My dug civil war bottle collection (pic heavy)

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gtoast99

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Hey everyone!! I hope this is an okay place to put this. I don't have a huge collection, but it's very special to me. These were all recovered from huts and trash pits in Civil War camps. Very little gets me going like digging civil war glass. These were of course all dug on private property with owners permission, primarily around Brandy Station and Stafford Virginia. There's a mix of complete bottles and reconstructions in here. I know for collectors the reconstructions and lop tops are basically worthless, but this history associated was worth the time to put them back together for me at least. For example, the John Gibson son's whiskey (heartbreaker) was recovered from a fire pit in brandy station, and on reassembly, you can see how the heat from the fire twisted and melted the glass before it broke. Anyways I hope you enjoy some pics of diggin' civil war glass.
 

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saratogadriver

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Ordinarily I wouldn't think too much about the whisky. But it is SO COOL to realize that some soldier threw that in the pit and probably watched it melt and twist like that!

Jim G
 

gtoast99

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Ordinarily I wouldn't think too much about the whisky. But it is SO COOL to realize that some soldier threw that in the pit and probably watched it melt and twist like that!

Jim G

That's exactly right! This is a pretty bland collection from a collector standpoint. Some older glass, but mostly common and nothing to write home about (except maybe the Pottsville soda). And the reconstruction and lop top bottles are basically nothing for what y'all find. But knowing the history behind them, where they were and who used them, makes them pretty special. Having been there for the recovery and those memories of finding them, being the first person to hold that bottle since a civil war soldier, is priceless.

Looks like you had a whole bunch of fun.

Oh yeah!! Nothing like digging glass :D. I'm pretty new to hut digging, but it's my favorite aspect of relic hunting when we can find them.
 

hemihampton

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I like that Pottsville Soda, that's a nice one. LEON.
 

Bass Assassin

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Great post. Looks like a very interesting dig and I'm sure it was an enjoyable one. Keep finding and posting.
 

CreekWalker

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Great post. Looks like a very interesting dig and I'm sure it was an enjoyable one. Keep finding and posting.
I agree, my bottle digging also overlaps with the relics hunts, here is West TN. We had several good CW battles close, Fort Pillow, the battles of Shiloh, Medon, Parkers Crossroads, Britan Lane, Moscow, and many camps, and skirmishes. The glass found in camps sites is nearly always broke, but another squat soda or whisky is always a possibility! So we keep probing camp sites after detecting, sort of works hand in hand. Even native American sites on private land, with owners permission, will have native pottery and settlers glass, and stoneware shards , because after the 1810-20's treaties, which forced the NA mass removal and the trail of Tears , the early settlers claimed these village sites as their own, leaving their trash in the same locations. Keep posting, darn interesting!
 

gtoast99

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Great post. Looks like a very interesting dig and I'm sure it was an enjoyable one. Keep finding and posting.

Thanks! There's a couple different digs here, since I'm new to the forum I put a couple of old hunts together in one thread :). Our huts aren't nearly as loaded as a typical privy, and much of it is broken. Getting one or two whole bottles is a good one, although of course there are exceptions but I haven't gotten over a big one yet.

I agree, my bottle digging also overlaps with the relics hunts, here is West TN. We had several good CW battles close, Fort Pillow, the battles of Shiloh, Medon, Parkers Crossroads, Britan Lane, Moscow, and many camps, and skirmishes. The glass found in camps sites is nearly always broke, but another squat soda or whisky is always a possibility! So we keep probing camp sites after detecting, sort of works hand in hand. Even native American sites on private land, with owners permission, will have native pottery and settlers glass, and stoneware shards , because after the 1810-20's treaties, which forced the NA mass removal and the trail of Tears , the early settlers claimed these village sites as their own, leaving their trash in the same locations. Keep posting, darn interesting!

Thank you! Yes, the ratio of broken to whole in CW camps is heartbreaking lol. But we keep looking!! The trick is to hunt the long term camps, but getting permission can be a challenge.
 

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