice link!

everyone else thanks again...I started not to post it but I felt I should!Hoped maybe it would be accepted for what it is historically not monetarily...Looks like I was right!!

Tom Z man good to see ya!!Still hunting those Lumber camp's??

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

Ok, Stupid question, who makes the FG+ (Abbreviation for what?

Im sorry its a Fors Gold Plus...Made by Nokta industries..

19Khz

[noktadetectors.com]

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

Keith Southern Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Im sorry its a Fors Gold Plus...Made by Nokta
> industries..
>
> 19Khz
>
> [noktadetectors.com]
>
> Keith


Ok, that's what I thought,

Awesome find buddy!

Now that’s a very good find.

Congrats.

Detecting since Feb, 2010
E-trac with 18"x15" SEF, 13" Ultimate coil, Pro coil, Minelab 8" coil, 4.5"x7" SEF, Sunray target probe
CTX3030 with 17"x13" DD coil, 11" DD coil

Fantastic find and narrative. Thank you for sharing.

This is where Western Europe has it all over us. Here, an amazing effort like Keith's - to reveal well researched history with fieldwork to fill in important details Is rare.

Over there, a large number (in Scandinavia an overwhelming number) of detectorists see themselves as "avocational historians" - they see their work - their hobby - as an important part of a national effort to use modern technology and volunteer work to discover and document the national history.

Not scolding anybody - I have met many amateurs here who fit the bill, just saying that we should all try to be a bit more conscious of where our hobby needs to go if it is to survive beyond "clad stabbing".

Rick Kempf
Gold Canyon AZ- where there is no gold



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2016 12:47AM by lytle78.

Thanks Keith, It felt like we were all there.

Ray
Digs Alot
Datawave
Rick

Thanks for the replies!

Yes Rick the European scene does seem to be more about the History and recording and documenting..Not as much about the monetary value of the find..

I'm afraid the next generation will not explore the fields or do the research necessary to preserve a slice of history..

Countless hours in the field,,,,Countless hours reading in books,,,,countless hours trying techniques through trial and error to get and edge on a site just so you can garner enough artifacts off a site to build a picture just to prove the history books right or wrong in some cases.


Now for those who want to go get it...Relics wise that is..

Me personally I can offer some advice..RESEARCH,,,Not read a book or two but seriously get involved with a particular group of men...Live your life studying that groups lives...Read everyting you can on the brigade or company or unit..whatever you can muster up..

I follow cavalry...Army of Mississippi especially...The sharpshooters played into it about 25 years ago when I located Whitworth bullets in their camps...and Louisiana buttons in a camp full of Texas Mississippi Alabama boys..out of place stuff..So now I have two avenues I stay on Sharpshooters and Cavalry..

So I've been reading about those cavalry boys for 30 years and I've been reading about those sharpshooters for 25..

There's also some Flying artillery moving with them out of Columbus Georgia...who's composed of alot of the orginal boys out of Fort Sumter in S.C. who actually overtook the fort in 1861 from the Union... Yes I've dug a rare S.C. button I know is connected to those elite men..a 1830s flat gold 1 piece....Sent chills down my spine when I unearthed it..but that's all another story ...

I know out in front of that ridge in the distance is a Post office...theres a group of cavalry men from Texas camped there...theres one guy up there named Bates Whos been shot through the mouth yes jaw to jaw.. taking out most of his teeth.,..He still in the saddle he's still fighting... hes drinking hot broth for food...Mind blowing...


I know there's a Spoiled General down the Creek behind me trying to burn a Bridge he set on fire...He's An Alabama Cavalry General he's from a rich Charleston Family who bought his rank... He's taking yankee prisoners hostage and killing them after dark down out of site behind the camp site...Yes war crimes he never stands trial for...he has enough money not too go to prison after the war ,As he gets involved in a bank money scam and makes thousands...


I know out on the main road in my front theres a Texan named Grissom who's in constant turmoil as he's a Preacher and cant stand killing but also has a lot of State pride...

There's a Mississippi Cavalry General to my left on a ridge who's one of the finest Generals on either side of the war...Pure Gentleman Armstrong is his name..and He HATES the Alabama General who's running free doing what he likes...

There's a Texas General up on the River in front of me past thatt ridge who's only 28 years old...He leaves no trace of trash in his camps...He polices them No camp fires most nights.. Boots and saddles his usually his order..which is sleep with boot's on and keep horse saddled at all times...He's an Indian fighter and he knows the way of the enemy in terms of cunningness ..He will also one day many years after be Governor of Texas..

Theres a Brigidier General whos the whole cavalry Division commander who dream's of the days before the war when he was one of the finest Horse Breeders in Tennessee...He wears a Mississippi uniform though lives in Memphis Tennessee..'Red' Jackson He's affectionately known by his men...for his thick long handle bar mustache and burly build...he was a gentle giant he's out on the main road from this spot in a farm house...



Now I've said this to show that this is just stuff off the top of my head...but it helps to paint pictures.. and it helps me to know where to look and how to interpret artifacts..

So if you really want to understand a site learn the History of it..It will go along way's in terms of Single finds paint a picture..

You cant learn it all in a month or a year..alot of the info I just provided is over a quarter century worth of digging in archives ..and also contacting library's and getting them to send me copies of unpublished family papers...yes if you talk nice on the phone to people at librarys they love to to a lot of work to help you out..

Never Give up!!

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2016 03:40AM by Keith Southern.

Keith,

No bull - Ken Burns - eat your heart out!

I have spent a few man-years reading detector forums - never have I been so moved.

Thank you.

Rick Kempf
Gold Canyon AZ- where there is no gold

Keith awesome find and the narrative was hair raising---well done. thanks for bringing us along. Good luck to you always.