Tattooed sailors off Fort Fisher: Talk will focus on the history of the art, designs popular during the Civil War and where ink was placed on the body (even there!)

19th century tattoo designs (Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, Tattoo Pattern Books)

Ah, sailors and tattoos. They go so well together, and have for hundreds of years.

Whether through images of sweethearts, whales or ships, countless generations of sailors have worn tattoos to show social identity, ethnic heritage or simply for identification should they be killed in battle.

Becky Sawyer, historian at Fort Fisher State Historic Site in North Carolina, has conducted about five years of research on those who in participated in the battles for the Confederate sentinel near Wilmington and had some ink on their bodies.

Sawyer (left) will share the fruits of her work on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 19, at Pleasure Island Library in Carolina Beach. The talk is entitled “Red, Blue & Black: Tattoos Among Sailors at Fort Fisher.”

“Through images and stories, explore this fascinating and sometimes gritty aspect of maritime history. Not for the faint of heart,” the program advertises.

The Picket asked Sawyer to describe the topic and the resources she used. Her responses have been edited for brevity.

Wait for it: The last question below gets to the “faint of heart.”

Q. What will be the main thrust of your message? Why do you find this a particularly relevant topic?

A. Tattoos have always been a tradition of naval history. Tattoos tell a story of the sailors who fought at Fort Fisher, whether they they were in the maritime service for years prior to the Civil War or joined the U.S. Navy to serve their country. They also tell the story of traditions such as the Kanacha tattoos among the Polynesian sailors with the fleet. Tattoos identified men in a time when there were no dog tags. Several of the men on my list were killed in the Battles of Fort Fisher. Some were sent home north to be buried, like Abel Cole of the USS Brooklyn, who had a blue star between right thumb and index finger. He would be buried in his home state of Maine. William Baker of the USS Sassacus is buried at the Wilmington National Cemetery – he had his initials tattooed on his left forearm

Naval rendezvous record describes fancy artwork for one Civil War seafarer

Q. Is this all or almost all about Federal sailors? Which campaign(s) against the fort did they participate in?

A. My focus is on the U.S. sailors who served onboard vessels both as part of the blockade off Wilmington/Fort Fisher in 1863-64 and then also the battles of Fort Fisher. There are also former Confederates who joined the U.S. Navy during the exchange in late 1863 and into 1864 who have tattoos which they may have received while in a prisoner of war camps such as Camp Douglas and Fort Delaware.

Q.  How did you learn about these tattoos? Can you describe the themes? Were tattoos well-known among sailors before the Civil War?

A. Researching the muster rolls for the various ships that participated in the battles of Fort Fisher and then cross-referencing them with the Naval Rendezvous Enlistment records along with pension records of those who served in the battles. As for themes – I have broken it down into 11 categories such as names & initials; things of the sea (mermaids, anchors, ships), religious symbols, patriotic symbols, memorials, bracelets, etc. Tattoos are well-known among sailors prior to the Civil War. 

Artist at work (Library of Congress) and two tattoo designs (Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, Tattoo Pattern Books)

Q. I know you have researched this for a while and have made previous presentations. When did you begin this research and what piqued your interest? 

A. I began researching this about five years ago or so. At first, it was on foreign-born sailors and then realized the former Confederates who served with the Navy and finding tattoos among the prisoners when they enlisted, and it just snowballed into the research that I have today.

Q. Are there specific sailors you will mention? If so, can you please provide a couple examples?

A. Simon Duggan of the USS Fort Donelson (former Confederate POW) had a cross between his shoulder blades (naval record, below). He was from Ireland. John Love of the USS Wabash had the phrase “Where Liberty Dwells There is My Home” tattooed on his breast. Leander Spaulding (tattoo artist on the USS Tristam Shandy) had a snake and “don’t tread on me” tattooed on his right forearm. Charles Haldgate of the USS Tuscarora had “Dieu Et Mon Droit” (God and my right) tattooed on his right forearm – he was a mariner by trade from Liverpool.

