Workers discovered 42 Civil War-era artillery shells, believed to have been left behind or misplaced by Union soldiers in September 1864.
Mark Pollard, Henry County’s Civil War historian, said the homeowner, whom he declined to identify, contacted him after he had pulled all but two of the Hotchkiss projectiles out from the 2-foot-deep cache.“It’s exciting to know there are finds like that out there,” says Pollard, who completed the recovery and transport of the rifled rounds.
The Clayton County homeowner agreed to donate them to the Nash Farm museum, where Pollard leads battlefield tours. Nash Farm is a Henry County historic park.
Pollard says the shells may have been stored in a long-gone limber box. Only one was struck by the line-cutting equipment.
He said the house, which sits on a ridge, was near a U.S. artillery battery belonging to the Union 15th Corps. They may been stored underground for future use or simply left during an evacuation. “It was a good defensive position,” Pollard said.
Lovejoy, Jonesboro, Nash Farm and other Southside communities were scenes of bloody fighting and troop movement during the Atlanta Campaign.
All but five of the shells had fuses. Pollard says they have been since defused by a friend and will undergo electrolysis at a site to preserve them.
Pollard, relic hunters and police offices warn that a lay person should not attempt to touch or move old ordnance. On rare occasions, the rounds can go off. A Virginia relic collector was killed last year when a cannonball he was restoring exploded.
Pollard said he has handled shells before and is qualified to preserve them. He claims the 42 shells did not appear to be in a volatile condition.
The rounds, made for 3” ordnance rifle, “should be used to educate the public rather than be blown up or put in the corner,” he said.
For now, the 42 shells are early in the preservation process. Pollard hopes they will one day be a significant part of the Nash Farm collection.
The Georgia Battlefields Association considers Lovejoy Station an endangered site. Historians and activists have been concerned about the loss of significant property to development.
“You lose the land, you lose the artifacts, you lose the story,” Pollard said.
That's a great story about Civil War preservation and what an historical find!
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me to hear about great Civil War finds like this one, but when one hears of them being donated to a museum, then all hands responsible should be applauded.
When was the last time that many Civil War artillery shells have been unearthed that were not all sold to different individual collectors? This discovery is certainly the most artillery shells that have been unearthed in many years; but the really good news is they will be preserved for everyone to see! This story is simply amazing! Great story!
i like you! i work at a Civil War site in Spring Hill,Tennessee that sat vacant for ten years. relic hunters stripped the property, most of the finds going to ebay.
Deletesat empty for ten years, let me fix that for you : no history saviors ever made an effort to find anything, and only get upset when someone does exactly that and profits from it. I get it
DeleteThanks for the kind words.
ReplyDeleteWow this is great to know
ReplyDeleteObviously something that Tom Dickey missed. I worked many sites in the Savannah area with Tom back in 66/67.
ReplyDeleteTom Dickey was the premier artillery shell hunter/collector. I remember a tale he made for our hunt club. He told about an adventure in which he and some companions using a john boat and the cover of night removed some rare shells from the back side of Fort Pulaski. Also about the same time (1980s) someone found 56 of the same shells as described in the article in one hole somewhere around Marietta.
ReplyDeleteOnce found 249 Minie balls in one hole near Kennesaw Mountain.
ReplyDeleteGlad to know that part of history has been unearthed and saved. I hope someone checks the rest of the area where these shells were found and the location of the find is recorded (Union battery unit and date of the conflict. Opposing units and location. Troop movements and encampments.) I researched and hunted relics since the late '60's up into 2007, when my health prevented me from being able to go on digs. I still enjoy the researching and never forgot the excitement of finding what you researched!
ReplyDeleteThis was quite a find! I look forward to seeing them in the museum one day!