NEW ITEMS

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1. I was just reading a "current report" from the "Friends Of Stones River National Battlefield".  It listed the current items "on display" in the- Stones River Visitor Center Museum as numbering "137" - which is about what I would have guessed.  What shocked me is the number of items "in storage" that no one gets to see.  That number is "11,160" items !!  I personally think a relatively small "single" quarterly revolving display would be a wonderful way to let folks get a glimps at some of the VERY COOL relics in those lockers downstairs that, to my knowledge have never - during the 50 years that I have been here - been on public display.  Just My Personal Thoughts !!!

2. First off, and very importantly, I want to say my most sincere "THANK YOU" to everyone for your prayers, concerns, and well wishes.  I am a firm believer "in prayer", and really do feel that prayer is what carried me through.  This all started about three to four weeks ago when I was struck by a vicious virus.  It started out normally enough, but things got "bad sideways" when it hit my lower digestive tract.  Unfortunately, "C-Diff" and a "urinary tract" infection both somehow got introduced at this same point.  Then came 104 fever, and delirium.  I was trying to get to my doctor, and ended up lost, right here in Murfreesboro.  Nita came and rescued me, and got me to my doctor.  Dr. Josh took one look at me, and it was "straight to the hospital".  My lower intestinal tract was "so jacked" that a "colostomy doctor" came by to see me (just in case).  For three days my white count stayed at about 40,000.  On the fourth day the new meds were kicking in, and my body staged a counter attack.  My fever broke, and my white count went to 24,000.  I am still slowly gaining ground, and my white count numbers continue to inch downward.  I, once again, thank everyone, and ask for your continued prayers.  I hope to be back to my "old self" before too long, but this has taught me that I'm FOR SURE not 35 any more !!!  --- This is Tuesday, 1-27-2026, and I continue to get just a little stronger each day !!  Wednesday Morning Report - I had a good day yesterday, and actually got out and about a little bit.  I slept decently last night, and feel my strength gradually inching back.  The weather has been BIG TIME WINTER here for the last few days with ice, snow, and VERY COLD temps.  That at least makes staying indoors by the fire a little easier, and more normal !!!  This is Friday (1-30-2026), and I continue to feel more normal, and get a little stronger one day at a time.  It is all going to be "OK" !! with each passing day !!!!  Saturday (1-31-2026)  I thankfully continue to get a little stronger with each day.  I got my "FIRST" hospital bill today, and it is for the hospital only - It does not include the doctors, and some of the tests - etc.  It is $62,000. and honestly I was expectlng worse !!  At one point about the second or third day - I would have GLADLY signed off on $162,000. in exchange for a guarantee that I was EVENTUALLY going to walk out the FRONT DOOR of the hospital rather than be carried out the back !!!  Thank GOD for our medical professionals, and for our excellent facilities !!!

3. Well Guys -- I have finally reached a landmark that I have "wondered" how it would feel for a long time.  I am "entering" my "50-th year" of being "open for business" here at "YESTERYEAR - MIDDLE TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR RELICS" at the BATTLE OF STONES RIVER - MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE !!!  I have so completely enjoyed helping get folks started researching, saving relics, collecting, relic hunting, and generally loving preserving Civil War History that the time has flown.  Some of my proudest moments are (1) Back in 1972, I had just graduated college at MTSU, with a degree in Chemistry, and was interviewing for a job - pretty much all Chemistry jobs when out of the blue, I get a call from the Principal of Ringgold High School, Ringgold, Georgia.  The Math/Chemistry teacher had become seriously ill, and had to resign.  He explained to me how many young lives would be impacted.  I had not had ONE education course in my entire life, but he explained to me that he could get me a one year "Emergency Teacher Certificate".  The "impacting young lives" thing stuck with me.  I accepted the teaching job, and was off to Ringgold, GA.  Once there, the coaches there learned that I had played baseball in highschool years, and they were missing a baseball coach, and for an extra $50. per month - I became "Coach Hicklen" !!  I was already Relic Hunting, and loving Civil War history by this point, and some of the students/baseball players began on weekends going with me, and looking for Relics.  It didn't hurt that "The Battle of Ringgold Gap", and a portion of "The Battle of Chickamauga" fell on farms owned by families of some of my students.  One of my students (Keith Rowland) - who was also on the baseball team, and loved relic hunting so much that he got his Dad into it, and they hunted together for many years.  Many years later Keith thanked me for introducing him to Relic Hunting.  He said that he was heading down some wrong roads, and he credits Relic Hunting for turning his focus around !!  Now THAT makes you "HAPPY" !!  And, then there was this "Muddy Boot" young student from MTSU that had to show me the .69 cal three ring bullets he had just found.  I liked the newly recovered .69 cal. three ringers very well, but what I REALLY LIKED was this young man's  EXTREME LOVE AND ENTHUSIASM of collecting and the era.  This young man was "RAFAEL ELEDGE", and in no time I realized this young man had every last thing he needed to "EXCELL" in what we do.  I hope he and Catherine know that I could not be more proud of them !!!!  And Well - that brings us to tonight.  This coming year will close out 50 years of being "OPEN" (although the last few have been by appointment, and "online".  I am announcing my intention to "Completely Retire" at the "end" of this coming year -- (2026).  I am hoping that gives me a few years to just chill, dig a few relics, fish a little, and get into trouble with the grandbabies !!!!  My Love, and Thanks to everyone For A Mighty Fine Life, and my most sincere thanks to God for Placing in my life All The Wonderful People That He Has, and for the gifts and abilities that he has richly blessed me !!!!  LOVE YOU GUYS, AND DO MEAN IT !!!!!

4. WHAT A FUN, FUN TIME WE HAD AT THE CIVIL WAR SHOW AT FRANKLIN, TN THIS PAST WEEK-END !!!  IT WAS SO GREAT GETTING TO SEE EVERYONE, AND NOT TO MENTION THE THOUSANDS OF GREAT CIVIL WAR RELICS !!!  I MOST HUMBLY THANK THE MANY OF YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS, AND CONDOLENCES RELATING TO MY DAD'S RECENT PASSING.  I CAN PROMISE IT REALLY DOES HELP CALM A HURTING HEART - ONCE AGAIN "THANK YOU" !!!  -----  (NOW PASSED -12-6-25 and 12-7-25) ---- VERY - VERY IMPORTANT !!!  IT IS "CIVIL WAR SHOW AND SALE TIME" IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE !!!  OUR 38TH ANNUAL "MIDDLE TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR SHOW AND SALE" WILL BE HELD THIS WEEKEND (DEC. 6, AND DEC. 7, 2025) AT THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY AG. CENTER LOCATED JUST SOUTH OF FRANKLIN, TN AT THE GOOSE CREEK EXIT OFF OF INTERSTATE I-65.  THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS OF THE ENTIRE YEAR FEATURING APPROXIMATELY 800 TABLES OF THE FINEST "REV. WAR - CIVIL WAR - & WWII" ARTIFACTS IN EXISTANCE TODAY !!!  THE SHOW WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC SAT. (DEC. 6) 9 AM - 5 PM, AND SUN. (DEC. 7) 9 AM -3:00 PM.  PLEASE COME BY MY TABLES, AND "SAY - HELLO" !!!  I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU !!!  THIS SHOW IS ALWAYS SO MUCH FUN !!!  I'M WALKING OUT THE DOOR, AND HEADED TO THE SHOW -- HOPE TO SEE YOU GUYS THERE !!!

   "Today" (now a number of days in the past) was the day that I have dreaded my entire life.  The "ACTUAL" day that I have to say "GOOD BYE" to my dear old Dad.  I stayed in the hospital room with him last night following his massive heart attack a couple days ago.  At 8:17 AM this morning (Wed.- 11/19/2025) at the age of "94 years -7 months and 27 days", I watched as Dad took his last breath.  Part of me "celebrated" that Dad was free of all the pain and suffering of this world, BUT, a HUGE part of me was "deeply grieving" that I had just lost one of the two people THAT I 1000% KNEW HAD MY BACK SINCE THE DAY I WAS BORN !!  I first want to say thank you to all our friends and relatives for the condolences, support, and well wishes.  It really does make a difference.  I thought I was ready to say goodbye and send Dad along to a place where there is no more pain and suffering.  It turns out that no matter how prepared you think you are, the reality is, you are not ready.I have full faith that in due time I will see him again, --- and he will be healthy, happy, and, as always, hard at work !!!!  He has crossed over the river, and is resting in the shade of the trees on the other side.  If I could have one wish in this world - It would be that everyone might have parents as loving and supportive as I have been blessed with !!!  On one final note - THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE, AND SUPPORT !!! To my Civil War buddies (Rafael Eledge - Steve and Nancy Norman - Kevin Cummings - Tom Ivery - Josh Rinehart -Wayne and Pat Bryan - Ralph and Candy Abbruzzee - John and Nikki Walsh, and to any others my poor fried mind can't think of -- You guys really helped me get through one of the absolute toughest days of my life !!!  LOVE YOU GUYS - MEAN IT !!!

5. Today ranks right up there with one of my tougher days ever. My 94 year old Dad had a bad heart attack a couple days ago, and I spent last night in the hospital with him. I was able to talk with him last night, but this morning he was breathing, and heart still beating, but barely - and could not be aroused. The tests showed that he had only 20 % heart function remaining, and it is about time for him to cross over to the other side. I have picked out my two songs for him - One by my friend Josh Turner - "Two Stepping On The Moon" ( in honor of Mom and Dad Going Dancing Every Week For Over Twenty Years), and Vince Gill's "Go Rest High On The Mountain". Dad was not perfect - nor are any of the rest of us, but he tried his hardest to provide for us, and always was supportive - even when he had serious doubts. 50 years ago I was a Chemist at Textron, and I decided to give that up, and open a Civil War Store. He had SERIOUS doubts about giving up a Chemistry job to start selling Civil War Bullets. He asked if I was SURE that was what I wanted to do. I told him "yes", and we started work remodeling the old grocery store !!! He has been a good Dad !!! (This picture was taken for their 70th Wedding Anniversary - in just a few days, they will have been married for 75 years!)

6. Check this out.  My good buddy, Steve Maloney, awhile back made this cool find in Stones River.  It is two .69 cal., friction fit, triangular socket bayonets shoved inside each other.  What a nice find!!

7. Just when you think all of the really good finds have about been made, we find nearly 100 bullets in one hole, and this past Sunday, our young friend, Kyle Mullicane, made a killer find up near the cabin.  Kyle's father-in-law, Terry Parks, built our cabin, and his daughter and Kyle had their wedding pictures made there.  Kyle has only been relic hunting a few months and found a complete Civil War revolver off the old road up on the mountain.  The revolver is a .31 cal., IXL (which looks like an Adams patent).  The revolver was pretty much a giant hunk of rust when it came out of the ground, and after some electrolysis, is now taking shape.  Lots of old time relic hunters have never found a complete revolver.  (The fifth picture represents a similar pistol in original condition.)  Just goes to prove, there are still some good finds left to be made if you're willing to work hard and get out there.  We send huge congratulations to Kyle for his find!!!

8. It was SO MUCH FUN watching the excitement of Liv and Jack pulling the Confederate bullets out right and left !!! I enjoyed watching them far more than digging them myself. There is a really interesting "back story" as to why these bullets were there. Nita and I hunted this section of the old military road literally 20 years ago. The BIG oak tree had recently fallen at that point in time. The top section of the tree was roughly 40 feet across and so thick that you could not begin to get inside that area to hunt. When I noticed how decayed the top of that massive tree was (now, 20 years later), it crossed my mind that we had never been able to hunt the area inside the fallen tree. I took two steps inside what had been a dense forest of oak tree branches and got a signal about the size of a car hood. The F-75 was literally screaming "good signal". I detuned my detector and realized the single massive signal was actually an accumulative signal. In the same area, we had found several dropped spills of bullets in the past. They were there because of eight straight days of falling rain. In multiple diaries, I had read about the Confederate Army of Tennessee having to discard ammunition due to being soaked. Some of the "spills" that we recovered years ago included one hole found by our good buddy Jeff Havner of 163 imported Enfields along with their percussion caps. Most of these were 57 base marked and also numerous "L" for London base. Another hole had 68 Enfields, and a hole Nita found had 25 sets of buck and ball. Our friend, Kent Brothers hit a hole with 38 - .54 cal. Minies for the Mississippi rifle. We feel certain all of these spills were the result of the pouring rain. The same diaries made mention of the wagons miring up to the hubs in mud. Nita and I found one of the massive iron wheel edgings that broke due to miring up in the mud. It took us two trips to get this thing up the mountain.  We eventually made a display from it filling the entire inside area with the relics we found on the road near it. At this point in time, it is quite a rarity to recover near 100 individual pieces in one hole.

9. How cool is this !!!!  In a resently released study, Tennessee has been named as one of the best places in the nation to live and raise a family.  In the same study Williamson County (my home county) has been named the best county in the state to live and raise a family, AND "NOLENSVILLE" (MY HOME TOWN) HAS BEEN NAMED THE BEST CITY IN TENNESSEE TO LIVE !!  This is based on quality of life - education - sports - health institutes - safety - jobs - home values -etc.  I'm very proud of Tennessee, and our conservative "VOLUNTEER" way of life !!!  I DO LOVE ME SOME "GOOD OLD ROCKY TOP" !!!!

10. The hot, dog days of summer are gradually transitioning into fall.  The critters in our water garden seem to be mostly lounging around and taking it easy.  As night comes on now, there is a steady chorus from the tree frogs and bull frogs.  The fish have become so accustomed to us feeding them, that the minute we approach, they come swimming from every direction.  The deer are really not much different in that they also approach but stand behind a tree and peep around it.  As we drive away, they come running.  We are at the end of August and still have numerous fawns with spots.  I wonder if they are going to have time to mature before winter.  We really enjoy all the wonders of nature.

11. Early in the year, we had a single turkey hen start regularly coming to the feeding area at the game cam.  We purchased some cracked corn to add to the whole grain corn that the deer like, especially for the turkeys and small animals.  The single turkey mom just returned with her brood of young turkeys.  We can clearly see how quickly one turkey can turn into one hundred turkeys.  To a degree, that has actually happened here, because turkeys are now running over each other.  In all the years that I hunted during my youth, I saw maybe half a dozen turkeys total by the time I was 18.  Now, over at Mom & Dad's farm, you can see dozens on any given day.  We still love looking at them but kind of hope the population increase slows down a little bit.  A good friend of ours saw a large tom turkey just off of the tractor road to her barn.  She decided to walk over and get a close-up picture.  The tom turkey dropped its wings and attacked her spurring her in both sides and sending her to the hospital.  She vows to remember that come hunting season!!

12. After many years of maintaining a swimming pool as my daughters grew up through their teenage years and now have their own families, the swimming pool gets absolutely no use any more.  I was always intrigued by the "Beverly Hillbillies" cement pond, so I decided that I needed a 24,000 gallon aquarium (AKA - CEMENT POND) !!!  I now enjoy it every day, and the fish come running every time they see me (because they know they're about to be fed).  I'm thinking about putting a couple of tree tops in for cover!!

