Antique-Bottles.Net logo
If you are just visiting and found the information you were looking for please contribute to the running costs by making a donation.
Forums : : Register : : Log In : : Log Out : : Help : : Calendar : : Search


Civil War Bullets Found- News Story

 
View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest
Users viewing this topic: none
 
All Forums >> [Bottle Forums] >> Unexpected Discoveries >> Civil War Bullets Found- News Story Page: [1]
Login
Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>
Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/10/2011 9:00:04 PM   
RedGinger


Posts: 6727
Joined: 12/7/2007
Status: offline 		http://www.examiner.com/civil-war-heritage-in-washington-dc/a-surprising-find-at-gettysburg

_____________________________



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyVTdY2BI3g










Post #: 1
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/10/2011 10:38:13 PM   
surfaceone


Posts: 7107
Joined: 12/9/2008
Status: offline

Thanks for that story, Lauren.


(in reply to RedGinger)
Post #: 2
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/10/2011 10:44:54 PM   
Rockhounder55


Posts: 836
Joined: 7/22/2008
From: Winnemucca, NV.
Status: offline 		Great story Laur. I've been to Gettysburg twice. In 1968, when I was a mere lad, and again in 1992. Oddly enough, when I was there in 1968, we went to Culp's Hill. I brought home a rock from there, and I still have it to this day. ~Mike

_____________________________

I see dead bottles.............and they're all broken.

(in reply to surfaceone)
Post #: 3
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/10/2011 11:04:22 PM   
coreya


Posts: 790
Joined: 4/30/2007
From: Summerfield, Fl
Status: offline 		shouldn't the bullet have been deeper in the tree since the war was 150 + years ago when the bullet was fired that hit that tree, and the tree grows from the outside 1 inch or so which makes the rings ever expanding? I've cut down my fair share of old oaks and one 150 + years old would be a bit larger around than that one. Just an observation!

(in reply to Rockhounder55)
Post #: 4
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/10/2011 11:56:33 PM   
surfaceone


Posts: 7107
Joined: 12/9/2008
Status: offline 		Hey Corey,

It's a Sycamore. They're pretty slow growing. Not quite as hard as an oak. A possible trajectory of that ball could'a had it a hand an a half deep.

Here's some WWII shrapnel in a relatively immature pine.

From.

(in reply to coreya)
Post #: 5
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/11/2011 8:15:34 AM   
GuntherHess


Posts: 11470
Joined: 12/13/2004
From: Frederick Maryland
Status: offline
quote:

shouldn't the bullet have been deeper in the tree since the war was 150 + years ago when the bullet was fired that hit that tree, and the tree grows from the outside 1 inch or so which makes the rings ever expanding? I've cut down my fair share of old oaks and one 150 + years old would be a bit larger around than that one. Just an observation!


ya there a few things wrong with that picture. As you mention the bullet is in the outside of the tree. The tree would have had to have died not too long after the bullet hit and would have rotted in all that time. The bullet has a white oxidized lead patina. Bullets get this from being in the ground for 100 years. One in wood isnt likely to have this. If they cut that with a chain saw and exposed that much of the bullet its likely they would have scraped the patina off it on the cut side. You should be seeing bare lead. Finallly, unjacketted lead civil war bullets deform a lot when they hit something hard like an oak tree. That bullet looks pretty much intact like a dropped round.

cool story, maybe its true

It is possible to find civil war bullets in old wood. I have found a couple and there are many well know examples.



< Message edited by GuntherHess -- 8/11/2011 8:19:36 AM >

_____________________________

FREE Online Medicine Guide -
http://www.antiquemedicines.com/MedicineNexus/Nexus.htm

Web Site - http://antiquemedicines.com

Email : mknapp@antiquemedicines.com

(in reply to coreya)
Post #: 6
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/11/2011 8:40:12 AM   
bostaurus


Posts: 2299
Joined: 2/17/2009
From: Madison, Wisconsin
Status: offline 		From the way the rotting is on the outside of the tree it looks as if the tree was doing poorly for awhile before it fell or was cut. There seems to be a few inches of the tree missing from the rot. That would place the bullet deeper than it seems. Still not as deep as you would expect though. I wonder if the tree has been down for a long time and they are just getting around the removing it?
It does seem odd that cutting the tree did not leave bare lead showing.. Did they have bullets made of some sort of ceramic or stone like material?

_____________________________

Always looking for veterinary bottles, American and foreign.

(in reply to GuntherHess)
Post #: 7
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/11/2011 10:59:01 AM   
RedGinger


Posts: 6727
Joined: 12/7/2007
Status: offline 		Interesting questions, guys.  I don't know enough about this type of thing to chime in, but I didn't think they would just make up a story.  I wish they would have shown more close-ups, as Surface was able to do.  I couldn't find a link with a good picture.

I was just thinking about what Gunth said, and I know the type of bullet they made then, pretty much exploded when it went inside the body, destroying a lot (can't think of the name of that effect besides the term mushrooming).  When it hit something hard, compared to the soft human body, I guess the result would be different.  Then you have to think about how old the tree was back then.  Why don't they just count the rings and see?


< Message edited by RedGinger -- 8/11/2011 11:01:52 AM >

_____________________________



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyVTdY2BI3g











(in reply to bostaurus)
Post #: 8
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/11/2011 12:59:59 PM   
cc6pack

 

Posts: 1161
Joined: 7/12/2003
From: Mableton, Ga.
Status: offline 		I agree with Matt, if the log had been cut as said the bullet would show signs of the cut. If the bullet was fired into a living tree the tree would have sealed the wound and the bullet would not have been exposed to the air and oxidized. It takes about 60 years for lead to oxidize to the point pictured.