Q. One promotion for your speech says it "is not for the faint of heart." Can you explain why?

A. I found at least two sailors with tattoos on their manhood and then there are tattoos found on the buttocks as well.

Becky Sawyer’s presentation is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 2 p.m. at Pleasure Island Library, 1401 N. Lake Blvd #72, Carolina Beach, N.C. Call 910-798-6300 or 910-251-7351 for more information.

Sign about tattooed sailors research at Fort Fisher in 2023

Manassas National Battlefield Park announces 'unanticipated' discovery of third body at 1862 field hospital limb pit. The young soldier, who wore New York infantry jacket, will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery

Marker at the battlefield includes sketch showing Dogan house, where wounded were treated (Devry Jones, HMdb.org)

A young man apparently buried in a New York infantry jacket is the third Federal soldier whose body was discovered by archaeologists in a surgeon's limb pit near a field hospital associated with the Second Battle of Manassas.

The National Park Service on Thursday said like the other two, this soldier found in March 2024 at the site in Northern Virginia will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The agency has not released details on the man -- who apparently died from a neck wound -- until now.

Documents indicate the remarkable discovery of the third soldier was “unanticipated.” Archaeologists found six brass New York State Excelsior coat buttons and seven brass cuff buttons.

"Every soldier who fought on this battlefield has a story, even if we may never know their name," said Manassas National Battlefield Park Superintendent Kristofer Butcher (left) in a news release. "It has been our privilege and responsibility to care for these remains with dignity, guided by science, respect, and our commitment to preserving America's history. We are honored that this soldier will now receive a final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery." 

No date for that burial has been announced.

Asked by the Picket whether there has been an attempt to identify the soldier via DNA, the NPS on Friday said extensive archaeological and osteological analysis was done. "Professional archaeological evaluations concluded that additional analysis was unlikely to yield significant new information. Throughout this process, our focus has remained on treating the soldier with dignity and respect while following professional standards and applicable preservation laws."

NPS documents indicate the 2024 excavation yielded four new surgically amputated limbs and the body of the soldier. “Found in direct association with this soldier's interment was a rubber pocket comb,” the agency said. The Army has requested personal effects, including the comb, for burial.

The limb pit was discovered in 2014 during excavations associated with water pipe maintenance at the park. Two burials and seven (possibly eight) amputated limbs were removed in 2015. Excavations continued in 2024.

In total, three sets of human remains and 16 amputated limbs were excavated and removed from the property. (At right, femur with lodged bullet, Kate D. Sherwood, Smithsonian Institution)

The field hospital was established at the John Dogan farm, not far from the Deep Cut section of the battlefield. The property was known as Rosefield at the time.

Union soldiers occupied this property on August 29, 1862, first using it as an artillery placement site, and later as a field hospital after surgeons “took control of the house” for the remainder of the three-day battle, the NPS said.

Second Manassas was a decisive victory for the Confederacy..

Park officials say they have not been able to identify the soldier, his New York unit or exactly where he was wounded. 

Excelsior Brigade was in fierce fighting

The NPS provided details of the initial find in 2018, saying it was the first time a surgeon’s “limb pit” from the conflict has been excavated and studied.

Brandon Bies, then park superintendent, told NPR that the men were likely wounded during a charge up Deep Cut, held by thousands of Confederates. “As (Union soldiers) start to get closer, within 300, 400 yards, they start to receive rifle fire and musket fire," he says. "Men are dropping left and right." 

The Excelsior Brigade, made up of several New York regiments and a veteran of multiple campaigns, fought near the Dogan farm and Deep Cut. Daniel Sickles organized the brigade, but it was led by Col. Nelson Taylor (right) in this battle.

Analysis of the third soldier indicates he was approximately 16 to 19 years old and standing between 5 foot 1 and 5 foot 3 inches.

Soil conditions, historic plowing and backhoe excavation during the water line project led to the remains being in poor condition, according to the NPS.

Roughly 40% of the human remains were intact, and “no complete long bones were present. Historic plowing of the area crushed and relocated the skull (minus an occipital bone) and right arm” documents show. “The knees may also have been affected by the backhoe during waterline excavation. Fragments of assorted bones and teeth were found in soil within the excavated area. Little of the pelvis remained.”