13. Our good friend, Wayne Bryan, each year on Memorial Day remembers his Confederate ancestors and neighbors by placing a Confederate Flag on each Confederate Soldier's grave.  He has worked his way up to placing the Confederate Flag on about 30 soldier's graves in and around Grundy, Marion, and Franklin counties.  I salute Wayne and hope that we all continue to remember our ancestry.  This particular grave is Wayne's Great-Great-Grandfather, H. C. Sartain of the 28th Tennessee Cavalry, CSA.

14. A HUGE SALUTE AND HEARTFELT "THANK YOU" TO ALL OUR VETERANS FOR PROTECTING US, AND FOR PROTECTING THIS WONDERFUL COUNTRY WE CALL HOME !!!!  GOD BLESS THE U.S.A. !!!!

15. GREAT NEWS!!!  I was just able to purchase back a beautiful condition, rare pattern (No Inner Buckle Border Rim), large size US oval waist belt plate that I dug back in 1982.  The reason "this buckle" is special to me is that I got three ribs broken by a HUGE bull the day I dug it.  The bull was actually a "semi-pet" and would follow me around the pasture while digging.  The only thing that you had to definitely bear in mind was no "dirt throwing" while digging.  If you threw dirt, the bull took it personally.  On this particular day, I had already dug this buckle and had another really good signal.  I was being a little too excited and careless.  I was bent over the hole moving the dirt around trying to get a glimpse of the edge of the relic.  I was apparently moving the dirt around to vigorously.  "Knobby" (the big bull) had one complete horn and one "knob" consisting of about 1/2 a horn.  Thus the name "Knobby".  I felt Knobby's head and the good horn go under me as I was bent over, and it literally felt like the Space Shuttle launching.  I felt the three ribs in quick succession go pop, pop, pop.  And then, as I was launched over ten feet in the air, I was snatched right out of my head phones and saw the sky, and then the ground for three revolutions.  Then I came crashing back to the ground landing right in front of Knobby's head.  He did nothing whatsoever but expected to have his head rubbed.  That was it for me for that day.  "Forresty Maxwell" was hunting with me that day, and he made the wise decision to stay out of the pasture with the bull.  I remember him saying, "You wanted that buckle way worse than I did."  Knobby the bull made the fatal mistake of launching the owner, Mr. Owens, into orbit a few weeks later.  Knobby then became "hamburger".  So, I am very happy that Randy Burnham gave me the opportunity to bring it home.  The following two weeks were without a doubt the sorest that I have ever been !!!!!!!  Breathing was hard, but don't even think about caughing, laughing, or heaven forbid "sneezing" !!!

16. As many of you know, our big Civil War Show at Franklin, Tennessee, was held this past weekend (DEC. 7 and DEC. 8, 2024).  I was walking down an aisle - scanning as I walked, and right in the middle of a display containing 60 - 80 plates, I spotted a "rope-border" CS Oval that I recovered back in 1986.  I immediately stopped and looked closer, and the tag said "Wayne Jenkins, 1986".  I absolutely knew that was the plate, because I sold the buckle to Wayne the following day after digging it in "1986".  I sold the buckle for $500 in 1986, which at that point in time was a pretty good amount of money.  I bought the buckle back this past Friday afternoon for $1,700 and was happy as a clam!!  After an absence of nearly 40 years, it is headed back upstairs to go into the display with its brothers and cousins.  I had a whale of a good time at the Civil War Show buying and selling several pieces, but I would have been thrilled if getting my buckle back was the only thing I accomplished at the show!  (These are some fun memories from 38 years ago of one GREAT day digging at a newly found "Polk's Corp" Army Of Tennessee 1862 - 1863 winter camp located along the Duck River near Shelbyville, TN.  The day's finds include 2 nice arrow hook "U.S." oval waist belt plates - one C.S. manufacture plain face pewter waist belt plate - one very rare "Rope Border" style C.S. oval waist belt plate - A beautiful Leech and Rigdon style "CS" marked Confederate Cavalry Officer's spur - and over 100 bullets and buttons.  Now those are some priceless memories !!)

17. I am very fortunate to have three individuals in my family that are interested in and collect Civil War artifacts.  What is a bit unusual is that I am the only "guy" interested.  The other two are female cousins.  One of my cousins, Marcia Hicklin, is the owner and curator of "Hicklin Hearthstone", a museum and working farm dating the Civil War Era.  A couple of years back, I disarmed a family hand-me-down Parrott artillery shell from the plantation home.  We today received an order from Marcia adding a powder flask to the museum collection.  I am very proud that our family is doing what we can to honor our heritage.  (Marcia stopped by for a short visit a few days ago, and it was such a treat to get to see her !!!  I really do want to get out to visit her, and be able to meet the Missouri side of our family !!)

18. When you are at a Civil War show anywhere around Nashville or Franklin, you never know who you might run into!!!  I think "I hear that train a comin', rollin' round the bend."  What a talent this man was and a devoted Civil War collector!!!

19. Here are an interesting series of pictures following our Relic Shop all the way back to 1929 when it was a little country grocery store servicing visitors to the Stones River Park and Cemetery.  The older pictures are the old store around 1930, and the pictures with the red arrows are showing various things that can be seen in the current pictures.  The sign pole out in front of the store I dug up and moved to the edge of the parking area, but it is the same pole.  The front of the store originally extended out further allowing vehicles to drive underneath it.  I cut it back to "porch size" which allowed room for parking in front of it.  Notice in one of the old pictures you can see an awning that could be raised up and provide an open counter toward the park.  I have been told that they made sandwiches and lunches for park visitors.  Originally, there was a train platform that unloaded visitors beside the cemetery stone wall, and they walked down the wall to the cemetery entrance which brought them right to the front of the store.  Over the years, I have been told and read many interesting accounts relating to the park and cemetery.  One story that I have been repeatedly told is that for a number of years, people travelled a good distance to avoid coming through the park area in July and August.  It is estimated that 8,000 - 10,000 mules and horses were killed in the battle, and to a great degree with the help of vultures, decayed on the field.  It is sobering all the history that remains here surrounding us.  The first picture is the current shop which incorporates the old original general store.

20. If some of you have never visited the Carter House at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, AT NIGHT, you are missing a jaw-dropping experience.  The "farm office building" which sits on the south side of the Carter House lawn from the main house took the brunt of fire power from the afternoon of November 30, 1864, when the Confederate Army of Tennessee made a desperate charge (actually according to some accounts - six separate charges) on the Federal line just south of the Carter House.  The farm office building is one of the most battle scarred standing structures in the United States.  There are over 1,000 holes.  I was privileged one afternoon to be in the office farm house when rays of light came through the bullet holes.  It was unbelievable, and there was practically no place you would not have gotten hit.  For me, this is somewhat like seeing the great Redwood trees in California.  Until you stand there and see it in person, it is impossible to grasp the magnitude.

21. I took the grandbabies, Lila Magnolia and Isabella Rose, relic hunting yesterday.  Even though it was a little cool and misty, they hung tough.  We were able to recover one bullet each for them.  We found one dropped .54 cal. 3-ring Confederate Minie ball for the Mississippi rifle and one .69 cal. musket ball for the old smooth bore muskets the Confederates were forced to use.  Then, wouldn't you know it, we ran into another relic hunter in the woods - Old Big Foot!!!

22. Here is a set of four of the very rarest buckles ever recovered here at Stones River and the camps just south of here.  I recovered the oval Alabama Map on Tree from the camp of the 1st Alabama Cavalry located just south of Murfreesboro, near Midland, Tennessee.  The cast brass "Map on Tree" sword belt plate was recovered by Bobby Moon at a hospital site here at Stones River.  The small oval AVC cartridge box plate was recovered by Richard Bodenhammer among the limestone out-croppings on private property actually here at the battlefield of Stones River.  And the large oval AVC was recovered from the same 1st Alabama Cavalry camp where I recovered the large oval Map on Tree.  It is a super rarity to see these four plates together!!!

23. We started our water garden project back in June of 2022.  It has been a fun and challenging project that is at last coming into final focus.  Here are some pictures that follow us along the way.  We enjoy sitting by the water garden sipping wine, watching the fish and birds, and listening to the wind chimes.  Calms the soul!!!

24. After over 50 years of relic hunting, this display case contains some of my favorite finds.  I have been fortunate to recover 69 Confederate buckles over that 50-year time span.  This case contains one of the nicest Western Theater CS Round Corner Sardine type plates that you could hope to see.  It has all three hooks intact.  Next is a "coin type" CS Tongue & Wreath buckle and top row to the right is a really nice Breckenridge style CS oval.  In the center on the left is a cast-brass Army of Tennessee "Round Corner CS", and on the right in the center row is a beautiful, thick, Atlanta Arsenal CSA rectangle.  On the bottom row left is a cast pewter, Noble Brothers CSA rectangle, and center bottom row is a super nice CS Rope Border with all three hooks intact.  And, on the bottom right is an Alabama Map on Tree oval.  There are some really sweet buttons in this case as well.  You can only imagine the relic hunting memories this case holds.

25. Our buddy, Ralph Abbruzzese, is visiting us for a few days, and he brought along some super nice Civil War artifacts.  The Ohio State Seal breast plate is one of the most beautiful plates of the Civil War Era, and this one is top notch.  You can't help but enjoy a case of artifacts of this quality!!

26. Here is an excellent display of Confederate Central Government plates from the collection of Ronnie Webb, a relic-hunting buddy since we were ten years old.  You won't find a prettier display case of artifacts than this one!!!  (As a result of this picture my buddy, Ronnie, is no longer the owner of this beautiful collection !!!!  (But, he now owns a whale of a nice antique "NOVA SS" !!!!!!  We do keep life interesting around here !!!)

27. Here is an absolutely incredible collection of New Orleans patterned, round loop, Confederate local, two-piece tongue and wreath sword belt buckles.  This collection belongs to Wayne Bryan and features the three classic style round loop buckles being 1) Die Struck Star on disc concentric ring wreath, 2) Die Struck "CS" on disc with concentric ring wreath, and 3) Die Struck Louisiana Pelican disc with concentric ring wreath.  And, added to these basic types are assorted, very rare, solid cast brass variants.  This is no doubt the most complete grouping of the assorted, super rare buckles with the rounded belt loop there is around.  I think you guys will enjoy seeing this grouping as much as I did.  Wayne has for a good many years pursued these type plates and putting this display together, and it is certainly a display anyone would be proud of.  Congratulations to Wayne on methodically running down all these super hard to get plates.

28. It is time for our first Youth Civil War artifact Give-Away Display of 2023 - "OUR 9TH CONTEST"- and our winner is "BRIELLE PREBECK" !!! This is a beautiful white oak, custom display case with a colorful $5 Civil War Era note in the center, portions of a Spencer and a Burnside cartridge and seven other projectiles, a Confederate "I" (Infantry) uniform button, three Federal Eagle buttons, a brass Cavalry spur part, a portion of a US cartridge box plate, a Kepi chin strap buckle, and numerous other genuine Civil War artifacts including a soldier's pipe bowl.  There are a total of 28 artifacts in a custom-made oak frame.  We plan to have the drawing for this display on June 1, 2023.  We have carried all entries forward, and we invite and encourage any young folks age 14 and under to send us a letter telling us why they would like to win this Civil War display, and we will get you entered into the contest.  The following individuals, along with Nita & myself have contributed artifacts to make these youth relic give-away displays possible: Eric Lawson - Ted and B. J. Campbell- David Hadden - Russ and Dottie Wunker - Jerry Emberlin - Tom Stone - William Briner - Jody Wright - Ed Heck - Charlie Williams - Kenny Brown - Jeff and Theresa Ruth - Gerard Simoneaux - Gary Strobel - Jeff Anderson - Lael Nelson - Ken Fleming, and Justin Simpson.  We sincerely thank you !!!  IF YOU GUYS HAPPEN TO KNOW ANY YOUNG FOLKS THAT REALLY LIKE HISTORY - PLEASE MAKE THEM AWARE OF THESE CONTESTS !!!  I'D REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP IN SPREADING THE WORD !!! BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE !!!

29. A couple of days ago, we got a visit from someone very special to us.  Lorenzo Grover-Rizzo and his twin brother Iniko apprenticed in the relic shop here for several years.  Lorenzo took a deep interest in Civil War history and military in general.  After reaching 18, Lorenzo joined the military, and to this point is really enjoying the experience.  He was recently home for a few days on Christmas leave and came by to visit.  What a treat it was to get to see Lorenzo and a great opportunity to let him know how proud of him we are.  Salute!!  Lorenzo's twin brother, Iniko, has been on a mission in Georgia (country, not state) and has learned it's language fluently.  We have not seen him recently, but hopefully in the near future, he can return to share his experiences as well.  My two young buddies came back to visit during Christmas 2024, and we went to our favorite (all you can eat) retaurant.  I used to be able to "out-eat them" - BUT NO - MORE !!!  WE LOVE THESE GUYS !!!

30. This past weekend (several months/years ago now !!) -12-3&4-2022, was our annual Civil War Show at Franklin, Tennessee.  Much to my surprise, I received a "Lifetime Achievement" award.  I was pretty much speechless as this award comes from my fellow collectors and dealers.  I truly love what I do and am privileged to get to make a living all the while honoring my heritage.  Love of ones Southern Heritage is taking a beating these days, but as long as I'm alive, I, as well as all of you, will be proud of both our Southern and Northern Civil War Heritage.  I am very proud of my award.

31. It is throw-back relic time again.  About 40 years ago, we recovered these two buckles from the camp of the 1^st Alabama Cavalry that was destroyed in March of 1863 by General David Stanley’s Federal Cavalry out of Murfreesboro, TN.  The 1^st Alabama Cavalry CSA was camped near Midland, Tennessee, and in March of 1863, General David Stanley’s Federal Cavalry struck the Confederate Cavalry camp at the break of dawn.  If you’d like to read about this event, you can find it in Volume 23, Part 1 of the Official Records under the heading, “Expedition to Middleton, Tennessee, March 1863”.  The Federal Cavalry surprised and overran the Confederate Cavalry camp and captured or destroyed most of the contents.  These are two of the nearly 20 Confederate buckles that our group found at this site.  I recovered the Alabama “Map on Tree” State Seal buckle, and one of my early hunting buddies found the large oval “AVC”.  In addition to these buckles, we recovered several “egg-shaped” CS oval waist belt plates, several solid-cast Army of Tennessee CS round-corner buckles, one rectangular pewter CSA, and several frame-style buckles.  Those are some WONDERFUL relic hunting memories.

32. It is time to congratulate our 8th Youth Relic Display winner.  The winner of this display is Delaney Hickox of Arlington, Virginia.  We hope this Civil War artifact display encourages Delaney's interest in heritage and history.  This is an especially nice display including an original, excavated Federal breast plate, an original Confederate $20 note, a nice excavated North Carolina Confederate uniform button, and numerous other genuine Civil War artifacts.  This is a display that even a seasoned adult Civil War collector would be excited to receive.  The collection would have a retail value of somewhere in the neighborhood of $400.  We have carried all entries forward, and we invite and encourage any young folks age 14 and under to send us a letter telling us why they would like to win this Civil War display, and we will get you entered into the contest.  We will draw the winner on August 1, 2022, and best of luck to everyone.  The following individuals, along with Nita & myself have contributed artifacts to make these youth relic give-away displays possible: Eric Lawson - Ted and B. J. Campbell- David Hadden - Russ and Dottie Wunker - Jerry Emberlin - Tom Stone - William Briner - Jody Wright - Ed Heck - Charlie Williams - Kenny Brown - Jeff and Theresa Ruth - Gerard Simoneaux - Gary Strobel - Jeff Anderson - Lael Nelson - Ken Fleming, and Justin Simpson.  IF YOU GUYS HAPPEN TO KNOW ANY YOUNG FOLKS THAT REALLY LIKE HISTORY - PLEASE MAKE THEM AWARE OF THESE CONTESTS !!!  I'D REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP IN SPREADING THE WORD !!! BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE !!!