Surface

Not trying to start anything but technically you have shell fragments from WWII. Although the term shrapnel is used interchangeably with shell fragment it is not correct. The link below will exlpain it in more detail.

http://www.history.army.mil/faq/shrapnel.htm

(in reply to RedGinger)
Post #: 9
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/11/2011 3:55:03 PM   
GuntherHess


Posts: 11470
Joined: 12/13/2004
From: Frederick Maryland
Status: offline
quote:

Did they have bullets made of some sort of ceramic or stone like material?


just lead for small arms. No doubt a few CSA solders tried rocks or marbles but they dont make good projectiles.


I'd like to see a close up too.

Here is a Williams cleaner bullet in a peice of wood. You can see its smashed pretty well.


< Message edited by GuntherHess -- 8/11/2011 4:01:48 PM >

_____________________________

FREE Online Medicine Guide -
http://www.antiquemedicines.com/MedicineNexus/Nexus.htm

Web Site - http://antiquemedicines.com

Email : mknapp@antiquemedicines.com

(in reply to RedGinger)
Post #: 10
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/11/2011 4:01:20 PM   
coreya


Posts: 790
Joined: 4/30/2007
From: Summerfield, Fl
Status: offline 		Just a little more thought on the subject, 1st, The person reporting this is a federal employee and we all know the federal govt doesn"t LIE, 2nd, lets say the tree was there in 1863 and took a bullet, the tree would have to have been large enough to take the hit and survive, say 12" around which would allow a 6" penetration (and would be aprox 6 years old). Now a live oak grows an average of 1/2 " around per year (see link ref live oak Taxonomy, http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/quercu_virginic.htm  ) ( I use Live Oak because almost all other types of oaks do not live that long) after 150 years the tree would have a circumfrence of 75" or 6.25 feet and the bullet would be near the center of the tree 3 feet from the outside because the tree grows along the outside 1" or so under the bark.
This is just my personal observation and opinion and since we all know that you can believe everything you read in a paper, I must be mistaken!!

(in reply to cc6pack)
Post #: 11
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/12/2011 2:21:42 AM   
surfaceone


Posts: 7107
Joined: 12/9/2008
Status: offline 		Hey Corey,

I just reread the article . It sez, "on a routine clearing of a fallen oak tree on Culp’s Hill, chain-sawed into minie balls imbedded in the trunk."

So, it's not a Syacamore but, also not a Live Oak, Quercus virginiana. They grow from Virginia, south to Florida. If it's really an Oak, it would be Northern Red Oak, Quercus rubra,

"In forests, the northern red oak grows straight and tall, to 28 m (90 ft), exceptionally to 43 m (140 ft) tall, with a trunk of up to 50-100 cm (20-40 in) diameter." From.

It's trashier sub-specie the Pin Oak, Quercus palustris "is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 18-22 m (60-70 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 1 m (3 ft) diameter." From.

Or a White Oak, Quercus alba "White oaks have been known to live up to six hundred years."

I can't tell from the picture what exact species. The Minie ball just looks white. So does that goofy lookin Ranger guy. There was very heavy fighting on Culp's Hill.




"Charge of the 2nd Maryland Infantry, CSA into the "slaughterpen" at Culp's Hill, Battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. So severe were the casualties among the Marylanders that General Steuart is said to have broken down and wept, wringing his hands and crying "my poor boys". From.

That tree could be riddled with balls.

I useta work in a sawmill in the west. One area of timber that was cut had been the site of strafing practice by various 2nd War aircraft. If the head rig saw hit the steel cored .50 cal rounds it would peel the teeth off and "shoot" them around the mill floor. This would really get one's attention in a hurry.

Lesser rounds and buried barbed wire, spikes, and all the other tramp metal always had that fresh torn shivered metal look after a close encounter with the various saws. Kept the saw filer busy.

The growth of the tree around the bullet, or wound can take on a crazy burly kinda grain, as if mimicking shock waves from the injury.


(in reply to coreya)
Post #: 12
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/12/2011 11:15:35 PM   
Erik T

 

Posts: 119
Joined: 7/4/2010
From: Toronto
Status: offline 		Thats pretty cool! someone had a post too about insulators found embedded in trees.

On another note i read somewhere that civil war musket/minie balls were found lodged in old alligator snapping turtles down south, therefore allowing scientists to determine the lifespan of the turtles to be somewhere around 150 years.

(in reply to surfaceone)
Post #: 13
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/13/2011 12:14:29 PM   
RedGinger


Posts: 6727
Joined: 12/7/2007
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Erik T

Thats pretty cool! someone had a post too about insulators found embedded in trees.

On another note i read somewhere that civil war musket/minie balls were found lodged in old alligator snapping turtles down south, therefore allowing scientists to determine the lifespan of the turtles to be somewhere around 150 years.


I feel bad for the turtles, but that is wild.


_____________________________



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyVTdY2BI3g











(in reply to Erik T)
Post #: 14
RE: Civil War Bullets Found- News Story - 8/13/2011 10:38:04 PM   
JOETHECROW


Posts: 9804
Joined: 9/3/2005
From: Northwestern Pa. (Near scenic Lake Perfidy)
Status: offline 		cool topic...

_____________________________

Joe

```````````````````````````````````
In the woods we return to reason and faith.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooTyuRd9zSg&feature=related




(in reply to RedGinger)
Post #: 15
Page:   [1]
All Forums >> [Bottle Forums] >> Unexpected Discoveries >> Civil War Bullets Found- News Story Page: [1]
Jump to:





New Messages No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages Locked w/o New Messages
 Post New Thread
 Reply to Message
 Post New Poll
 Submit Vote
 Delete My Own Post
 Delete My Own Thread
 Rate Posts


Antique Bottles

Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.4.5 ANSI

0.258