Other items found with the individual include a jacket clothing hook and the hard rubber comb. A report concludes that “A lead artillery case shot ball recovered from the neck area of the remains could indicate cause of death, although this remains inconclusive.”

The soldier may or may not have been in the Excelsior Brigade or wounded near Deep Cut. It's possible he was wounded the evening of Aug. 29 in the fight at Groveton.

Examination of bones showed severity of wounds

A glance of photographs of the amputated limbs of the soldiers found in 2015 shows the bleak realities of war. Surgeons sawed them off with precision because the bullets caused so much damage and soldiers needed an opportunity to ward off deadly infection.

As casualties piled into tents not far from the fighting, Civil War surgeons had to make quick decisions on who might have a chance of going home – without an arm or leg – and who was too seriously hurt to be operated on.

That appeared to be the case with the two soldiers.

The first was in his 20s and died of injuries from an Enfield bullet striking his upper leg.

“Surprisingly, the bullet was still lodged in the femur bone, likely because it slowed as it passed through the man’s cartridge box, the National Park Service said at the time

The second skeleton was that of a man estimated to be between 30 and 34 years old. (At left, Brandon Bies assists in 2015 dig / Kate D. Sherwood, Smithsonian Institution)

He died as a result of a buck and ball shot to the upper arm, pelvis and leg.

The bones were found in a shallow pit, indicating they likely were buried in haste. According to Smithsonian Institution experts, the surgeons were allowed by Confederates to conduct the hasty operations after the battle, when the wounded had been in the sun and rain for days. They may not have had chloroform at their disposal.

The entire pit was not excavated in 2015, apparently because of time and funding limitations. While archaeologists believed there were more partial remains, they did not expect a whole set to be found when they returned in 2024. Officials have been tightlipped about the project for more than two years.

The remains of the first two unknown soldiers were buried in a new section of Arlington National Cemetery in September 2018 (At far right in Picket photo, above).

At the time, Bies said analysis of isotopes in the bones, which looked at what had been in drinking water the men consumed, indicated they are likely from New York or New England, according to CNN.

The NPS news article did not include photos, but the agency said it was reviewing them for possible release. "Any materials that are shared publicly will be carefully reviewed to ensure they protect sensitive archaeological information and maintain respect for the soldier's remains."

The public can see the related documents on this page.

This ornate gift from blockade runners to Fort Fisher's commander features palmettos, flags, cannon and a tiny replica of the Banshee. You can learn about the silver epergne at an Aug. 17 talk

Col. William Lamb and wife Daisy; silver epergne (Fort Fisher State Historic Site) and sketch of Banshee

It’s been said Col. William Lamb, commander of the Confederacy’s Fort Fisher, was a blockade runner’s best friend.

His garrison, based at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, safeguarded the vital port of Wilmington, N.C. The city was an important destination for ships that dared to run past the Union blockade, risking gunfire or running aground. Lamb’s troops and artillery provided cover fire for those missions.

Among the scores of vessels that made the journey was the English-made Banshee, which was made especially for the job. Banshee made eight successful runs to Wilmington before it was captured offshore in November 1863 – by then, its investors had made seven times their investment.

The vessel’s owner, the Anglo-Confederate Trading Co., commissioned a silver epergne, or table centerpiece, to show appreciation to Lamb for his efforts to safeguard efforts to supply the resource-starved Confederacy. The officer wasn’t a professional engineer, but he made Fort Fisher a formidable bastion.

The privately owned lavish piece, which features a cannon, four Confederate flags, a Palmetto tree and a replica of Banshee, is the subject of a talk this coming Monday by Ray Flowers, an interpreter and historian at Fort Fisher State Historic Site. His 7 p.m. presentation will be held at the Federal Point History Center in Carolina Beach. The epergne will not be present.

Flowers (at right, with artifact) is passionate about the piece’s impressive combination of art and utility.

“Without a doubt, this is the most extraordinarily phenomenal single artifact, pertinent to Fort Fisher that will ever grace this property,” Flowers wrote in an email to the Picket.