33. DID YOU KNOW - "TO THIS DAY, ROBERT E. LEE YET REMAINS THE ONLY MAN TO GRADUATE FROM WEST POINT MILITARY ACADEMY WITHOUT ONE SINGLE DEMERIT."

34. This is a very special "Throwback" relic digging memory.  This was my very first cast brass rectangular "CSA" to recover, and it was a thick, Atlanta style.  I dug this buckle exactly 50 years ago this year.  I dug the buckle on private property literally about 20 steps from Columbia Pike along the route that the Army of Tennessee charged over on November 30, 1864, at the famous Battle of Franklin, Tennessee.  This buckle has never even been under a water faucet and to this day, 50 years later, I could go back to within one foot of the dig hole !!!  What an exciting day !!!

35. About 40 years ago, my hunting buddy, Claiborne Lytle, and myself were able to find the line of Confederate sharp shooters along the Brentwood hills at the 2nd day Battle of Nashville fighting.  Over a period of a couple of years, I was able to recover 136 dropped Whitworth bullets, and Claiborne recovered a similar number.  There was a point in time that I could spell out "Whitworth Rifle" with dropped Whitworth bullets.  During that era, I had two little girls at home as well as house and shop payment - insurance payment - and lots of other payments.  Every so often "lean months" came along, and I would need to sell a few Whitworth bullets to make that month's payments.  I don't have 136 Whitworths anymore, but I do still have a few and some very exciting memories.  I had one "12 Whitworth" day where they were all dropped in close proximity to each other.  Both Claiborne and myself always wondered why there were over 200 Whitworths lying on the ground rather than fired at the Yankees??  The area now has million dollar homes and electronic gates.

36. Throw-Back DIGGING Time !!!!  I dug this beauty 42 years ago almost to the day !!!  They sure don't come out of the ground looking like this anymore !!!  I almost needed sunglasses !!!

37. Here is another "throw-back" relic.  I recovered this WESTERN THEATER type CS "sardine style" waist belt plate at a Confederate hospital site on private property here at Stones River over 40 years ago.  It is absolutely perfect and has all three original hooks remaining intact.  This jewel will rank VERY high on being one of my "Lifetime Best Finds", and was beyond exciting to recover !!!

38. Here is another "throw-back relic digging" memory.  Back in the fall of 1975, (50 years ago) my buddy Bob Ward and his hunting partner Wayne Read hit this "battlefield clean-up" glory hole.  This was here at Stones River and, at the time, was in a private property rock glade thicket.  The site is unfortunately now under a motorcycle dealership.  This find included seven Union plates, four musket barrels, four bayonets, two canteens, one smashed brass bugle, thirteen artillery shells, and a boatload of bullets.  Finds like this are memories worth their weight in gold !!!  (Second picture is current.)

39. Huge congratulations go out to 11-year-old Madison Brewer.  Madison is the lucky winner of our 7th Youth Giveaway - A Garrett Ground Hog metal detector.  We hope that it is the beginning of a very enjoyable hobby and that Madison has lots of fun looking for Civil War relics with her Grandfather who has done it for many years.  (This really makes us happy!!!)  Madison is ready to go Civil War relic hunting with her Granddad -- Charlie Adams.  VERY IMPORTANT:  What time is it - what time is it???  It is Youth Relic Giveaway time again.  And this time, we are stepping up our game.  We are giving away a used Garrett Groundhog VLF/TR metal detector complete with a new high fidelity set of headphones and also a new Whites Bullseye pinpointer for locating your target.  This detector is several years old but still works perfectly and even comes with experience as this detector has already recovered a US belt buckle and a Confederate belt buckle.  The "Groundhog" takes some practice in getting used to, but even though it's a few years old, will still dig relics perfectly well.  Several years back, this detector was cutting-edge technology, but today there have been numerous improvements.  It is our hope that this detector will help inspire some young person toward many years of coin and/or relic recovery.  We have carried all entries forward, and we invite and encourage any young folks age 14 and under to send us a letter telling us why they would like to win this Civil War display, and we will get you entered into the contest.  We will draw the winner on October 2, 2021, (my 70th birthday) and best of luck to everyone.  The following individuals, along with Nita & myself have contributed artifacts to make these youth relic give-away displays possible: Eric Lawson - Ted and B. J. Campbell- David Hadden - Russ and Dottie Wunker - Jerry Emberlin - Tom Stone - William Briner - Jody Wright - Ed Heck - Charlie Williams - Kenny Brown - Jeff and Theresa Ruth - Gerard Simoneaux - Gary Strobel - Jeff Anderson - Lael Nelson, and Justin Simpson.  IF YOU GUYS HAPPEN TO KNOW ANY YOUNG FOLKS THAT REALLY LIKE HISTORY - PLEASE MAKE THEM AWARE OF THESE CONTESTS !!!  I'D REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP IN SPREADING THE WORD !!! BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE !!!

40. Congratulations to the winner of our 6th Youth Civil War Relic Contest, "Tennessee Smith", of Mineral, Virginia.  This display is in a beautiful walnut display case and consists of an excavated Federal Eagle breast plate, four original Civil War uniform buttons, an original excavated Civil War domino, five different types of Civil War bullets, and an original $100 Bank of Louisiana Civil War note.  We hope this display helps to encourage Tennessee's interest in Civil War artifacts, history, and heritage.  We have carried all entries forward, and we invite and encourage any young folks age 14 and under to send us a letter telling us why they would like to win this Civil War display, and we will get you entered into the contest.  The following individuals, along with Nita & myself have contributed artifacts to make these youth relic give-away displays possible: Eric Lawson - Ted and B. J. Campbell- David Hadden - Russ and Dottie Wunker - Jerry Emberlin - Tom Stone - William Briner - Jody Wright - Ed Heck - Charlie Williams - Jeff Anderson - Gary Strobel - Justin Simpson - and Gerard Simoneaux.  IF YOU GUYS HAPPEN TO KNOW ANY YOUNG FOLKS THAT REALLY LIKE HISTORY - PLEASE MAKE THEM AWARE OF THESE CONTESTS !!!  I'D REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP IN SPREADING THE WORD !!! BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE !!!

41. WINNER, WINNER - chicken dinner - We have just had our drawing for the FIFTH Youth Civil War Relic Display Giveaway, and our winner is LILLY HICKOX from Arlington, Virginia.  We send our congratulations to Lilly and we will carry forward all our Youth entries for the next relic display giveaway which will begin soon.  Once again, Congratulations to Lilly !!!  ------  It is once again Youth Relic Display Contest time in Tennessee.  This relic display is, in my opinion, one of the most attractive to this point.  The display consists of a Droop Wing Eagle Confederate Officer's button, a camp site recovered soldier's Crucifix, a very attractive excavated lead-filled Eagle breast plate from here at Stones River, a stamped brass Cavalry rosette with the raised heart, an original pair of soldier's reading glasses, an original 1862 Wilmington, North Carolina, Confederate note, an original Civil War era domino, several bullets, a musket gun tool, a canteen stopper pull, and a coat size Federal Eagle button all displayed in a professionally made oak display case.  This collection is easily worth over $400.  So, young folks, get busy and let me hear from you.  The following individuals, along with Nita & myself have contributed artifacts to make these youth relic displays possible: Eric Lawson - Ted and B. J. Campbell- David Hadden - Russ and Dottie Wunker - Jerry Emberlin - Tom Stone - William Briner - Jody Wright - Ed Heck - Charlie Williams - Jeff Anderson - Gary Strobel - and Gerard Simoneaux.  We will carry forward all entries from the first, second, third, and fourth giveaways.  We encourage ANY other interested youths (14 years of age and younger) who have not yet entered to send a letter telling why you would like to win the Civil War artifact giveaway display, and you will be entered as well.  We want to do our part to encourage our youth to be interested in our heritage.    IF YOU GUYS HAPPEN TO KNOW ANY YOUNG FOLKS THAT REALLY LIKE HISTORY - PLEASE MAKE THEM AWARE OF THESE CONTESTS !!!  I'D REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP IN SPREADING THE WORD !!!  This contest has ended October 31, 2020.

42. AND THE WINNER OF OUR FOURTH YOUTH RELIC DISPLAY CONTEST IS JAX BLEVINS (WHO CAN BE SEEN ABOVE WORKING ON HIS LETTER).  We will soon have our fifth Civil War display put together and a new contest underway.  All entries will be carried forward to the next contest, so if you haven't won so far -- Keep the faith - You might very well win the next one !!!  CONGRATULATIONS JAX !!!  IT IS TIME FOR OUR FOURTH YOUTH RELIC GIVEAWAY.  This display contains a genuine, excavated, lead-filled, Federal Eagle breast plate, a brass bayonet scabbard tip, a $15 coupon from a Confederate Loan Bond, an original Civil War domino, a .54 cal., ring tail Sharps Cavalry bullet, a coat size Federal Infantry Officer button, and a gilted cuff size New York State Seal button.  The following individuals, along with Nita & myself have contributed artifacts to make these youth relic displays possible: Eric Lawson Ted and B. J. Campbell- David Hadden - Russ and Dottie Wunker - Jerry Emberlin - Tom Stone - William Briner - Jody Wright - Ed Heck - and Charlie Williams.  We will carry forward all entries from the first, second, and third giveaways.  We encourage ANY other interested youths (14 years of age and younger) who have not yet entered to send a letter telling why you would like to win the Civil War artifact giveaway display, and you will be entered as well.  We want to do our part to encourage our youth to be interested in our heritage.    IF YOU GUYS HAPPEN TO KNOW ANY YOUNG FOLKS THAT REALLY LIKE HISTORY - PLEASE MAKE THEM AWARE OF THESE CONTESTS !!!  I'D REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP IN SPREADING THE WORD !!!  This contest will end July 31, 2020

43. AND WE HAVE A WINNER - OUR FIRST YOUNG LADY - MS. CASTIBELLE SCHWEINFURTH !!!  EVEN AT HER TENDER YOUNG AGE CASTIBELLE IS A FAMILIAR FACE AROUND THE CIVIL WAR LIVING HISTORY COMMUNITY, AND THAT IS THANKS TO THE DELIGENT EFFORTS OF HER MOM AND DAD - (BRET AND KELLY).  MY CONGRATULATIONS TO A VERY DESERVING YOUNG LADY !!!  IT IS YOUTH RELIC DISPLAY GIVEAWAY CONTEST TIME AGAIN !!!  This is our THIRD youth relic display give-away, and this beautiful display consists of an original VIRGINIA Confederate note - several bullets - one beautiful gilted Federal Infantry officer button - one bayonet scabbard tip - one sword belt length adjuster - a right and a left Civil War knapsack J-hook - a baggage trunk key - and a harmonica board.  I would like to thank Eric Lawson - Ted and B. J. Campbell- David Hadden - Russ and Dottie Wunker - Jerry Emberlin - Tom Stone - William Briner - Jody Wright - Ed Heck - and Charlie Williams who along with Nita and myself made this display possible.  We encourage ANY other interested youths (14 years of age and younger) who have not yet entered to send a letter telling why you would like to win the Civil War artifact giveaway display, and you will be entered as well.  We want to do our part to encourage our youth to be interested in our heritage.    IF YOU GUYS HAPPEN TO KNOW ANY YOUNG FOLKS THAT REALLY LIKE HISTORY - PLEASE MAKE THEM AWARE OF THESE CONTESTS !!!  I'D REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP IN SPREADING THE WORD !!!  THIS CONTEST WILL END MARCH 31, 2020.  If any of you old time relic hunter/collectors would like to help support these youth relic give-aways, please just send over any relics to help us out.  Your help will certainly be appreciated and go for a good endeavor !!  TRIVIA QUESTION -- CAN ANYONE GUESS WHY CASTIBELLE IS HOLDING THE CANNON !!!  (HINT -- THE ANSWER IS IN THE QUESTION !!) - (ANOTHER HINT - WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE PART OF THE CANNON THAT CASTIBELLE IS HOLDING !!!)

44. We just received the most current issue of "North South Trader", and, low and behold, there is Adian on page 19 - Youth Division.  Apparently, when you're hot, you're hot!!!   CONGRATULATIONS!!!  We have just held our drawing for our SECOND Youth Relic Giveaway, and our winner is - ADIAN HARWICK - from Lititz, PA.  Soon after the Thanksgiving holiday, we will begin our third Youth Relic Giveaway, and we will carry forward all entries from the first and second giveaways.  This is a fantastic display, and we congratulate Adian on his win!!!  We appreciate all of the youths who entered the first and second drawings.  We encourage ANY other interested youths (14 years of age and younger)  who have not yet entered to send a letter telling why you would like to win the Civil War artifact giveaway display, and you will be entered as well.  We want to do our part to encourage our youth to be interested in our heritage.  IF YOU GUYS HAPPEN TO KNOW ANY YOUNG FOLKS THAT REALLY LIKE HISTORY - PLEASE MAKE THEM AWARE OF THESE CONTESTS !!!  I'D REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP IN SPREADING THE WORD !!!  ADIAN - YOUR PRIZE IS ON THE WAY TO YOU !!!

45. ATTENTION - OUR "FIRST" YOUTH RELIC GIVE AWAY !!! - I was asked by a friend (MR. DICK TIMPANO) to give away this nice starter Civil War Bullet collection to a deserving young collector.  If you are 14 years old or younger and are really interested in Civil War history - please send me a letter as to why you would like to have this collection, and in a couple weeks we are going to have a drawing from all the names of young folks that sent me a letter wanting this collection.  We will show pictures of the drawing and post the WINNER on the page here !!!  GOOD LUCK !!!  SEND LETTER TO:  Larry Hicklen -- 3511 Old Nashville Hwy. - Murfreesboro, TN. -- 37129  (WE ARE GOING TO ACCEPT ENTRIES ARRIVING IN PERSON OR THROUGH MAIL DELIVERY ON OR BEFORE SEP. 30, 2019 !!!)  IF YOU ARE AN OLD SCHOOL CIVIL WAR COLLECTOR AND WOULD LIKE TO DONATE RELICS IN SUPPORT OF THESE RELIC GIVE-AWAYS TO YOUNG FOLKS -- PLEASE LET ME HEAR FROM YOU !!  THIS CONTEST IS NOW OVER AND WE WILL VERY SOON HAVE THE DRAWING.  BUT --- WE WILL SOON ANNOUNCE THE NEXT CONTEST, AND EVERYONE THAT ENTERED INTO THIS CONTEST WILL BE CARRIED OVER, -- SO YOU ARE ALREADY REGISTERED !!  MANY THANKS TO MR. DICK TIMPANO FOR THE ARTIFACTS !!!  AND OUR WINNER IS - JONATHAN PRIOR - 5TH GRADE, AGE 10!!!  CONGRATULATIONS, JONATHAN.

