ODA

A Relic Recovery Project in Ohio

This project-

Sam Waters: Owner of BackYard Diggers/CWPPO, and supported by historical enthusiasts, archaeologists, and metal detectorists, Civil War relic identifiers, and many volunteers; have the goal of locating evidence of the northernmost battle that was fought during the American Civil War between General John Hunt Morgan’s Confederate cavalry troops and elements of Union Army and Ohio militia troops, who had been in pursuit of Morgan’s military force for more than forty days. History documents where the general area of fighting took place, but due to the fluidity of horse mounted combatants, history books lack a full story, having gaps of missing information. The ultimate goal of this project is to locate materials related to this military engagement (ie: lead bullets, military uniform buttons and other accoutrements) that will allow for GPS mapping of the recovery locations and create a “flow of battle” map. Also, the recovered historical materials will be donated to the local museum, through the county Historical Society, for incorporation into a display that will educate visitors about this little known Civil War event with land owners consent. Since not much has been recorded during some events, it is my goal, with my trusting crew, to unearth history to write a larger story for this county. This evidence could benefit the historical societies greatly by providing the proof they need to get grants to place more battle site markers in these locations, it will also benefit the county as well as the state of Ohio to generate tourism and get their name back on the map. This will be the “Gettysburg” of Ohio.

Activity Plan:

Permission are acquired from property owners of tracts of rural farm and woodlands during the battle periods, where much of this battle took place. By using several teams of “metal detectorists” (to locate battle related materials), “excavators” (to recover detected targets), Civil War Experts (to identify and preserve relics), and “documentation assistants” (to catalog recoveries and obtain gps coordinates for period artifacts) – this project’s plan is to attempt to locate the resting places of artifacts that are directly related to any Civil War engagement and, also, identify the scope of the fighting, by determining areas where concentrations of fired and dropped lead ammunition may be found. Also, Union and Confederate uniform buttons, camp gear, and equine equipment may remain in the ground, where soldiers dropped items, as they fought and as they fled.

Modern metal detecting equipment will be utilized to help locate these long lost pieces of Ohio and Civil War history.