“It is a tangible monument of Fort Fisher post commandant William Lamb's vigilance in maintaining the lifeline of the Confederacy, as he would come to be recognized as the ‘Guardian Angel of Blockade-Running.’ This exquisite trophy is emblematic of both the success of this smuggling operation as well as the potentially lucrative nature of the venture.”

It's a fancy dinnerware piece with a cause

I had never heard of an epergne before researching this post, and I still have difficulty spelling it.

Epergne is a French word for “saving,” with the idea of placing small dishes of food  on a stand in the central part of the dining table so that guests wouldn’t have to spend time passing dishes. Unlike a “lazy Susan,” the base does not revolve. Sometimes, small candies or candles might be featured.

The artifact has made four one-day appearances at Fort Fisher but has never been on display for an extended time, said park officials, adding they would like to see it there again.

The epergne was made by Elkington & Co. of Birmingham, England, said Flowers. (Click photo to enlarge)

“Lamb was presented with a photo of the promised centerpiece in December 1864, shortly before the fort fell in mid-January 1865. Fortunately, he did not gain possession until 1866.”

By then, the war was over and the colonel had been released from brief confinement. A native of Norfolk, Va., the soldier returned there after the Civil War and was active in business and politics.

The inscription at the base reads: "Presented to Colonel William Lamb, C.S.A. commanding at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, by the owners of the steamship ‘Banshee’ in recognition of the eminent service and valuable assistance at all times so continuously rendered during the period she was engaged in trading between Nassau and Wilmington from May to November 1863."

This Englishman lived for adventure, riches

One of Fort Fisher's formidable guns after its capture (Library of Congress)

While blockade running occurred at ports across the Confederacy, the epicenter was Wilmington, which depended on Fort Fisher. Union land and naval forces attacked the sentinel twice before it fell in early 1865, and the loss was crippling to the South.

Owners and captains of the blockade runners had a massive risk and reward balancing act during Fort Fisher’s existence.

Among the most enterprising was English-born Thomas “Tom” E. Taylor (below).

In 1862, the Anglo-Confederate Trading Co. employed the 21-year-old as their "supercargo," (owner's representative). “All told, they operated or owned 15 vessels engaged in blockade-running. Taylor himself ran the blockade 28 times, 26 of the 28 were either in-or-out of Wilmington,” said Flowers.

Taylor has been described as both a thrill seeker and opportunist.

“Although sympathetic to the South’s cause and her struggle for independence, Taylor put his vessel and his life in harm’s way not for patriotism, but for the enormous profits that could be accrued by successfully running the Federal blockade,” wrote Confederate navy author R. Thomas Campbell in a 2007 issue of Military Heritage magazine.

In his 1896 memoirs, “Running the Blockade: A Personal Narrative of Adventure, Risks, and Escapes during the American Civil War,” Taylor wrote extensively about the Banshee, detailing one attempt in which several Federal gunboats fired upon the vessel as it neared the protection of Fort Fisher.

“Their shots were soon dropping close around us: an unpleasant sensation when you know you have several tons of gunpowder under your feet,” wrote Taylor, who became friends with Lamb. Blockade runners carried both military and civilian goods.

Notwithstanding the loss of the Banshee by capture, “she earned sufficient on the eight successful round trips which she made to pay her shareholders 700 per cent on their investment,” he said.

Sixteen of the side-wheel Banshee’s 17 trips to Rebel ports had been successful.

The U.S. Navy, ironically, used the captured ship in the first attempt on Fort Fisher, before assigning it to the Potomac Flotilla in Chesapeake Bay.

Commander's wife was there during attack

Flowers said Lamb, who was in his late 20s during the war, was the architect and commander of the “grandest, single sea-coast sandcastle in the Confederacy.”

He called Wilmington the last gateway on the Eastern Seaboard to the outside world as “the fortunes of the neophyte nation were moored to the docks of the port city's harbor. This story requires no exaggeration or embellishment; it is also leavened by an incredible love story, as Lamb's Northern-born wife, Daisy, shared the victories and vicissitudes of that war with him as they coupled beneath their star-crossed banner on Confederate Point.”