46. A little while earlier today (7-12-19), I had a couple of fellows in the shop from near Perryville, Kentucky.  In the course of looking at relics and discussing various battlefields, one of the gentlemen said, "I visit your nature area at the Battlefield of Perryville quite often."  I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.  A good many years ago (25 to 30 I'd say), I purchased a 54-acre farm on the Battlefield of Perryville, Kentucky, that was in danger of being developed.  I held the farm for several years until the Civil War Preservation Trust was in a position to acquire it.  Little did I know that in appreciation for saving that part of the Battlefield, I have a pond and nature area marked with our family name.  How cool is that!!!

47. Here is an interesting set of 4 photographs contrasting the panther and the bobcat.  These four photographs were taken by the same game cam at the same location a few days apart.  Notice aside from the obvious (the panther has a long tail and the bobcat has virtually no tail), that they are structurally different as well.  The panther is overall larger, more muscular, especially in the front shoulders, than the bobcat.  The bobcat has a more slender profile with his back legs almost appearing longer than his front legs.  Also, the two cats make very different screams.  On the bright side, one would think that we shouldn't have a mouse problem on the mountain!!!

48. We are headed to the mountain today, and hopefully there will be some cool new trail cam pictures to share !!  For the past couple of months, our neighbors and ourselves have been hearing the cry of an unusual animal.  About a month ago, I caught sight of what appeared to be a large cat moving through the woods.  Several weeks ago we installed a game cam to be able to see what type animals were passing.  One of the locations of the game camera was where several roads and paths came together.  At this location, we saw more different type animals than any other location of the camera.  We have been scattering corn and cut the Halloween pumpkins into and placed them in front of the camera.  We have seen many different type mountain animals including deer, armadillos, red fox, coyote, and raccoons.  A couple of nights ago, we captured a couple photographs of this huge Mountain Bobcat - (We at first thought Panther, but markings suggest a LARGE male Bobcat rather than Panther.)  As you guys can now clearly see - WE DEFINITELY HAVE A PANTHER (aka Eastern Mountain Lion) - (as well as a Bobcat) !!!  We have no doubt that he was drawn to this location by the smell of the presence of all the other wild animals that had been there eating.  To give a size reference, the pumpkin halves beside the cat are ten inches in diameter.  Notice the power and muscle mass of this big cat.  We will likely think twice now about taking night walks through the woods!!!  A few nights ago our next door neighbor found a deer slain, and litereally shreded - I wonder who might have done THAT !!!  Outside "MAN WITH GUN" - This guy really is "King Of The Woods" !!!

    Very pretty, excavated, medium size, lead-filled, "OVM" (Ohio Volunteer Militia) single arrow-hook waist belt plate.  This buckle was recovered in the early 1980's from the limestone out-croppings on the west side of the Old Nashville Highway near the current rock quarry.  It has a never-cleaned, green/brown patina with both attachment hooks remaining intact.  This is one of the nicer examples ever recovered at this battlefield.--$2,250.

    Absolutely smoking nice, 3.8 inch, DROP, James birdcage projectile with complete lead sabot and tin covering the birdcage ribs.  This super rare projectile was in a Civil War Era home on East Main in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  To my knowledge, this is the ONLY dropped James projectile to come from this battle.  The brass anvil cap can be screwed out with your fingers.  It is cleaned, coated, and ready for display.--$1,650.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, excavated, lead-filled, US oval cartridge box plate.  This plate was recovered by Wade Buchanan about 45 years ago on private property among the limestone out-croppings here at Stones River.  You could not hope to recover a more perfect example.  Super choice.--$250.

    Excellent condition, 13 inch, hand crafted, 1840 - 1860's era powder horn.  This horn has the name, "Edward Tainter" beautifully inscribed into it.  This is very likely a Civil War Confederate soldier or his father.  Many young Confederates left home carrying the family fowling rifle and powder horn.  HOLY COW - I JUST NOW SAW THE CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAG IN THE THIRD PICTURE !!!--$250.

    Quite rare and in excellent condition, coat size, non-excavated, Maryland State Seal uniform button.  This button has beautiful gilting, shank intact, and a "Waterbury Scovill" backmark.  This is one that rarely comes available.--$295.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, excavated, solid cast "I" from the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee.  This button was recovered from a lawn on the east side of Columbia Pike only a few hundred yards from the Carter House.  It has never even been washed off.--$175.

    Excavated bowl section of a Civil War "Eagle Claw" glazed clay pipe.  This pipe was recovered from a Confederate trash pit along Duck River near Shelbyville, Tennessee.--$75.

    Very attractive, 1854 date, large cent, that according to family legend, was worn as a good luck charm by Richard Vernon, 24th Tennessee Infantry.  Many years ago, I purchased from the family a UCV coat that belonged to him.--$25.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, non-excavated, 3 inch size Hotchkiss canister round.  The tin container with soldered seam and crimped top remains in excellent condition, and the pewter/lead base is nicely marked, "Hotchkiss - 1862 - Patent".  It has become very rare to find one of these in nice condition.--$1,650.SOLD

    Very nice condition, excavated, 3 inch "Dyer" (back in the early days, this was a 3-inch Burton).  This projectile was recovered from the Homer Gannon farm here at Stones River that is currently occupied by Thompson Lane and a massive Baptist Church.  I once found seven shells in one hole at this site.  They were all different kinds, and I feel certain they were all battlefield cleanup, pitched in a hole so as to never harm anyone.  They were well below plow depth.  It is a rare thing to recover one of these with the sabot intact, because they almost always kicked it.--$450.

    Original 12-pound cannonball tin attachment straps used to attach the 12-pound cannonball to the wooden sabot and powder bag.  In the early days, these were sold by Bannerman from Civil War surplus, and they were readily available.  They are actually quite rare to find now.--$95.

    Beautiful condition, excavated, coat size, lined block "A".  This is a CS102A3.  It was recovered near Savannah, Georgia, and has a mirror slick, brown/green patina.  The reverse is complete with shank intact.--$295.

    Extremely rare, Confederate manufactured, Roman style short Artillery sword with “CS” in the center of the cross guard and a star on the pommel.  These swords are thought to have been made at the Selma Arsenal in Alabama, as a couple of partially cast guards have been found in the river there.  This example has a brown/black, aged patina blade with scattered pitting.  The high copper content, heavy cast brass guard has spiraling ribs and a “CS” and star cast into each side.  This style Confederate sword is known for its crudity of manufacture (which is one of the factors that makes Confederate collectors love it).--$3,150.

    A late Civil War shell. Stamped on the brass sabot “ABSTERDAM’S PATENT/FEB. 23, 1864”.  It is extremely rare to find an Absterdam with its original brass fuse adaptor.  This example remains in very nice condition with marked brass sabot intact and original brass fuse adaptor intact.--$375.

    Beautiful condition and super rare, "Kraft, Goldsmith, & Kraft", Columbia, South Carolina, Confederate Cavalry saber with distinctive wooden scabbard, iron mounts and brass hardware.  This saber has an original Civil War Era, brown ink presentation on the wooden scabbard.  It reads, "Presented to Commodore John H. Sta??? by his friend, General George B. Dand???".  It is very rare to find a K G & K Cavalry saber with a nice original scabbard, and this one is a beauty.  The blade has a smooth, gently aging, gray/brown patina.  The original grip and wire remain intact and in nice condition.  This saber came into the shop about 40 years ago and has been in the collection of Dr. Joe Boyd ever since.  I have no doubt this is one of the nicest condition K G & K Confederate manufactured Cavalry sabers remaining in existence today.--$7,950.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, excavated, very rare 1840 era NCO breast plate with three iron hooks that was actually a functional belt buckle.  You rarely ever see one of these plates recovered that has an excellent face, full lead, and all three hooks intact.  This one does.--$350.

    Very Pretty hand crafted 13 inch powder horn that has the owner's initials "W.A." along with an intricate vine and leaves nicely carved into the horn.  This is the exact type horn - along with the family fowling rifle - that many young Confederates left home for the Civil War carrying.--$195.SOLD

    Excavated box of a "ground burst" 3-inch Hotchkiss projectile that was recovered near Shy's Hill at the Battle of Nashville.  The pieces have not even been cleaned up.--$95.

    Nice clear 1/6th plate size glass ambrotype of a young (Early War) Federal Civil War Soldier.  This is a seated pose wearing his kepi, and his Civil War 4 Button Sack Coat.  The glass image does unfortunately have a break which is too bad considering how nice and clear it is !!  It is housed in a 1/2 wooden hard case, and is bargain priced due to the glass break.--only $95.SOLD

    Very pretty condition, excavated, North Carolina Sunburst coat size uniform button.  The VERY UNUSUAL thing about this button is that it has the original soldered on shank still intact.  It was recovered by one of my early hunting friends, Frank Giles, from a Confederate camp near Dalton, Georgia.  We probably together recovered 40 - 50 of these, and no more than 4 or 5 had the shank intact.--$195.

    Absolutely smoking nice, excavated, Confederate block "A" (Artillery) coat size uniform button.  This button was recovered from the 1863 Confederate Artillery camp located on Lewisburg Pike just outside Shelbyville.  I have very fond memories of this camp in that I dug five Confederate buckles there.--$175.

    Excellent condition, non-excavated, 1840 - 1860 era, original grease lamp.  The way these work is that the spike was driven into a tree or tree limb, and a hog grease soaked rag in the holder was lit on fire.  The grease soaked rag would burn for a half hour or so providing light to the camp area.  If you had three or four of these going at once, you could light up quite an area.  Over the years, I have recovered several of these around Civil War camp sites.  This one remains in perfect condition and could be used today.--$195.

    Super rare to recover - a COMPLETE pattern, 1853, .577 cal., Enfield 3-band rifled musket.  This example was recovered about 40 years ago from the Confederate defenses at Spanish Fort, Alabama.  The musket includes butt plate, trigger guard, lockplate with hammer, nipple protector, barrel with long-range site intact, all bands, brass nose cap, and ramrod.  An excavated Enfield does not get more complete than that.  Now the bad news:  We do not feel we can safely ship this artifact and it arrive in one piece.  This is one that will need to be picked up here at the shop.--$850.

    Absolutely drop dead beautiful condition NON-EXCAVATED battlefield pick-up 12 lb. Bormann fuzed cannon ball.  This ball was a battlefield pick-up here at Stones River at the time of the battle, and has been in a local family until I purchased it about 40 years ago.  I sold it to my friend, Dave Casper, and that is where it has been until Dave's recent passing.  The underplug will unscrew with just your fingers.  All this needs is a nice Bormann fuze to display with it to be 100% museum grade !!--$425.

    Nice condition "CONFEDERATE BORMANN" fuzed 6# size cannonball.  It was recovered by Frank "Twitch" Witham on private property at Shiloh, and the Bormann fuze was punched at about 2 seconds "for some up close work".  Frank Witham published a book on Shiloh shells, and this one could be in there.  It is drilled, cleaned, coated, and is ready for display.--$395.

    Extremely rare excavated BIG 23 mm coat size lined manuscript old English "I" -- (CS175A).  I can only see a few letters of the "P. Tait" backmark, and it has the classic "P. Tait" floating shank.  This button has nice detail with a smooth chocolate brown patina.--$275.

    Absolutely beautiful excavated cuff size Virginia Stare seal uniform button.  This button has a smooth brown patina with a "Quality" backmark, and about 70% bright gold gilt.  I think it is a (VA14Av) - 15 mm.  Super Pretty Button.--$195.

    Very nice display of excavated artifacts recovered from the camp of the 1st Alabama Cavalry CSA.  The artifacts consist of a bridle rosette, an iron Cavalry boot heel plate, a boot toe plate, a brass spur buckle, and three plain face gilted uniform buttons.  This display is presented in a 5" x 6" glass Riker case.  There are nine artifacts in total.--$58.

    Very nice condition, excavated, rare "tall loop" pattern of the Leech & Rigdon "08" sword belt plate. This buckle was recovered from General Forrest's Confederate Cavalry camp located along the Hatchie River in North Mississippi.--$3,650.

    Absolutely drop-dead beautiful perfect condition, excavated, thick heavy Atlanta style rectangle CSA.  The buckle still has perfect body curve and has never even had the wood mulch washed off.  These were recovered from Army of Tennessee 1863 winter camps around Dalton, Georgia.  This one was dug by one of my old relic hunting buddies, Frank Giles, about 40 years ago.  Look as long as you like, and you will not find a more beautiful, perfect example.  It has all three hooks remaining perfectly intact.--$4,500.

    Beautiful condition, excavated, "rope border" pattern, CS oval waist belt plate.  This buckle was recovered from Army of Tennessee 1863 winter camps along Duck River near Shelbyville, Tennessee.  It has never even been washed off and has a smooth chocolate brown patina overall.  The "beaded" rope cable is visible all the way around the buckle, and all three attachment hooks remain intact on the reverse.  You will wait a very long time before you find a nicer one than this one.--$4,850.

    Beautiful condition excavated 2-Piece "Leech and Rigdon" C.S. sword belt plate.  This buckle was recovered from General Forrest's 1862 Cinfederate Cavalry camp along Tippa Creek, and the Hatchie River in North Mississippi.  The two halves were only inches apart.  This is one of the more sought after patterns with serifs on the end of the letters.  The fit is really nice, and the buckle has never even been rinsed off.--$3,850.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, battlefield pick-up, ten pound, time fused Parrott projectile.  This projectile was picked up on the field here at Stones River and has been a door stop in a home here for the last 150 years.  The projectile is slick enough to literally be fired today, and the pewter time fuse could not be more perfect.--$375.

    Nice condition, excavated, four pound size cannonball/naval grape ball.  This projectile was recovered near Saltville, West Virginia, and would have been fired by a small four pound size smooth bore mountain cannon.  The very same 4 lb. balls are recovered around Vicksburg, Mississippi, where they were being used in large "naval grape" projectiles.--$75.

    Really nice excavated coat size LA6A2  -- nicely gilted coat size Louisiana Pelican Confederate uniform button.  It has the distinctive "sideways Pelican" motif.  It is nicely gilted surrounding the pelican, with "Scovill" backmark and shank intact on the reverse.  This button was recovered from an 1863 Hardee's Corp - Army of Tennessee winter camp located on private property near Tullahoma, TN.  This is a BEAUTY !!--$495.

    Really pretty excavated coat size "NC8C" Confederate local. This excellent button has gilt totally outlining the figures, and has the shank intact on the reverse.  It was recovered about 40 years ago on private property near Fredericksburg, VA.--$295.

    Very pretty condition, excavated, small size, Model 1839, single arrow hook, lead-filled US oval waist belt plate.  This buckle was recovered from General Steedman's camp located near Triune, Tennessee.  This was the very first camp that I hunted with the old "Metro-tech" metal detector, and I dug all total five of these there.  The camp is currently having million dollar homes built all over it.--$425.

    Very attractive, excavated, large size, cast brass, Confederate "fork-tongue" frame waist belt plate.  This buckle was recovered from General Hardee's Jan. 3 -June 25, 1863, Confederate Infantry camp located near Tullahoma, Tennessee.  It shows actual use with visible wear, and has a very nice - never cleaned brown-green patina.--$895.

    Beautiful condition, excavated, circular, lead-filled, Federal Eagle cross belt plate.  This plate was recovered at Cold Harbor, VA, and has very nice detail and a chocolate brown patina on the face with full lead and both wire attachment loops intact on the reverse.  There are a couple of initials carved into the lead on the back.--$225.

