As a result of one of my earlier postings, I recieved an e-mail from someone who described himself as a "newbie", asking for my advice on finding CW relics. Now, after only 8 years of hunting, I still consider myself a "newbie", but I responded as openly as I could. After typing all that follows, I thought, "What the heck....", maybe someone else would find this worthy of comment, so I decided to post it here as well. Let me know what ya'll think....

Dear *name deleted* If you ask 10 people for advice, you'll get 10 different opinions. Here are a few random thoughts and advice I can humbly offer:

1) There is no BAD place to relic hunt anywhere in Virginia...you can find Civil War (and colonial and rev war and coins of all ages etc) anywhere!!!

2) Everyone has a favorite detector....I don't think it matters as much what brand you use so much as how well you know it. Get a decent machine with discrimination from any one of the many manufacturers ( I use a Wilson) and USE it....dig every signal every time until you can tell the difference between the signals. The more familiar you are with YOUR machine the better you will do.

3)OBEY the law and respect other's property!!! This is a no-brainer.....you mentioned you were a beginner so I have to say this. DON"T hunt unless you are sure you have permission!!!! DON'T even think of taking a metal detector on National Park Land. FILL your holes...if in a yard, plug the grass and make it so noone can even tell you were digging. Close farm gates behind you. Get the gist?

4)Safety: Hunt with a partner.....if you get bit by a copperhead or trip and break a leg in the middle of nowhere, you do NOT want to be alone....a small first aid kit and a compass do not weigh much and are worth carrying. Surplus canteens and carriers are very cheap and easy to carry. I have found it worthwhile to have an extra pouch with the following in it: a small bunch of toilet paper, a compass, a plastic trash bag (for those unexpected rain storms), a surplus fire starter, a first aid kit, a toothbrush (for finding out exactly WHAT that button you just dug was..), and YOU should add any medical necessities for YOU...i.e. glucose, nitro pills, insect sting kit, etc.

5)Research: To find the hot spots, you will have to have incredible luck, and do your homework. There are many period maps, diarys, etc that show or mention campsites, skirmishes, homesites. This can take some time. I have heard it said that a really succesful relic hunter spends twice as much time in the library as he/she does in the woods. Don't forget the obvious spots....some of my best finds were within a mile of my home (and that made it easier to get permission).

6) Homesites: The battlefields are pretty much "protected", the known camps have bben hunted out. Guess what....there are still thousands of 1860s homesites that have never been hunted...and there were soldiers THERE. If you can locate a homesite from your research and hunt it, you will find coins and relics. (almost) guaranteed!!! In the rural areas, look for the following: large old trees in the middle of younger trees, old brick in the ground, depressions that may be wells or privy holes, certain plants growing wild in the woods (ie; grapevines, daffodils, yucca plants, boxwoods). Not all houses were brick...hunt with your discrimination off and look for concentrations of nails in the middle of nowhere. Also remember, not ALL houses are on the old maps, and outbuildings such as barns often yield many relics.

7)Look for certain signs to hunt a little harder....old brick in the ground, old pottery, old glass. You can date a site by the trash you find, just take the time to be sure.

8) Don't hunt when you are tired.....you will miss stuff and/or get careless and damage something. Know when to say when....

9)Don't throw away anything until you know what it is.....I have a few "whatzits" that I later found to be CW relics (my Enfield tampion comes to mind). Also, be VERY careful how and how much you clean stuff. Read every reference book you can lay your hands on relating to archaelogy, relics, and the CW. It pays off. Honest.

10)Hunt the places noone else would. The most hunted out sites will have artifacts left in the "inaccessible" spots. Under logs, in thickets, under Holly trees, and in briars. I heard of a fellow who found 8 US plates last year in a site that had been hunted for 30 years....they were all together in a briar patch...he got on his hands and knees and crawled in.....

11)Try to "envision" the landscape as it was then. After awhile, you get a "feel" for sites that will be productive. 1860's meadows may have towering trees now, but the lay of the land is the same (unless developed). Is this a likely place for a soldier to have taken a break and sat down? If "I" was camped here, where would I have thrown my trash? This is one area where my being a CW reenactor has helped my relic hunting immensley.

12) If you dig "black" dirt , ashes, or coals,.you may have found a fire pit....BE VERY THOUROUGH and dig EVERY signal. These can be very productive....be careful not to break any bottles that may be present.

13) Last, but maybe most important, document your finds. All of the major reference books on Civil War relics, ammunition, buttons, plates, shells, canteens, etc. etc. are written by US, relic hunters, not "professional archaeologists". You may never find anything that rewrites history, but you never know.....20 years from now you may wish you have a written record of exactly where you found that particular Ga. camp, that La. belt buckle, those 4 NY sets of coat buttons.

I hope that this random collection of thoughts helps you some, and I hope you hunt out of the love of history as I do. I personally put relic hunting in a whole other plane than "treasure hunting"...to me it is nothing to do with money but the excitement of finding an artifact of those who fought that terrible conflict. The feeling I get when I recover an artifact that hasn't seen the light of day since the CW is indescribable. Please let me know how you do!! Happy Hunting, YOS, VaGent

To this I will add only a few comments: Carry out the trash you dig... I do because I may want to hunt the same area again next week or a few years from now. It is easy to stick those .22's and shotgun shells in your pouch and that way noone else will have to dig them!

The "de-rigueor" uniform of relic hunters is camo fatigues...think how you would react if someone dressed that way rang YOUR doorbell!?! Try to be presentable (like for a job interview) when you ask permission, and your odds go way up.