Daisy, born Sarah Anne Chaffee in Rhode Island, lived in a small cottage near Fort Fisher (above, photo Fort Fisher).

Lamb was severely wounded and captured when Fort Fisher fell to Union forces on Jan. 15, 1865, after a stalwart defense. The wounds he received during the final assault would leave him on crutches for seven years, according to NCpedia. (Daisy escaped capture.)

The Lambs, who had three children, subsequently moved to Virginia. Daisy died at age 54 in 1892. William was 73 when he passed in 1909.

The epergne remained in possession of the Lamb family until last year, said Flowers. “Hopefully, it will go on temporary display here at the new visitor center by the end of the year, or soon after.” (Above, inscription at base, Fort Fisher)

The new owner may make the artifact a gift to the state upon his passing, officials said.

The program on Col. Lamb and the silver epergne is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17, at the Federal Point History Center, 1121 N. Lake Park Blvd., Carolina City, N.C. Parking is at Carolina Beach Town Hall across from Dollar General. Call 910-458-0502 or 910-251-7351 for more information.

What's the story with a Civil War bullet found on a coastal North Carolina school playground? It looks like a Federal soldier removed it to unload his weapon

Boys with three-ring bullet they found at school (Morehead City Elementary photo); Map of area (Wikipedia)

Morehead City Elementary School at Camp Glenn isn’t just the home of the Dolphins. It’s also home to a boatload of North Carolina military history -- from Confederate and Union camps during the Civil War to a National Guard training center in the early 20^th century.

That rich history collided in mid-May with two fifth-graders, Evan J. and Will B., who were enjoying recess in the front playground. They found a .58-caliber bullet observers believe likely was used by a Union soldier in 1862 during the siege of nearby Fort Macon.

The artifact has since been placed in a display case near the front entrance; where it will greet students returning to school next week.

“It was located along the fence/property line where a new fence has been installed in the last year, where our school grounds butt up against a boat dealership,” Principal Christy Propst told the Civil War Picket. (Morehead City Elementary photo)

“I feel certain the bullet was unearthed during the process of installing the fence. During other projects like installing a playground set, we have found old tin cans and lids that are roll top of that makes sense.”

Paul Branch Jr., an author and retired historian for Fort Macon State Park, said the Camp Glenn training site and the elementary school are located in what was formerly a small coastal settlement known as Carolina City.

Joseph Shadek of the 8th Connecticut Infantry made this sketch of an 1862 Union military camp in Carolina City (Courtesy of the Bridgeport History Center, Bridgeport Public Library)

“A Confederate camp called Camp Argyle existed briefly near Carolina City for the 7th North Carolina Regiment before it was sent to New Bern,” said Branch. “After the battle of New Bern, Union forces advancing from New Bern to capture Fort Macon occupied Carolina City on March 22, 1862, and established their headquarters there, with camps for Connecticut and Rhode Island troops in the area,” he said.

Carolina City also had a railroad spur line leading to a wharf on the sound, from which Union soldiers, siege artillery and supplies were ferried across Bogue Sound to occupy Bogue Banks during the siege of Fort Macon, added Branch, who has written two books about the fort.

“Although there was no fighting at Carolina City, the bullet was probably dropped by one of the soldiers while camped there and then found by the two children,” he said.

Case at school includes photo of boys, bullet (lower right) and history of Camp Glenn

I asked readers of the Authentic Campaigner Facebook page to identify the discovered bullet. They said it was a three-ringer Burton or Minie Ball – and said it was likely Federal and had been “pulled.” I asked for an explanation.

“Loaded into a rifle, not fired, pulled out with a screw attached to the rammer,” said one commenter. “Happened mostly for misfires or if coming off picket line or any other situation where you couldn't just fire it, but needed the gun unloaded.” 

The very top of the round shows evidence a worm screw had been used to reach the bullet in the barrel, commenters said.