    Absolutely beautiful non-excavated "Reunion Era" gold fill "Red Star" 12 Corp - 1st Division - 3rd Wis. Inf. Corp Badge.  This beautiful Corp Badge is jeweler made and marked "W. J. Brice" on the reverse of the badge.  They just don't get much more beautiful than this one.--$495.

    Beautiful condition, excavated, cast brass, Hotchkiss percussion fuse.  This fuse was recovered a few feet from the stone wall at the Battle of Nashville, Tennessee.  The plunger still remains intact inside the fuse.--$95.

    Very pretty, excavated, emerald green, gutter-back, Georgia frame, Confederate waist belt plate.  This plate was recovered about 30 years ago here at Stones River.  I can faintly see lettering across one edge of the buckle.  I feel sure this is the soldier's name, but I can't make it out completely.  This one will be fun for someone.--$650.

    Super rare pattern, excavated, "CS marked", CONFEDERATE Cavalry Officer's spur.  This spur was recovered a number of years ago from General N. B. Forrest Confederate Cavalry camp located near Spring Hill, Tennessee.  This rare style spur has a significantly wider slot for the leather attachment strap than is usually the case.  The spur had one leg broken when recovered, but the broken leg was found nearby and has been expertly re-attached.  It is totally secure enough for normal display but would not hold up to very much stress.  If this spur had not been broken when recovered, it would have been a $2,850 spur for certain.  It is quite a rarity and displays beautifully.  There are thought to be less than ten of this style in the known collecting community.--$1,450.

    Beautiful, condition, excavated, plain face, Confederate sheet brass rectangular waist belt plate.  This buckle was recovered from a Confederate camp on private property near Chickamauga, Georgia.  The buckle remains in nice condition with some faint lettering on the face.  It is likely the soldier's name but is not visible enough to make it out.--$595.

    Drop-dead beautiful condition, excavated, Confederate 12-pound size cannonball with brass fuse adaptor and iron side-loading plug.  This projectile was recovered near Petersburg, Virginia, and is cleaned, coated, and ready for display.--$595.

    Very nice condition and quite rare, non-excavated, triangular socket bayonet for the 1864 Joslyn rifle.  It is distinguishable by its long 20 inch length blade.  This is a bayonet you don't see very often and extremely hard to find when you need one.--$250.

    Drop-dead beautiful, excavated, coat size, Eagle "D" (Dragoon) uniform button.  I recovered this button about 35 years ago from the camp of the 51st Alabama Cavalry.  These are pre-war buttons, and we often find them in Confederate camps.  It would be hard to dig a much prettier one than this one.--$150.

    Absolutely drop-dead beautiful condition, excavated, LA3, coat size, Louisiana Pelican button.  This button has 95% bright gold gilt with "Hyde & Goodrich - New Orleans" backmark and has shank intact.  This button was recovered from Louisiana camps around Tullahoma, Tennessee, and it would be very difficult to dig a nicer example.--$550.

    Very pretty condition, excavated, coat size, gilted Wisconsin Staff Officer State Seal.  This button has a smooth chocolate patina with gold gilt nicely outlining all the detail.  It has one tiny, minute press in the face but is otherwise an absolute beauty.  This was recovered from an 1863 Wisconsin camp here in Middle Tennessee.  It has an "Extra Quality" backmark with the shank intact.--$225.

    Excavated, coat size, Confederate Local, block "A" (Artillery).  This button was recovered from the Confederate Artillery camp located on Lewisburg Pike near Shelbyville, Tennessee.  It has a smooth chocolate brown face with no dents and a rusty iron Confederate Local reverse.--$175.

    Extremely rare, Confederate manufacture, "Dog River" Confederate Cavalry saber and scabbard picked up on the battlefield and taken home as a war trophy.  The saber has original, single strand iron wire on the grip and some of the original leather.  The cast high copper content brass guard has a rich, never cleaned patina.  The saber has the original unstopped fuller Confederate blade, and it is snapped into about ten inches up from the tip.  The Confederate lap seam "Dog River scabbard" could not be more perfect and has an excellent soldered lap seam with brass mounts.  This is a beautiful, museum quality artifact.--$2,850.

    Very pretty excavated coat size Mississippi "I" Confederate uniform button.  I recovered this one back around 1982 from "Walthall's Mississippi Brigade" 1862 winter camp located near Estill Springs, TN on the Elk River.  (Known during the Civil War as Allisonia Station.  It has a nice trim of gold gilt in the "I", and around the letters, and a nice clear Hyde and Goodrich - "N O" NEW ORLEANS backmark.--$425.

    Very pretty, excavated, circular, lead-filled, Federal Eagle breast plate.  The face has excellent detail and a smooth, chocolate brown patina.  The reverse has full lead and a "W. H. Smith - Brooklyn" backmark.  The wire loops are partially there but are rusted through.--$250.

    Non-excavated, extra .44 cal. cylinder for an Army Model Colt revolver.  The cylinder is worn and only a partial serial number can still be seen.  Where this would come in super handy is if you have a nice Colt Army revolver and want to actually fire it but do not want to take the chance of damaging the cylinder.  This would be perfect for that.--$95.

    Quite rare to come across, non-excavated, lead-filled, intertwined "USA" Federal Artillery rosette.  This is one you do not often come by.--$95.

    Excavated glazed clay smoking pipe.  This pipe was recovered from a Confederate trash pit near Shelbyville, Tennessee.  The bowl is extremely small which makes one wonder if it was for regular tobacco.  The full stem remains completely intact.--$75.

    Original brown paper wrap packet of percussion caps as they came issued and packed with a block of ten cartridges.  The packet is nicely displayed in a glass Riker case.--$45.

    Excavated brass throat portion of a Federal N.C.O. sword scabbard.  This was recovered almost 50 years ago among the limestone outcroppings on private property here at Stones River.  It has a beautiful green patina.--$48.

    Very pretty condition original non-excavated Civil War era iron horse curry comb.  This came out of a log out building here at Murfreesboro, and is exactly identical To half a dozen that I have recovered in Confederate cavalry camps in this area.--$48.

    Excavated group of five large size Zouave ball buttons recovered right together against the stone wall at the Battle of Nashville.  These were no doubt off of one Confederate jacket.  For the group of five in a glass case--$75.

    Very pretty condition excavated 6 # Confederate Bormann fuzed cannon ball.  This ball was recovered 40 years ago on the Southern edge of the Battlefield here at Stones River.  There is now a massive ST. THOMAS HOSPITAL (where I just spent the past week !!) precisely on the site.  This is a beauty with a Confederate Bormann fuze that you can still read the second numbers.  There will never again be shells like this recovered here.  It is nicely cleaned, and disarmed.--$425.

    Smokingly beautiful, non-excavated, Richmond Arsenal pattern, CS two-piece sword belt plate with a portion of the original "bullet stitch", brown leather, Confederate belt.  This CS buckle and partial belt is part of a display that also consists of (6)six excellent condition, coat size, Civil War issue, Superior Quality, "C.S.A." uniform buttons and (2) two coat size Federal Staff Officer buttons of the type frequently worn by Confederate Officers.  Also in the display is a $50 Confederate note also from Richmond, Virginia.  This display is in a very nice quality, hand made, 12" by 18" walnut display case.  This would be a beautiful addition to even a museum display.--$6,495.

    Extremely rare Civil War surgeon's AMPUTATION KIT.  This kit consists of three amputation saws (two use the same handle), two sets of flesh stretchers, one large surgical knife, several probes and picks, one original "MS" (Medical Service) hat insignia, and several sets of original needles and sutures.  Most museums do not have a Civil War surgical kit this nice.--$3,850.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, rosewood Civil War fife out of an Arkansas Museum.  The fife is silver tipped and "Crosby" maker marked.  It would be very difficult to get a nicer example than this one.--$250.

    Excellent condition, excavated, 3-inch size, Federal Parrott projectile.  This shell was recovered here at the Battle of Stones River over 40 years ago.  It is totally disarmed, cleaned, coated, and ready to go on display.  Projectiles this slick and pretty are just not being recovered anymore.  Rifled brass sabot remains completely intact.--$295.

    Absolutely pristine beautiful condition, non-excavated, large size, lead-filled "SNY" (State of New York) cartridge box plate.  This beautiful plate came out of a central New York estate about 45 years ago.  The soldier's name (D. E. Dunn) is cut with a pen knife into the face of the plate.  The name's patina is consistent with the rest of the plate and is no doubt Civil War Era.  We attempted to locate him, but there seemed to be unending choices.  The plate has a rich, aged patina, full lead, and both attachment loops intact.--$975.

    Absolutely drop-dead beautiful, large size, lead-filled, puppy-paw hook pattern, US oval waist belt plate.  This plate was recovered by Wade Buchanan among the limestone out-croppings a few hundred yards from the shop here.  I don't really know how you can get prettier than this one.--$350.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, soldier hand-carved lead, 24th Army Corp badge.  This badge was recovered many years ago and remains in perfect condition.--$295.

    Absolutely stunningly beautiful, excavated, coat size, Confederate lined "C" (Cavalry) uniform button.  They just do not get prettier than this button.  The shank remains perfectly intact.--$450.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, excavated, cast brass, 1820 era, one-piece, US Navy button.  This button was recovered near Savannah, Georgia, and retains about 80% bright gold gilt.  The reverse of this button is nicely gilted as well with "Treble Gilt" backmark and shank remaining perfectly intact.--$195.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, excavated, coat size, Michigan State Seal uniform button.  This button was recovered from a Michigan Infantry camp located right beside the railroad about a mile from the shop.  I actually dug one there myself, but not as pretty as this one.--$195.

    Quite rare to recover, a nice dropped .577 cal. Enfield bullet with the rare "L2" basemark and the boxwood plug remaining perfectly intact.  This was recovered from the Confederate line here at Stones River.--$25.

    Excavated, .69 cal., dropped, Confederate triangle base, French Minie.  This bullet was recovered just a few hundred yards from where we sit working tonight.  It's a very nice dropped example.--$38.

    Quite rare excavated "US and Maker Marked" Federal carbine sling buckle, and matching cast brass belt tip.  The buckle is boldly marked "US" and "T. G. Sheppard", and the belt tip still has some leather on the reverse.  It was recovered many years ago from "Camp Stanley" here at Murfreesboro, TN.  It is very rare that one of these nicely marked is recovered anymore.--$350.

    Absolutely drop-dead beautiful condition, non-excavated, Model 1840, lead-filled, 3-double wire hooks Eagle cross belt plate.  This plate is from the early era where the Eagle buckle actually hooked and unhooked taking on and off.  The face couldn't be nicer, and the reverse has full lead and all three hooks completely intact.--$550.

    Excellent condition, non-excavated, regulation, large size, arrow-hook pattern, US oval, lead-filled waist belt plate.  This buckle is literally is pretty today as it was 160 years ago.--$350.

    Very pretty condition, excavated, large size, lead-filled, "VMM" (Volunteer Maine Militia) cartridge box plate.  The face has a smooth, chocolate brown patina, and the reverse has full lead.  This plate was recovered near Port Hudson, Louisiana.  It is without question one of the nicer ones I've seen come from that area.  This will be a fine addition to someone's plate collection.--$1,150.

    Excavated, rectangular, sheet brass, plain Confederate waist belt plate.  This buckle was recovered by Bill Shaner at LaGrange, Tennessee, in 1989.  The hooks are not present on the reverse, but the solder marks where they were are clear.--$595.

    Very nice condition, excavated, Confederate 3-inch Read Parrott projectile.  This was a local find from about 45 years ago.  You can still see some lathe marks, and most of the Confederate wooden drive-in fuse plug remains intact.  It is disarmed, cleaned, coated, and ready for display.--$850.

    Very nice condition, excavated, coat size, Confederate script "C".  This button was recovered near Savannah, Georgia, and is a nice quality classic example with shank intact.--$495.

    Very nice condition, non-excavated, cast brass Artillery hammer.  This came in out of a local estate, and it has a soldier's initials carved into the handle.--$95.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, excavated, coat size, Confederate pewter "I" (Infantry) button.  This button was recovered many years ago near Fredericksburg, Virginia, and could be literally sewn back on a uniform today.  The shank remains intact on the reverse.  You really couldn't ask for a nicer example.--$250.

    Excavated, very ornate Eagle claw pipe bowl.  This pipe bowl was recovered from a Confederate trash pit along Duck River near Shelbyville, Tennessee.  The stem is broken where it attaches to the bowl.--$75.

    Excellent condition, excavated, "Y" shaped, Austrian musket tool.  This tool was recovered about 40 years ago on private property among the limestone out-croppings about 800 yards from the shop.  The tool literally remains nice enough that it could still be used today.--$65.SOLD

    Excavated, very rare, circular Eagle breast plate converted to a Confederate waist belt plate by Noble Brothers of Rome, Georgia.  This buckle was recovered by Mr. Otis Brown in the mid-1970's from a Confederate camp near Ft. Donelson, Tennessee.  This is a very rare buckle to excavate.  I have recovered 69 Confederate plates and buckles and only one of these.  It could be a very long time before you get another chance at one of these.--$850.

    Excellent condition, excavated, 3-inch, Confederate Read projectile.  This shell was recovered here at Stones River many years ago.  It has been cleaned, coated, disarmed, and is ready for display.--$850.

    Very pretty condition, non-excavated, large size, lead-filled, US oval cartridge box plate.  The plate has full lead, both attachment loops 100% intact, and a "Boyd & Son's - Boston" backmark.  The plate has a pleasing, aging patina with early "block letter" style US.  This was a local hand-me-down plate brought into the shop.--$395.

    Absolutely drop-dead beautiful condition, non-excavated, coat size, CS1, Confederate "CSA" in the Shield Confederate Staff Officer button.  This example is in near perfect condition with 98% bright gold gilt and an "Isaac Campbell - London" backmark.  You would be very hard pressed to find a nicer example than this one.--$1,450.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, excavated, coat size, Confederate "Lined I" uniform button.  This button has a "Superior Quality" backmark with shank intact.  It was recovered from Confederate camps around Richmond, Virginia.--$250.

    Excellent condition, excavated, coat size, Confederate Script "A" (Artillery) uniform button.  This button was recovered from the Confederate Artillery Park on Lewisburg Pike outside Shelbyville.  You couldn't ask for a prettier example.--$450.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, early battlefield pick-up, 3-inch, Western Theater style Confederate Read projectile.  This projectile has a mold seam that stands up about 1/8th inch.  The copper Confederate turn fuse remains intact and can be easily screwed out of the shell.  This is one of the nicest condition Western Theater 3-inch CS Read shells that I have ever had to offer for sale.--$1,250.

    Very nice condition excavated "high copper sabot" 3 inch "Selma Arsenal" Western Theater Confederate Read.  This projecrile was recovered near Atlanta, and is a beauty.  It literally has "knee deep" rifling on the tall copper sabot.  It is a super rarity for one of these to come to market.--$1,250.

    Drop-dead beautiful condition, excavated, large size, puppy-paw hook pattern, US oval waist belt plate.  This buckle was so nice that the relic hunter put it on a leather belt and wore it for special occasions.  It literally approaches perfection.--$350.

