Revolutionary Era small dug items

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Plumbata

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Awesome relics Steve, what would it cost me to own one of those pieces of oxidized lead, if you are willing to part with any?

My grandfather told me stories of being a kid in the late 30s and early 40s up in rural New York. He said that along some railroad grades which passed through old revolutionary battlefields he used to pick up grapeshot and musket balls which were almost as plentiful as pebbles (creative license certainly), and he wasn't even a collector! Imagine what was littering the surface back then, and the fortunes which could be had by ole-timers who were wise enough to collect and stockpile such common material. He is a brilliant man, but his sights were focused on the future, not the past. That explains majoring in telecommunications, marrying my wonderful Japanese grandmother, and entering the CIA. Fascinating fellow.

He also explored in his youth an ancient dying oak in a colonial cemetery and found a half-rotted leather sack full of Spanish and colonial silver in a deep and old knot-hole exposed by split limbs, along with the beads from a long-ago ruined strand of pearls. He said that his older brother later took and sold the stuff. [:(][:(][:(]

His own grandfather, who lived to be 99 and was around for the Civil War as well as Sputnik (orphaned when he was 11 and used the family reserves to take care of his siblings as well as establish himself), once kept a black bear in a cage along to the path to the country privy until his wife (my grandfather's grandmother) objected on the basis that the bear essentially scared the pis outta her before she got to the appropriate destination! Apparently my great great grandfather was an accomplished engineer, despite no formal education past the 3rd grade, and managed to be the foreman of a number of late 19th century canal, railroad, and road construction projects. He would look at an area and immediately estimate, rather accurately (give or take 5%), what was necessary for the job without a team of accountants and mathematicians to corroborate it all and thus waste money. Apparently my distant forefather was quite fond of whale meat and had not enjoyed it since around 1900, until my grandfather brought back a few cans of it in 1952 or 1953 for him from Japan. My grandfather loves jokes, but he is no liar. If he doesn't care to speak about the past (like his secret missions early in Vietnam) then he will just change the subject. Quite an enigma, but I am honored to have that connection to the past. The Rockwells have been here since 1630, supposedly, so such "American" worldliness makes sense i guess.

What an awesome life.

I would kill to have just seen what either of them saw. [&:]
 

appliedlips

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Great stuff Matt, wish we had that kind of age in these parts.
 

Steve/sewell

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Send me a private message with your address and Ill send you some Stephen.
 

Steve/sewell

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Matt there was a Village called Red Bank located right where the battle was .The James and Ann Whitall House and Fort Mercer at Red Bank Battlefield is located on the Delaware River in northeastern Gloucester County. The House, built in 1748, is a fine example of 18th Century Georgian architecture. Lived in by the Whitall's for 114 years, it was the center of life on the 400-acre Red Bank Plantation that once occupied the site.

During the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Red Bank was successfully fought at Fort Mercer which was erected by the Americans north of the House. The battle was decisive for American troops and a great morale booster for American forces (the second victory after the one at Saratoga, New York, three days before). Afterwards, the wounded were brought into the House which was converted into a hospital for all those wounded in battle. Mrs. Whitall, who had remained behind, tended the wounded and gained a significant place in American history. On November 19th, the Fort was destroyed and Americans moved on. The Whitall's, forced to vacate also, returned on April 20, 1778.

After the Revolutionary War, the Whitall's went back to working the plantation which was the center of a thriving multi-faceted business; orchards, livestock, grist mill, ferry across the Delaware, smoke house and shad fishery. The family lived in the House until 1862. Later in 1872, the United States government purchased it and it is now under the care of the Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders. With few changes made, thus reflects in a fairly undiluted fashion at century of tenure by four generations of one family.Here is an aerial photo of the Battlefield and outlined in red the area where you can metal detect or scavange.



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