Propst said the school at first used Google AI to try to identify the bullet. She then reached out to the History Museum of Carteret County (below) for help.

Museum executive director Gracie Bender said researcher Dee Lewis and volunteer curator Barbara McCreary determined the round came from the Civil War.

“Discoveries like this do turn up from time to time along the Crystal Coast, though they’re not an everyday occurrence,” Bender said. “While Morehead City itself did not see major battles, the area was part of a heavily militarized coastline. Union forces occupied nearby Beaufort and Fort Macon early in the war, and troops moved throughout the region. Because of that activity, stray artifacts occasionally surface.”

“It’s hard to say whether it was dropped during the Civil War or arrived later through soil brought in during construction,” she added.

The museum interprets the Civil War as part of the larger story of coastal North Carolina — focusing on Fort Macon, Union occupation, local civilian experiences and the strategic importance of the ports and sounds. Fort Macon was forced to surrender in April 1862.

Carolina City died out after the Civil War and was absorbed by Morehead City. In the early 1900s, Camp Glenn was established on part of the land as the annual training grounds for the North Carolina State Guard/National Guard. (At right, Craig Swain photo at HMdb.org)

A Coast Guard/Navy Air Station was briefly established here in the early 1920s. A Navy Section Base was also established here in World War II.

“Carolina City and its environs have seen a lot of military use over the years,” said Branch.

Propst, the principal, said after Camp Glenn the grounds were home to a naval hospital and a state highway patrol training facility before becoming a school.

“Lots of history on these grounds,” she added. “I’m not local to the area, but it has been interesting to learn.”

At 99, Charles J. Turner Jr. has dug up Georgia battle relics nearly his whole life. That collection and an impressive array of purchases are finding new life at the Atlanta History Center's Civil War exhibits

Charles Turner in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1938 and in 2023 with part of his enormous collection (AHC); canister and shrapnel Turner found at Pickett's Mill decades ago and artifacts he bought on display in "More Perfect Union (Picket photos)

Charles J. Turner Jr. was just a boy when the relic hunting bug hit, and he’s been at it ever since. At age 99, Turner’s still curious about what Civil War treasure rests in the soil of North Georgia.

Turner recalls a seminal moment in 1933 or 1934, during the Great Depression, while he was growing up on Lucile Avenue in Atlanta.

“One of the kids I went to school with lived in the area and he picked up a Minie ball in the woods one day and brought it to school and he showed it to me,” the retired electrical engineer recently told the Picket.

The young hobbyist subsequently got some suggestions for places to look from noted historian and artist Wilbur G. Kurtz, who refurbished the Cyclorama painting and was a technical adviser for the film “Gone with the Wind.”

Visitors can flip through digital version of Sherman's Barnard volume at top of case (Picket photo)

Turner’s passion for digging Civil War artifacts and buying militaria is an incredible boon for the Atlanta History Center. The collector is in the process of donating hundreds of collected items to the institution. Some items he purchased in recent years went directly to the AHC.

Patrons are beginning to see the fruits of Turner’s efforts. A display in the AHC’s new “More Perfect Union” exhibit includes a trove of artifacts he bought, including a flag of the consolidated 6^th and 9^th Tennessee Infantry.

There’s a lot more.

Nearby is a rare cartridge box and rusted canister from the pitched fighting at Pickett’s Mill northwest of Atlanta. Farther down is a copy of photographer George Barnard’s album recording Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s campaign in the South and Sherman’s rank insignia (Picket photo, left). Both items belonged to the Sherman family.

Turner bought the two items from an auction house a couple years back and donated them to the AHC; he dug up the Pickett’s Mill canister in the 1950s/1960s, before the site became a state park.

His generosity will result in educational opportunities for future generations, museum officials contend. Turner's items in "More Perfect Union" are the tip of the iceberg. A gallery opening in several months figures scores of items he personally obtained while relic hunting.

His dug relics will be unveiled in coming months

Much of the relic hunter’s finds and purchases filled a large room and now the AHC is using those items to buttress its already immense collection and tell more stories about the fighting in Georgia. (Photos below, courtesy Atlanta History Center)

The gallery in “More Perfect Union” dedicated to the Atlanta Campaign has been named the Charles J. Turner Family Gallery in his honor.