    Very pretty condition, excavated, coat size, Louisiana Pelican button.  This is the "sideways" Pelican, LA6, coat size with gold gilt nicely outlining the figures.  It was dug many years ago from General Hardee's winter camp near Tullahoma, Tennessee.--$475.

    Very nice condition, cased Civil War Era whet rock.  These were used to sharpen everything from axes to bowie knives.  Every Civil War Living History display should have a whet rock.--$75.

    Drop Dead Beautiful, and "SUPER RARE" "elongated nose" 3.59 inch Schenkl case shot Projectile.  This is a "Non-Excavated example" that came out of a Civil War era home in Fredericksburg, VA.  To my knowledge, there are less than five "non-excavated" examples of this projectile in existence.  In 50 years here at the store, I have only seen three.  Being non-excavated, the condition is nothing short of super nice just as issued.--$1,850.

    Very nice condition excavated 3.8 inch Hotchkiss time fused rifled projectile.  This projectile was recovered about 40 years ago from private property near Vicksburg, Mississippi.  It has been disarmed, cleaned, and coated and is ready for display.  This is a projectile not often encountered in complete condition.--$595.

    "Holiday Tin" containing 200 mixed dropped and fired US & CS Civil War projectiles.  These were recovered on private property around the battlefield here at Stones River between 1970 and 1990.  Anymore, you have had a very successful relic hunt when you find 3 - 4 bullets in 4 or 5 hour hunt.--$375. (which is less than $2 per bullet).

    Quite rare, and very pretty condition non-excavated small Model 1839 "Baby U.S.".  It has a very nice face with full lead, and RARE "Boyd and Sons - Boston" backmark.  Both hooks remain intact on the reverse.--$450.

    Extremely rare, Model 1858, "BLUE COVER", smooth type canteen that is rigged for Cavalry service.  The stopper with chain remains intact as does a short linen sling with equipment snap hook for being in the saddle.  This one is out of central Ohio.--$650.

    Beautiful condition, original .577 cal., Enfield triangular socket bayonet complete with original leather scabbard.  The blade remains clean and bright just beginning to tone with age.  If you have a nice .577 cal. Enfield musket but not a bayonet, here is your chance to take your musket to the next level.--$375.

    Absolutely drop-dead beautiful, excavated, coat size, Virginia State Seal Confederate local uniform button.  This button has something like 90% bright gold gilt, shank intact, and "Kent Paine - Richmond" backmark.  All you can say is, this button is stunning.--$450.

    Beautiful condition, excavated, coat size, Confederate two-piece Block "I".  It has a beautiful chocolate brown patina on the face and an "E.M.L. - Richmond VA" backmark.--$175.

    Absolutely beautiful face on this excavated, large size, lead-filled, "OVM" (Ohio Volunteer Militia) cartridge box plate.  This cartridge box plate was recovered about 40 years ago from an Ohio Infantry camp located near Decherd, Tennessee.  I actually dug a matching OVM buckle to this box plate about 50 feet away.  This will be a centerpiece to someone's Ohio display.--$2,450.

    Very nice condition, excavated, unmarked, "McElroy & Hunt" pattern, Confederate Georgia frame waist belt plate.  I dug this one back in the 1970's from the camp of the 51st Alabama Cavalry.  The exact spot where this buckle was recovered is now under the extreme right lane of Highway 231 South between Murfreesboro and Shelbyville.  During the Civil War, and even up until the point I recovered this buckle, Highway 231 South was just a two-lane road.  It is now a four-lane highway with a wide median in the center.  That is what caused that portion of the camp where this buckle was recovered to now be under highway.  It has a very nice, uncleaned, brown/green patina with wide triangle teeth (quite a number of years later, Nita & I found another identical example in one of the picket camps over near the railroad).--$850.

    Extremely rare to find, a non-excavated, coat size, NC8, Confederate local manufactured, North Carolina State Seal.  The face has over 90% bright gold gilt, and the reverse is perfect with Southern Local depressed channel and shank intact.--$695.

    Extremely rare, non-excavated, early "rocker base", 3 inch, time fused, flat topped Hotchkiss projectile.  This particular projectile came out of an old home along the Nashville Battle line.  The shell is 100% non-excavated.  These type Hotchkiss projectiles have only been recovered at a few very late war Civil War sites.  I have personally recovered two of these at the Battle of Nashville, and several of my friends have recovered some as well.  This is a beautiful example with brass time fuse in place.--$495.

    Excavated, 12 pound size, Confederate copper time-fused Artillery projectile.  This cannonball was recovered many years ago on private property near Chickamauga, Georgia, and has been disarmed, cleaned, coated, and is ready for display.--$325.

    Beautiful condition, excavated, 6 pound solid shot cannonball.  I recovered this projectile about 40 years ago in Homer Gannon's back cornfield.  It is cleaned, coated, and comes with a display stand.--$195.

    Very attractive condition, Civil War/Indian War Era, double twist bugle.  This bugle has a rich, aged, nearly chocolate brown patina and is out of a deep South estate.  The brass bugle mouthpiece still remains intact.  This is going to be a very nice addition to someone's artifact display.--$450.

    Absolutely beautiful condition non-excavated set of lead filled stamped brass "Intertwined USA" artillery rosettes.  This pair couldn't be nicer with both leather pads still intact.--$450. for the pair.

    Excavated Bormann fused, 6-pound size Confederate cannonball.  This cannonball was recovered back in the 1980's on the Homer Gannon farm on the west side of the Old Nashville Highway not far from the current Thompson Lane bridge.  It is disarmed, cleaned, coated, and ready for display.  We are going to include with this ball a wooden display stand.--$275.

    Original Model 1855, triangular socket bayonet in the very nice condition original leather scabbard.  The bayonet is just beginning to gray with age and would be correct for Model 1855, .58 caliber rifled muskets, Model 1861 Springfield and contract rifled muskets, special Model 1861 rifled muskets, and Model 1863 rifled muskets.  If you have any of these without a bayonet, here is your chance to complete your display.--$375.

    Very rare to come by, hand-stitched, Confederate brown leather sheath for a D-Guard or side knife.  This sheath measures 12 1/2 inches overall in length and can take a D-Guard or side knife blade 1 1/2 inches in width with a maximum blade length of 12 inches.  A loose hand-stitched brown leather Confederate knife scabbard is super rare to come by, and I can't remember the last time I had one.  As you would expect, there are far more knives than there are scabbards to go around.--$450.

    Nice condition, January 1863, check in the amount of $11.25 posted on the Ilion Bank of New York.  In years one by, I have had a number of checks on this same bank written by Samuel Remington of Remington Arms.  The check remains in very nice condition.--$25.

    Absolutely drop dead beautiful excavated coat size 90 % bright gold gilted North Carolina Sunburst Confederate uniform button.  The reverse is beautiful as well with gold gilt everywhere, and shank intact.--$975.

    Very attractive excavated small size, lead filled "Baby U.S." cartridge boxplate.  This plate was recovered here at Stones River about 40 years ago.  It was found on the extreme Federal right near Franklin Road.  I dug a Federal eagle breastplate in the same area.  The plate went on a .69 cal. cartridge box, and we dug LOTS of .69 cal. bullets in the area.  The plate has a smooth chocolate patina, full lead, and has remains of the wire loops on the reverse.  The plate is "warped" just a little where a wagon, or cannon wheel apparently ran across it.  It displays nicely, and I can likely determine what regiment it was likely from.  The site is being dozed as we speak, and is 100 % gone forever.--$225.

    Very nicely cased Civil War era "whit rock" used for sharpening pocket knives, razors, kitchen knives, side knives, and axes.  An excellent addition to your camp scene display. (And you can keep your current pocket knife razor sharp !!)--$95.

    Very nice condition, Civil War Era horses watering bridle.  This bridle remains quite pliable with the watering bit intact.  The padded blinders remain in very nice condition with Military style, stamped brass unit letters affixed.  The letters are "AG" and likely stand for an orgaization like "Augusta Guard".  This is a very nice artifact that you seldom see offered for sale.--$395.

    Excellent set of Civil War era "horse hobbles".  These were designed to keep your horse from straying to far when grazing in camp.  This set remains in nice enough condition that they could still be used today.--$95.

    Very nice condition, Model 1840 heavy Cavalry saber and matching scabbard.  This saber has a smooth, never cleaned, chocolate patina with a bright blade just beginning to gray with age.  The blade is marked, "Horstmann - Phila."  This was a very popular Cavalry saber among Confederates in Middle Tennessee.  If you have been waiting for a nice Cavalry saber to represent your Confederate ancestry, this one is perfect!!--$895.

    Beautiful display containing 16 stamped brass harness buckle covers.  These were taken from home to the field, and we recover far more of these in CS camps than Union camps.  They create a very impressive display.--$295. for the entire display including case.

    Very nice condition, Confederate carried, Model 1832, French Artillery short sword and  original leather scabbard.  The Confederacy imported a good number of these, and the Confederate manufacturer, E. J. Johnson, actually copied this French pattern in making his Confederate swords.  This particular sword is out of a north Alabama estate.--$495.

    Very attractive, excavated, Richmond Arsenal Enlistedman's pattern "CS" two-piece sword belt plate.  This buckle was recovered about 30 years ago from a Confederate Cavalry camp located near Brandy Station, Virginia.  The two pieces were recovered a belt-length apart and fit well with matching patina.  It will be an excellent addition to someone's collection.--$2,250.SOLD

    Extremely rare and sought after "1863" date Richmond, VA. Confederate manufactured Cavalry carbine.  This rare carbine is wartime production, and was purchased about 40 years ago by Jim Brandon out of a local Richmond estate.  I purchased the carbine as a part of Jim's estate probably close to 20 years ago now.  I sold the carbine to a friend who has  had it until the current time.  It has a pretty - never cleaned - chocolate brown patina tip to tip.  The lockplate is marked "1863 - Richmond, VA", and the hammer locks firmly into both half cock and full cock.  The hammer is an old Springfield replacement, and appears to have been there since the Civil War era. This carbine carries a mystery with it.  It appears to have been originally carried by one Confederate who was apparently either killed or wounded.  The original Confederate owner had his name carved with a pen knife into the rear of the shoulder stock.  The "new owner" did not want a name on his gun that was not his own for fear that he may be killed and misidentified to his family, and they would therefore not know what happened to him.  It is quite common for the new owner of a Confederate gun to remove the previous owners name or initials and often put his own.  On this weapon, the original owner had his name and unit carved into the bottom of the butt stock.  You can still make out "Wickhams" Brigade, but I can only see a couple of letters of the soldier's name.  Wickham's Brigade and likely this weapon participated in the Battle of Williamsburg, the Seven Days' Battles, and the Second Manassas and Maryland campaigns.  Later the unit was involved in the conflicts at Fredericksburg, Kelly's Ford, Chancellorsville, Brandy Station, Upperville, Gettysburg, Bristoe, Mine Run, The Wilderness, Todd's Tavern, Spotsylvania, Haw's Shop, and Bethesda Church.    It is extremely rare at this point in time to find an honest, Confederate manufactured, Richmond carbine on the market for sale.--$7,500.

    Nice condition and quite rare, Model 1841, original "Mississippi Rifle".  This rifle remains in original .54 cal., and has a southern wedge-type rear site.  This rifle has smooth, gently aging, gray patina metal with lockplate markings of, "Tryon - 1847 - US - Philada - PA".  The stock remains in very nice condition with two inspector cartouches still faintly visible in the wood reverse side from the hammer.  It has the original brass tip ram rod, both sling swivels, brass patch box with extra nipple, and still has very decent rifling.  This Mississippi rifle almost certainly saw Confederate service and will be a fine addition to any collection.--$2,450.

    Extremely uncommon to excavate, this is a camp site dug, small brass book for holding "gem size" tintypes.  The pages will still open and close.  The last two photographs are of a non-excavated similar folding book with gem size Civil War tintypes still inside.  It is listed as number 1 in the Images section.  These two items would make a fantastic display together.  For the excavated folding image book "alone"--$48.  Or, for both books, including tintypes and in a glass display case--$195.

    Really pretty print of "Old Hickory" and "Rachel" arriving at "The Hermitage" in Middle Tennessee.  Along with this print is a small 5" bust of "Andrew Jackson".  Here is a GREAT DEAL if you are into "Old Hickory" type items !!--$48. for the pair

    Nicely matted and ready to frame, 14 inch by 18 inch image of John Brown together with a newspaper image depicting his hanging.  This was one of the early causes of the outbreak of the Civil War.--$65.

    Nice, clear, fully cased, 1/6th plate tintype of a young Federal Enlistedman.  He is wearing a four-button, regulation, Union sack coat and is standing with one hand on a chair.--$125.

    Very attractive collection of nine, non-excavated, coat size and cuff size uniform buttons consisting of several Civil War Era buttons including a coat size Federal Infantry Officer's button, a coat size, three piece Federal Staff Officer's button, a coat size, Massachusetts State Seal, and a cuff size Federal Navy button.  There are several post-war uniform buttons including two coat size, "GAR" (Grand Army of the Republic) buttons, and also a couple of Indian War Era raised shield Eagle buttons.  For this entire collection--$125.

    Excellent condition, excavated, large size, Confederate "GA" Georgia frame, cast brass waist belt plate.  This plate was recovered from the 1863 winter camp of Lucius Polk's brigade, Army of Tennessee which was located near Tullahoma, Tennessee.  It will make an excellent addition to someone's Confederate buckle display.--$695.

    Really, Really pretty, excavated, "ROPE BORDER" style CS oval, die-stamped brass, Confederate waist belt plate.  This super rare buckle was recovered many years ago from a Confederate camp on private property near the Battle of Shiloh.  It has a very crisp strike and a smooth chocolate brown patina with all three strip brass hooks remaining intact.  We have it pictured above a non-excavated buckle of the very same type.  These Confederate buckles are very thin and are very prone to being damaged and incomplete.  It has been a long time since I have had a rope border this nice.--$4,850. (Excavated buckle only)

    Beautiful display of 27 Native American arrowheads picked up from crop fields surrounding the battlefield here at Stones River.  This collection was picked up over a 50 year span.  It is my understanding that the arrowheads are for the most part Cherokee and Shawnee.  The points are displayed in a nice quality, 12 x 18 inch, hand-crafted, black walnut display case.  The display case has locking clasps.  This collection of points represents many years of walking crop rows and searching for arrowheads.--$250.

    Very nice condition, percussion double barrel boot pistol.  This example is .36 cal., and the action works perfectly on both barrels.  There are numerous pictures of Confederates with this type boot pistol stuck behind their waist belt.--$495.

    Very attractive, regulation issue, Cavalry Gallager carbine, serial number 3058 which is reasonably early production.  This was a popular carbine with Federal Cavalry being used by the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry.  Also, it was carried by the 13th Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry (Union) and the 3rd West Virginia Cavalry (Union).  Interestingly, Mahlon J. Gallager, the inventor, was from South Carolina.  This is a good, solid Gallager carbine showing clear evidence of actual Civil War use.--$1,450.

    Very attractive, Model 1865, Spencer 7-shot repeating carbine with a 20 inch barrel.  The Model 1865 Spencer was issued to the military at the very end of the Civil War, and more importantly, during the Indian Wars Era.  This example has crisp action, nice deep rifling, and is marked on the barrel, "Model 1865 - Spencer Repeating Rifle - Manuf'd by Burnside Rifle Co. - etc."  The carbine remains in very nice condition and completely functional but does show honest wear from actual use.  This carbine is serial number 3629 which is quite early production.--$1,850.

    Model 1860 Colt, .44 cal., 6-shot, percussion Army revolver.  This revolver has an all-matching serial number (including the wedge) of 52095.  This is a very desirable 1862 production date.  The revolver has a pleasing, aging, gray/brown patina overall and indexes well, locking in both half-cock and full-cock.  There is some wear making the barrel marking a bit dim, but it still can be seen.  This is a real deal Colt Army that has seen actual service, and that service quite possibly Confederate.--$1,595.

    Very nice condition and quite scarce, EARLY MODEL Remington Beals, .36 cal., Navy Model revolver.  These were very popular in the South in the early years of the Civil War.  This example has a smooth, gently graying, aged patina with traces of finish in the recessed areas.  The action works nicely and indexes perfectly.  It is serial number 2157.  The only negative that the revolver has is there is a small piece broken on the loading lever that holds it in place.  Any quality gunsmith could make this repair.  It has been several years since I had a Remington Beals Navy Model this nice.--$1,650.

    Complete U.S. buckle along with original belt, and original leather percussion cap box.  This is out of a central OHIO estate sale.--$595.

    Very nicely framed, original Civil War music, "Marching through Georgia" by Henry Clay Work, along with two original bass drum sticks.  These items are framed with the print, "War is Hell - Atlanta, Georgia".  The entire framed display measures 32 inches by 18.5 inches.  Light filtering glass was used, and it is ready to hang.  We're going to price this framed display at little more than the cost of mounting and framing the artifacts.--$375.

    Very pretty Model 1851 .36 cal. Colt Navy Model 6-shot revolver in original CONFEDERATE MADE leather holster.  This revolver has an ALL MATCHING serial number of "127648" and a number "2" indicating that this weapon was once part of a matching set of Colt Navy revolvers.  This is most desirable 1862 Colt production.  The Colt Navy was General Forrest's favorite weapon, and in his will, he left his Colt Navy revolver to his oldest son, and wrote "It has gotten me out of many a tight spot, and if ever you are in need of defense - I hope that you will not hesitate to use it !!  A good deal of original cylinder scene remains still visible.  Nice condition original 1862 date Colt Navy Model revolver in original Confederate manufactured holster.--$2,950.

    Rare, rare Richmond Arsenal pattern CS Enlistedman's Cavalry sword belt rig.  This belt rig was a part of the nationally known Steve Mullinax collection for many years.  The CS two-piece sword belt plate buckle is a regulation Richmond Arsenal product and has a rich, never cleaned, aged bronze patina.  The belt itself is an original "bullet stitch" Confederate Richmond Arsenal belt but was in an attic for many years and gradually became hard as a rock.  We have used Picard (lots of Picard) to get the belt in a state to display.  The belt displays nicely but has numerous cracks and a couple of breaks.  You will likely never see an original Richmond Arsenal CS belt plate on an original "Bullet Stitch" Confederate belt at a price like this again.  We are pricing it at pretty much the value of the non-excavated CS two-piece buckle alone.--$4,500.

    Excavated Leech and Rigdon "CS" sword belt plate.  This buckle was recovered about 30 years ago from General Forrest's Confederate Cavalry camp located along Tippa Creek in North Mississippi.  The buckle has a good fit, and matching patina, and was recovered together, but it appears that the original wreath had broken and a replacement had been found.  The replacement wreath fits well, but does have a little bit heavier belt loop than the tongue.  Other than that, it fits perfectly, and was being worn that way.  The buckle has a very pleasing display look.--$2,450.

    Very attractive, Model 1860, .44 cal., Colt 6-shot percussion revolver.  This revolver has an all-matching serial number of 30672 which is quite early Colt production "1862".  It is a very sought after "4-screw" which is cut for taking a shoulder stock.  The revolver has a smooth, gray, aging patina overall, and the action still works well.  It came out of a local Middle Tennessee estate and quite likely saw Confederate service.--$2,650.

    Here we have a beautiful "Hi-Grade" Model 1850 Federal Field and Staff Officer's sword and scabbard that was purchased in 1975 directly from the family.  The information that came with the sword indicated that the sword was carried by an ancestor by the name of Lt. Jacob Probst.  He was a member of the 21st New Jersey Infantry.  The sword has an ornate brass guard with "US" cast into the guard.  The engraving on the blade is really something having US, a drum, a shield, stacked arms, a flag, crossed cannons, a camp scene with tents, and a soldier on picket.  The leather scabbard is ornately tooled, and patterned, but does have an old repair just above the drag.  This sword has been carried A LOT as the drag has "TONS OF WEAR".  He served in the Fredericksburg campaign, as well as Salem Heights.  Lt. Probst was born in Bremen, Germany, April 20, 1841, and died February 13, 1901, at age 59 years.  He was very active in Veteran and community activities.--$2,150.

    Beautiful excavated large size oval "VMM" (Volunteer Maine Militia) cartridge boxplate.  This plate was recovered about 40 years ago on private property near Port Hudson, LA.  The face has a slick chocolate brown patina and sharp, crisp letters and the plate has literally never even been rinsed off.  The plate is the pattern ""VMM" with very little lead in the back - Actually just barely enough to keep the wire loops in place.  Rusty residue of the wire loops still remains.  This is one of the prettiest "VMM"s from that area that I have seen.--$1,150.

    Fully cased, 1/6th plate tintype of what I believe to be a north Georgia Confederate.  The image is out of the Ringgold, Georgia, area and pictures a seated soldier wearing what appears to be a butternut colored uniform.  His belt rig is clearly visible with a pair of Smith & Wesson revolvers stuck behind it.  The buckle is clearly visible and is clearly a large oval.  It has been partly gilted by the photographer.  I believe, however, I can faintly see the remnants of "CS" behind the gilting.  I cannot say for 100% sure though.  The case is quite unusual as well with a patterned backing behind the image.  Too bad I cannot say for certain that the buckle says "CS", but I personally believe it does.  We are pricing this image at a level you would expect a nice armed Union image to be.  But, every time I pick it up, I hear "Dixie" playing.--$850.

    SMOKING NICE CONFEDERATE CARRIED Model 1858 Federal "Bullseye" canteen WITH A HOME SPUN REBEL "BED TICKING" cover, and a home made TICKING sling !!!  Every time you hold this jewel -- You hear "DIXIE" playing LOUD AND CLEAR !!!  This beautiful Southern artifact is out of a Southern estate located near "Ringgold, GA.".  I think it only fair that I include "ear protection" with this canteen FOR HOW LOUD DIXIE IS PLAYING" !!!!  This is a FANTASTIC artifact !!!--$795.

    Really nice CONFEDERATE CARRIED, but Union produced .58 cal. leather cartridge box.  The box is out of this local area, and has the "upside down" U.S. cartridge boxplate meaning "SOUTHERN NATION".  It remains in very nice soft, pliable condition, and still has the Confederate produced one piece cartridge tin still inside - just as it was carried.  This is a first class box with both belt loops intact - original plate intact - closure tab in place - and Confederate one piece cartridge tin.  You really should wear "ear protection" when handling this artifact BECAUSE "DIXIE" IS PLAYING SO LOUD !!!!!!--$895.

    Super rare, identified College Hill Arsenal Confederate Foot Officer’s sword and scabbard.  This sword and scabbard is the product of College Hill Arsenal in Nashville, Tennessee.  The sword was carried by Capt. Samuel A. Matthews, Co. E, 16^th Regiment Mississippi Volunteer Infantry.  Capt. Matthews served for one year and was with his regiment encamped at Manassas, Virginia, when his term expired.  The sword remains in very nice condition with visible Confederate engraving virtually half the length of the blade and a large engraved “CSA” clearly engraved down the blade.  The sword’s scabbard is complete with all three original College Hill manufactured brass mounts.  On the top mount is engraved “Matt – Co. E 16^th Miss”.  This is an extremely rare, firmly ID’d, Confederate Officer’s sword in original scabbard.  It originally came directly out of Capt. Matthew’s family estate.  A 50-page notebook comes with the sword detailing the history of the Regiment and Capt. Matthews.--$12,950.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, excavated matching pair of heavy brass, private purchase, Confederate used Cavalry spurs.  This super nice pair of spurs was recovered many years ago from private property near the Battle of Shiloh.  Neither of the spurs has even been washed, and both retain their original rowels.  They just do not get nicer than this pair.--$750. for the pair.

    Just brought into the shop out of a local family, very pretty, Model 1840, heavy Cavalry saber and scabbard (Old Wristbreaker).  1840 heavy Cavalry sabers were extensively carried by Confederate Cavalry throughout the Civil War.  Even the famous Confederate Cavalry General Nathan B. Forrest carried one early in the War.  This example has a bright, clean unmarked blade and an original grip in beautiful condition.  The saber is out of a local estate and almost certainly would have been Confederate carried.  It will be an excellent addition to someone's Civil War display.--$895.

    Really - Really Cool excavated Leech and Rigdon Confederate Cavalry Officer's Spur !!  This spur apparently broke during the Civil War, and the Confederate Cavalry officer DID NOT want to give up his "CS" marked cavalry spur.  The soldier had a blacksmith apply an "iron splint" to the outside of the spur with pins coming through the spur.  The spur has very sharp, distinct stars on each side, but the "CS" is worn very dim.  This is "for sure" one of a kind, and I have never seen a "War Time" repair like this before.  It was recovered from Gen N. B. Forrest's Confederate Cavalry camp occupied during 1863, and located near Spring Hill, Tn.  Talk about a relic with character !!--$1,250.

    Extremely rare, Leech & Rigdon, Memphis, Tennessee, Confederate manufactured Foot Officer's sword.  This is the Confederate sword along with a partial leather scabbard.  The blade remains clean, just beginning to darken with age.  It has the typical Confederate unstopped fuller.  The cast brass guard is 100% Memphis Novelty Works all the way with the distinctive Leech & Rigdon Officer's sword motif on both top and bottom.  This is a super rare Confederate Officer's sword, and in nearly 50 years, I could count the number of these that I have had on my two hands.  Better not let this one get away, because it could be many years before you see another one.--$5,500.

    Just brought in by a local family, and is 100% untouched.  This is a very nice hand-me-down Confederate local made "CS DOG RIVER" Cavalry saber and scabbard.  The blade has a pretty gently greying aged patina, and the brass guard has a thick - never touched - brown patina.  The grip is down to the wood with only a few fragments of the leather and single strands of iron wire.  The scabbard is a classic lap seamed - brass mounted CS made scabbard.  This is a very nice, straight out of the Southern estate and untouched for the last 150 years, Confederate manufactured, "Dog River" CS Cavalry saber and scabbard.--$3,500.

    Extremely rare and sought after "1863" date Richmond, VA. Confederate manufactured Cavalry carbine.  This rare carbine is wartime production, and was purchased about 40 years ago by Jim Brandon out of a local Richmond estate.  I purchased the carbine as a part of Jim's estate probably close to 20 years ago now.  I sold the carbine to a friend who has  had it until the current time.  It has a pretty - never cleaned - chocolate brown patina tip to tip.  The lockplate is marked "1863 - Richmond, VA", and the hammer locks firmly into both half cock and full cock.  The hammer is an old Springfield replacement, and appears to have been there since the Civil War era. This carbine carries a mystery with it.  It appears to have been originally carried by one Confederate who was apparently either killed or wounded.  The original Confederate owner had his name carved with a pen knife into the rear of the shoulder stock.  The "new owner" did not want a name on his gun that was not his own for fear that he may be killed and misidentified to his family, and they would therefore not know what happened to him.  It is quite common for the new owner of a Confederate gun to remove the previous owners name or initials and often put his own.  On this weapon, the original owner had his name and unit carved into the bottom of the butt stock.  You can still make out "Wickhams" Brigade, but I can only see a couple of letters of the soldier's name.  Wickham's Brigade and likely this weapon participated in the Battle of Williamsburg, the Seven Days' Battles, and the Second Manassas and Maryland campaigns.  Later the unit was involved in the conflicts at Fredericksburg, Kelly's Ford, Chancellorsville, Brandy Station, Upperville, Gettysburg, Bristoe, Mine Run, The Wilderness, Todd's Tavern, Spotsylvania, Haw's Shop, and Bethesda Church.    It is extremely rare at this point in time to find an honest, Confederate manufactured, Richmond carbine on the market for sale.--$7,500.

    Extremely rare, Confederate manufacture, "Dog River" Confederate Cavalry saber and scabbard picked up on the battlefield and taken home as a war trophy.  The saber has original, single strand iron wire on the grip and some of the original leather.  The cast high copper content brass guard has a rich, never cleaned patina.  The saber has the original unstopped fuller Confederate blade, and it is snapped into about ten inches up from the tip.  The Confederate lap seam "Dog River scabbard" could not be more perfect and has an excellent soldered lap seam with brass mounts.  This is a beautiful, museum quality artifact.--$2,850.

    Super scarce, huge 26 mm, coat size, Confederate Staff Officer button with "CSA" in the shield, near 100% bright gold gilt, and rare "Courtney & Tennent" backmark.  This button is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful of all Confederate uniform buttons.  This is CS1A1 in Albert, and I do not believe it possible to find a more beautiful and perfect example.--$1,950.

    Very attractive, excavated, large size, cast brass, Confederate "fork-tongue" frame waist belt plate.  This buckle was recovered from General Breckinridge's November - December, 1862, Confederate Infantry camp located near Readyville, Tennessee.  It shows actual use with visible wear.--$895.

    Just in out of the local area, Model 1840 "Old Wristbreaker", heavy Cavalry saber and scabbard.  The blade is just beginning to darken with age and is marked, "W. Walscheid/Solingen".  This saber was almost certainly Confederate carried and would be an excellent addition to any Confederate Cavalry display.--$895.

    Super, Super rare, non-excavated, CS26B, coat size Confederate Staff Officer button.  This is a Confederate local with 100% gilt front and back with shank intact.  To give you an idea how rare this button is in a non-dug state, in 50 years, I could count on my fingers how many of these I have had.  Interestingly, here in the Western Theater spring of 1863, Army of Tennessee Confederate winter camps, I have excavated probably 30 or 40.  Finding one NON-EXCAVATED is a whole different story.--$1,250.

    Absolutely drop dead perfect and beautiful non-excavated coat size Confederate stippled Old English "E" (Engineer).  This button literally has 100 % bright gold gilt - "H. T. & B. - Manchester" Backmark - and shank straight and intact.  It is "CS153A" in Albert.   I recently saw one of these sell for $2,000. - and was not one bit nicer than this one.--$1,450.

    Very pretty condition, complete Cavalry breast strap rig with large size Martingale Heart with Regimental No. 7 attached.  This Martingale rig came out of the local area and very likely signifies the 7th Tennessee Cavalry, CSA.  The 7th Tennessee Cavalry, CSA, served under General Nathan Bedford Forrest at both the Battle of Franklin and the Battle of Nashville.  They served to help protect the rear of the Confederate Army as they withdrew from Middle Tennessee.--$750.

    Absolutely beautiful, uncirculated condition, Confederate $500 "Stonewall Jackson" February 17, 1864, note.  Over the last 48 years, I have had a fair number of Stonewall Jackson $500 notes.  This is without question the nicest I have ever had without a single fold mark.  The note is serial number 32831 and is bright and vivid with crisp edges all around.--$950.