His dug collection of weaponry will be the backbone of “The Hard Hand of War: Soldiers, Weapons, and Mass Production,” the museum’s second new exhibit about the Civil War. It will open in several months.

“Together, his collection represents one of the most comprehensive covering the Atlanta Campaign,” the history center says.

It’s remarkable that a man who started collecting during President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first term in office is still in the game. Now, Turner says, it is time for others to appreciate his collection. Most have gone to the Atlanta History Center.

“That’s where they really ought to be, where people can see them,” Turner said.

Wilbur Kurtz gave the Atlanta boy lasting advice

Turner grew up at a time when stories about the Civil War weren’t far removed from those who experienced its triumphs and tragedies. He recalls the former Confederate soldiers’ home near Grant Park.

The war was very much part of the fabric that made up Atlanta during his youth. “There were sons and daughters of veterans who had stories to tell,” Turner related to the Civil War Picket in a recent phone call.

By the time he was a teen, Turner was on the prowl for finds across the battlefields of metro Atlanta. Relic hunting in Atlanta used to be quite common, since just about the whole city was a battlefield.

Around the time he turned 18 in February 1944, Kurtz wrote a letter to his father, Charles J. Turner, with relic location suggestions and the recommendation to learn the history of the battles. (Above, courtesy Atlanta History Center)

The correspondence, which is kept at the Atlanta History Center, starts with this detailed passage:

“Your son’s hobby is an excellent one – I’d say – but perhaps I’m prejudiced, since ‘tis the same one I’ve ridden for more than years than I’d like to say. As for Civil War relics – bullets, etc., the Atlanta area affords but poor pickings at this late date. The primary shortage was brought about by the impoverished citizenry during the trying period immediately following the close of the war – they found out that bullets could be sold as junk lead to hardware stores, etc, and the money could be spent for bacon and cornmeal, next door – so bullet hunting was perhaps more profitable than blackberry gathering – being an all-year-round opportunity and not seasonable. Miss Sarah Huff (died last spring) told me that she had picked them up by the gallon, as a child – and that she knew that many, many others were doing the same things – to the same end as cited above.”

Huff as a young girl experienced the impact of the war in Atlanta and later wrote a book about her experiences.

Kurtz went on to write that Ezra Church, Cascade Road, Beecher Park, Utoy Creek area (right), Venetian Hills, New Hope Church and Kennesaw Mountain still had the potential for discoveries.

(Now, as then, diggers should seek permission from owners of private property. Most governments ban relic collecting on battlefields, parks and other historic sites. Those government sites largely were not in existence during Turner’s youth.)

Gordon Jones, senior military historian and curator at the AHC, said the Turners saw Kurtz at the July 1944 dedication of the Peachtree Creek monument at Piedmont Hospital in the Buckhead area of the city.

“Great story, great connection,” he said of their friendship.

Enthusiast struck paydirt years ago at Pickett's Mill

About that time, Charles J. Turner Jr. was drafted into the U.S. Amy and spent the closing months of World War II in Germany, where his unit oversaw labor by Axis prisoners of war.

He later attended Georgia Tech, where he received two engineering degrees. He had a long career with Lockheed before retiring in the mid-1980s.

The lifelong Atlantan nurtured his hobby all this time, amassing a large collection. He stayed mostly within 100 miles of Atlanta, including sites in Resaca and Jonesboro.

Notable relic collectors in the area included Beverly M. DuBose Jr. and his son Beverly M. Dubose III. Their collection was the basis of the old AHC “Turning Point: The American Civil War” exhibit, which closed to make way for “More Perfect Union.”

Jones said the Turner and DuBose relics will comprise "A War in Our Backyards," the largest section within "The Hard Hand of War." The collections will be separate, featuring biographies of the collectors, stories of their discoveries and maps of where they collected. The DuBoses dug relics in several Southern states.

"Both collections highlight the enormous quantity of war materiel manufactured during the war," added Jones.