    Quite rare Model 1858 Federal canteen with "Sky Blue" cover, original sling, and stopper.  The canteen is maker marked "J. H. Rohrman -- Philadelphia" on the spout.  Federal canteens in nice condition with the "Sky Blue" cover are quite sought after, and rare to find.--$650.

    Extremely rare to find - Model 1832 cast brass Artillery 2 Piece Sword Belt Plate on its original white buff waist belt complete with the original white buff carrying "saddle" for the Model 1832 Artillery Short Sword.  If you have a Model 1832 Artillery Short Sword and Scabbard, this is all you need for a museum level display.  The white buff is now "tanned" with age and use, but remains very strong and pliable.  This is a belt rig that you rarely see available complete and undamaged.--$1,150.

    Very attractive, .69 cal., Model 1816, smooth bore musket converted from flint to percussion.  This musket has lockplate markings of "Springfield - 1829" and has a smooth, dark, never cleaned patina.  It is out of a local estate and has been fired a great deal to the point that flash from the nipple has literally burnt a hole in the wood right behind the nipple.  This is a very typical Southern carried musket, especially during the early years of the Civil War.  It would have fired .69 cal. buck and ball.--$1,150.

    Really pretty .69 cal. 3-band Potsdam rifled musket.  These are also known as "Prussian Muskets", and the governor of OHIO purchased a "bunch" of these, and sent early War Ohio troops off to war armed with them.  As relic hunters, anytime we are hunting an early War camp, and start digging "Prussian Bullets" -- You know that you are in an early War Ohio Infantry camp.  It is likely this musket spent time in an Ohio G.A.R. Hall.  The metal on the musket has been lightly nickel plated, so that the musket stays clean and bright with very little effort at all.  If you'd like a bright clean musket that is going to stay that way with near zero effort -- Here Is A BEAUTY (and priced RIGHT) !!!--$1,250.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, large oval, lead-filled, "SNY" (State of New York) 1840 - 1850 era, puppy-paw hook waist belt plate on the original brown buff Civil War waist belt.  This one appears to be unissued and is in super nice condition.  This would be a fine centerpiece to someone's New York collection.--$1,150.

    Just brought into the shop out of a local family, very pretty, Model 1840, heavy Cavalry saber and scabbard (Old Wristbreaker).  1840 heavy Cavalry sabers were extensively carried by Confederate Cavalry throughout the Civil War.  Even the famous Confederate Cavalry General Nathan B. Forrest carried one early in the War.  This example has a bright, clean blade and an original grip in beautiful condition.  The blade is "Solingen" marked.  The saber is out of a local estate and almost certainly would have been Confederate carried.  It will be an excellent addition to someone's Civil War display.--$895.

    Very attractive, excavated, large size, cast brass, Confederate "fork-tongue" frame waist belt plate.  This buckle was recovered from General Breckinridge's November - December, 1862, Confederate Infantry camp located near Readyville, Tennessee.  It shows actual use with visible wear.--$895.

    Very pretty condition, Model 1850, Field & Staff Officer's sword and brass mounted leather scabbard.  This sword and scabbard is out of a central Ohio estate and no doubt belonged to an Ohio Infantry Officer.  The blade remains clean and bright with beautiful, clear engraving top to bottom.  The leather grip is original and remains 100% tight and intact.  The leather scabbard is complete and in very nice condition.  The brass mounts have a beautiful, gently aged patina, and any museum would be pleased to have this sword on display.--$1,150.

    Very attractive, Model 1851, Officer's cast brass sword belt plate on original black leather belt.  The buckle has the integrally cast wreath and the medium width tongue characteristic of the Civil War Era.  The buckle has a rich, aged patina, and the belt remains reasonably pliable.--$650.

    Model 1851, N.C.O. (Non-Commissioned Officer) belt with original cast brass sword belt with applied silver wreath intact.  The belt is the early issue pattern with the flat style brass adjustor hook.  The buckle itself has a pleasing, aged patina and is 100% complete.  The belt remains pliable with minimal flaking and could literally still be worn.--$650.

    fQuite rare, Model 1816, .69 cal., flintlock smoothbore musket.  This musket remains in "flint" as it was originally produced, but could possibly have at one time been converted to percussion and reconverted back to flint.  The walnut stock has an old repair that is so well done, that it appears to be factory done.  The lockplate is marked, "Springfield 1839", and the musket has a Model 1861 ram rod that appears to have been with it a long time.  This musket is a classic example of what the South had to make do with to fight the Civil War.  It will be a beautiful addition to any Civil War collection.--$1,650.

    Very pretty condition and extremely rare, Leech & Rigdon Confederate Enlistedman's Cavalry spur with elongated leather strap holders (lower spur in picture).  This is the corresponding, unmarked, Leech and Rigdon Enlistedman's spur that matches the Officer's spur pictured with the Star and "CS".  The Enlistedman's spur is virtually identical to the Officer's spur except it lacks the "CS" and Stars.  It is the LOWER SPUR pictured in all the pictures above.  In 50 years, I have seen less than ten examples of this spur.--$450.

    Beautiful condition, excavated, coat size, "Droop Wing Eagle" Confederate Staff Officer's button.  This button was recovered many years ago from a Confederate camp near Chickamauga, Georgia.  It was recovered by Dr. Francis Fesmire from a Confederate position on private property near Chickamauga, Georgia.  The reverse has the single depressed channel and remnants of what was once the iron attaching loop.  It is very difficult to dig a prettier Confederate local "Droop Wing Staff" than this one.--$1,250.

    .Very attractive Model 1850 "Horstmann and Sons" Foot officer sword in original leather scabbard.  This sword was recently purchased out of a local Tennessee estate, and has the name "Helmer Hansson" engraved into the middle mount.  I have looked in a couple places, and don't seem to see Helmer.  The sword has a clean blade with light engraving, but was broken about 9 inches from the tip, and has been repaired.  The sword has a very ornate guard, but is missing the very back of it. It looks like it could have been intentionally removed to form an "S" guard.  The leather scabbard remains with the sword, but the brass tip has been lost off.  There are loose Foot Officer Sword brass drags available at almost every Civil War Show, so getting a replacement brass drag should be no real problem.  If this sword did not have the couple issues, you would expect it to be priced at $1,250. or so.  Here is your "deal of the day"  --- Priced at less than HALF !!--$595.

    Here is a Civil War Cavalry Saber with a TON of "COOLNESS FACTOR" going on.  It is a nice quality Model 1860 Federal light cavalry saber.  It has blade markings of "Ames - 1863 - ADK (Alias D. King) - Ames Mfg. Co. - Chicopee, Mass".  The saber has been "jeweler enhanced" to officer grade.  This saber is out of a local family, and I believe that it was Confederate carried.  The soldier made "officer" and I believe that the soldier wanted to keep his saber, and it was engraved to indicate "officer".  The leather on the grip was decayed, and was replaced about 40 years ago.  I will pass along to the buyer the Confederate's name that "I believe" likely carried this very cool  saber.--$1,250.

    Very nice condition, 4th Model Burnside Carbine.  This carbine has an all matching serial number of 12329.  There is original bluing remaining in recessed areas, and the rifling is as deep and sharp as it was during the Civil War.  The original long-range site remains intact as well as the floating snap swivel bar and ring.  The main spring remains as strong as when issued.  This is a nice quality little Burnside Carbine, and they were issued to, and were used by regiments of Cavalry of almost every state in the Union.--$1,650.

    Very nice condition, Model 1864, Federal belt rig complete with belt, US buckle and brass keeper, US marked percussion cap box with percussion caps still inside, and very nice condition, Model 1864, .58 cal. cartridge box with embossed US oval, "Oliver - PA." makers mark, and original tins inside.  It is rare now to find a Federal belt rig complete with both boxes.--$1,250.

    Very pretty condition, Model 1861, Federal contract, rifled musket.  This musket has a lockplate marked, "1863 - E. Robinson - New York".  The metal overall has a gently aging gray patina with some flash around the nipple area.  The barrel retains deep, sharp rifling, and both sling swivels and ramrod remain intact.  The main spring remains about as strong as it was in 1863, and the hammer locks firmly in both half-cock and full-cock.  The wood remains very pretty with an old age crack running straight back from the wrist but does not go all the way through.  This musket clearly shows Civil War usage but is not terribly burnt out behind the nipple.  This would be an excellent first Civil War musket.--$1,650.

    Very scarce to find, Model 1850 "ROBY" Foot Officer's sword and scabbard with bright, crisp, sharp engraving from top to bottom.  It has a beautiful gilted guard with original sharkskin and wire 100% intact.  The original leather scabbard remains with the sword, and is in nice condion as well.  This is grade 8 to 9, and totally museum worthy!!--$1,195.

    This ranks as one of the absolute rarest and most sought after Confederate Officer's sword of the American Civil War.  It is a superb Firmin & Sons "Dolphin Head" Confederate Naval Officer's sword and is THE VERY ONE pictured in Albaugh's book, Photograph Supplement of Confederate Swords.  It is pictured on pages 78 - 80 and is attributed to John McIntosh Kell, Executive Officer of the CSS Alabama.  This sword is in excellent overall condition with amazing, fine etching including a Confederate Flag and crossed cannons.  The grip is shark skin and remains completely intact.  This sword comes with a professionally made contemporary replacement scabbard that is perfect in every detail.  With this sword comes a framed family albumin photograph of John McIntosh Kell.  Civil War relics just do not get much better than this.  It has been in a local collection for many years.--$32,500.

    Super rare, original die - counter die - and cut out die for the scarcest Sheridan Cavalry Corps badge.  These items have been in an old New England collection for many, many years.  They were originally purchased from Bannermann's Island, and I was able to purchase them as part of settling the estate.  I really don't have a clue how to price this, as in over 50 years - I have never seen one of these offered for sale.  SO -- I am just going to take a guess, and this price very well may be less than 50% of this group's actual value.--$1,500.

    Extremely rare, 100% gold gilted, Confederate Staff Officer CS36A1.  I don't see how this button could possibly be any nicer.  The face is flawless with 100% bright gold gilt, and the reverse remains perfect as well and is marked, "H. T. & B. Manchester".  This is a Confederate button that you will NEVER, EVER need to upgrade.--$1,150.

    Just brought in, and really nice .69 cal. Model 1816 "P. & E. W. BLAKE" musket originally produced in flintlock, and converted to percussion for Civil War use.  This is out of a local family that had 100% Confederate ancestry.  During the Civil War it would have fired "Buck and Ball" as well as a standard musket ball.  It has a pretty attic brown patina tip to tip, and has lockplate markings of "P. & E. W. BLAKE-1830-NEW HAVEN".  The action remains as tight and strong as during the Civil War.  There is still a clearly visible inspector cartouche in the wood opposite the lockplate and hammer.  If you have always wanted to own a really nice Confederate carried musket from the Civil War - here is your chance !!--$1,450.

    Very pretty condition, fresh off Look-Out Mountain, Tennessee, .69 cal., Model 1816 Springfield musket originally produced in flintlock and converted to percussion for Civil War use.  This musket was almost certainly a Confederate used weapon.  The metal has a smooth darkened patina with lockplate markings of, "Springfield - 1823 - US - and the Eagle".  The action is tight, and the mainspring is as strong as during the Civil War.  It has both sling swivels intact as well as the original ram rod.  The oval inspector cartouche opposite the hammer is easily visible.  This musket is nice enough to be in any museum and will be a nice compliment to any private collection.--$1,450.

    We have assembled several 8 inch by 12 inch artifact displays containing 12 - 14 Civil War artifacts and a colorful Civil War scene in a glass Riker case.  These make excellent gifts to anyone interested in the Civil War Era.--$45. each case

    Very attractive, .69 cal., 1841 Harpers Ferry musket originally flintlock but converted to percussion using the Butterfield Conversion System.  The musket has a smooth, brown, aged patina tip to tip with lockplate markings of, "Harpers Ferry - 1841 - US - and the Eagle".  These muskets were considered somewhat obsolete, and many were stored in the Harpers Ferry Arsenal.  They were, of course, captured and distributed to Confederate Infantry.  This example shows extensive service with dings, marks, and wear in the wood and a crack running just behind the tang of the barrel.  Southern Infantry fought much of the war with this exact type musket using buck and ball.  We are including a buck and ball round that we recovered here at Stones River with the musket.  You might not be able to afford a $12,000 Richmond musket, but here is a weapon extensively used by the South at a very realistic price of--$1,295.

    Absolutely beautiful condition, Model 1839, "baby US" on original white buff waist belt being worn upside down so as to read "Southern Nation".  This belt rig is out of a north Alabama family and has a very nice condition CONFEDERATE MANUFACTURE cap box on the belt rig.  You will not get more solid Confederate than this rig, and it remains in first-class, museum grade condition.--$1,450.

    Really pretty, Confederate manufacture, Foot Officer's sword with gray/brown patina and unstopped fuller Confederate blade.  I believe this sword could be a product of E. J. Johnson of Macon, Georgia, but am not 100% certain which maker it is.  This sword displays beautifully.--$2,850.

     A few days ago - April 10th, 2017 - was one of life's very best days.  My 3rd granddaughter (Isabella Rose) was born to my younger daughter Savannah Cynthia and her husband Luke.  Isabella Rose was born at 1:10 p.m. weighing 7 lbs. 11 oz. and was 19 1/4" long.  She appears very healthy and has a head full of dark brown hair.  To me, she looks like a near exact duplicate of her older sister, Lila Magnolia.  The birth went perfectly, and we hope to have both coming home soon.  Lila is very proud of her new baby sister, and we hope that sentiment lasts.

    Meet "Lila Magnolia Blackwelder" !!!  She is my younger daughter - Savannah Cynthia and her husband - Luke Blackwelder's first child.  She was born December 4, 2013 at 3:25 pm weighing 7 pounds 4 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long.  She was born with a head full of dark brown hair and a fine set of lungs.  She has a wonderful disposition, and loves to smile and giggle.  I plan to do my best to spoil her beyond belief !!!!

    NEW PICTURE !!!  Guess who is celebrating 1 year old today ??  Yep -- "Lady A - Anastasia" .  I  just got back from Houston, TX. visiting my first "Grandchild - Lady-A" {Anastasia}.  She is an absolute little doll and has everyone wrapped around her tiny, little finger.  She has arrived at the conclusion - "If I'm awake, somebody best be holding me if you know what's good for you" -- {otherwise I'll give you the business} !!!  She and I have a lot in common -- Two of our favorite things on earth to do is "Eat and Sleep" !!!!  Jonathan {the pup} is a wonderful "Big Brother" -- As a matter of fact - He has a little sweater that has "Only Child" crossed out and "Big Brother" written beneath it.  She is something like 11 months old and already weighs 23 lbs. -- Texas thing I'm told !!!   {Make that "5 YEARS" old now !!!!}  WOW --- Time sure gets away !!!!  And now ANOTHER year !!!!   I'm getting SOOO old, but beats the alternative !!!

    Beautiful and tough to come by 1973 print of General Nathan Bedford Forrest that was done by the Sons of Confederate Veterans over 30 years ago.  The print is BIG measuring 24 inches by 30 inches before framing and is absolutely breathtaking once it's matted and framed.  I seldom get these in anymore.--$89.