Turner spent a lot of time at Pickett’s Mill in the 1950s and 1960s “Most of the stuff I found at Pickett’s started out with an old Army mine detector. I graduated up to commercial.”

He found belt buckles, bayonets, rifle barrels, rifle parts, uniform buttons and more. (Turner in the 1990s, right)

“One of the things I enjoyed finding was the shot from the cannon down that gully.”

In late May 1864, cannons mowed down Federal attackers who futilely charged through a ravine toward Confederates waiting for them in strength. At "More Perfect Union," the case of canister is next to an artillery piece that may have fired some of those rounds. (Picket photo, right; click to enlarge)

Turner says he has found thousands of items in the field. He recalls spotting a locket in a creek bed near Dallas, Ga. The item contained a lock of a woman's hair.

The majority of the guns in his collection came from dealers and antique stores.

While in his 80s, Turner began to collect more items pertaining to the Atlanta Campaign, including the 6th/9th Tennessee flag. In the mid-2010s, he began working with the AHC to preserve his collection, officials said.

Charles J. Turner Jr. with the 6th/9th Tennessee flag before it went on display (AHC)

Gallery features a trove of Turner's collection

“More Perfect Union” tells a much wider story than “Turning Point” about the causes and repercussions of the conflict. Topics include slavery, secession, economic forces, Reconstruction and how all of this translates today.

But, of course, there are the items related to soldiers, uniforms and weaponry.

Cased Colt revolver presented by Col. Anson McCook to a fellow officer in the 2nd Ohio;  canteen used by Pvt. John Kemp, 11^th Tennessee at the Dead Angle; cartridge box and cap pouch made by Wellborn, Nichols & Oliver of Dalton, Ga. 

Additional Turner items currently on display include:

-- Two canteens, including a Confederate one picked up by a Yankee soldier after the Battle of Resaca in May 1864;

--- Drum carried throughout the Atlanta Campaign by William A. McKinzie with the 78^th Illinois;

-- Sword of Col. John G. Mitchell with the 113^th Ohio;

-- Kepi of Confederate Brig. Gen Francis Cockrell with the Missouri Brigade. He commissioned the item for $35 from a hat maker in Mobile, Ala.; (right, Picket photo)

-- Cartridge box and cap pouch made by Wellborn, Nichols & Oliver in Dalton, Ga.

-- Smith & Wesson revolver used by a soldier with the 125^th Ohio, known as “Opdycke’s Tigers”;

-- An Austrian Lorenz rifle-musket carried by William Blair Mosby of the 5^th Mississippi;

-- Whitworth sharpshooter rifle used by J.E. Gilbert of the Rebel Army of Tennessee. Turner says he used to have four or five Whitworth rifles. “They are hard to find.”

Time has not diminished his passion for hobby

Charles Turner’s passion for collecting hasn’t much faded over the years. He was out in the field about a year ago, a close friend providing the transportation.

 “A lot of my friends are relic hunters just like me.”

The enthusiast looks for Civil War artifacts in 2012 (Courtesy AHC)

One pal drives him out to the field.

“He started hunting with me 20 years ago. I am still collecting whenever I have a chance. I am not able to get out in the field with a metal detector.”

Turner attended a AHC gala held the week “More Perfect Union” opened. He was among the special guests of honor

Wilbur Kurtz’s 1944 letter to Turner’s father was prophetic, calling the boy’s hobby “an excellent one.” (Click letter below to enlarge; courtesy Atlanta History Center)

The historian and artist finished the correspondence with encouragement for the teen to learn about the battles that shaped the destiny of the country and the South. He listed nearly a dozen books, including one by Union Maj. Gen. Jacob Cox and others by or about Joseph E. Johnston, John Bell Hood, Leonidas Polk and Patrick Cleburne.

“If that boy of yours is really serious about these things, encourage him to keep at it as a hobby to the end that he may become fully informed as to what happened – and where – during that storied summer of 1864.”

“Someone should carry the torch for this sort of thing – so why not Junior?”

Junior, who turns 100 in February, still tends to that flame.