DUG CONFEDERATE UNIFORM BUTTONS

Shown below are a few of the Confederate uniform buttons I have dug over the years. Owing to their inability to manufacture buttons in the quantities needed by the Southern Patriots, Confederate leaders had to import many of their accouterments from England. The blockade of Southern ports many times prevented their delivery. Confederate uniform buttons are thus much scarcer than those of the barbarians.

The "common" droop-wing eagle button

A pair of dug Mississippi infantry buttons

More "droop wings"

A cavalry "C" and a Louisiana pelican button, more droop wings and a cadet button.

The script "I" infantry button

The more common "I" infantry button

BRASS BAGGAGE OR LUGGAGE RAILROAD TAGS CHECKS FOBS

I've found that baggage or railroad tags are some of the most fascinating "finds" one can dig. Photos below are of some of those I've dug around Vicksburg over the years. Some folks have indicated that these tags were really watch fobs, and perhaps they could be put to such use. However, I do not believe they were originally intended as such.

This one is very interesting. It reads "VICKSBURG/HARLEM RR/L. SHORE RR/BELL RR LINE/ICRR/NOJ&GN/98/NEW YORK." I assume it was issued by New Orleans Jackson & Great Northern Railroad. Can the various railroad company names indicate a route for baggage? I don't think so. One wouldn't think there would be very many passengers for this very same route. However, perhaps it was commercially used for pieces of equipment manufactured at one point and always delivered to the same location elsewhere. Any ideas?

The infamous Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad issued this one. Though it's beat up, it is probably the only example I'll ever see.

I have not researched the Madrid House, but suppose it was a hotel where travelers might alight for a day or two while visiting Vicksburg.

At first I thought the "MS" meant "Mississippi," bur research indicated this tag was issued by Morgan's Louisiana & Texas Railroad & Steam Ship Company.

A Vicksburg "waystation" tag. "Way station" is defined as "a place where people can stop for rest, supplies, etc., during a long journey."

Another way station. This one I assume is Vicksburg & Meridian Railroad.

I guess this tag indicated that baggage was intended to be delivered to the English Kitchen in Vicksburg. I haven't heard of a restaurant named "English Kitchen," but this tag suggests there was one at one time.

CIVIL WAR UNION AND CONFEDERATE WAIST AND SHOULDER BELT PLATES AND BUCKLES

Ask any War for Southern Independence buff who digs relics with a metal detector to identify his favorite or most memorable "find," and he'll probably respond with one of these: A Confederate belt buckle. A rare Union plate. Or, perhaps, a rare Confederate button. Although diggers find a huge variety of personal and military relics that were lost of left on the battlefields and campsites, they are generally proudest of their occasional "dug plate."

Common US oval buckle or cartridge box plate. Many variations exist.

Rare Confederate CS oval waist belt plate. Many of these had no lead filling in the reverse, relying instead on small brass hooks soldered to the thin brass stamping. Thus, few survived for long. 

CSA rectangular plate. There are many variations of both of these Confederate plates. 

Union eagle shoulder belt plate, commonly referred to as a breast plate.

Some of my plates

Pre-war plate

CS two-piece waist belt buckle. The male portion I dug in my back yard when I lived on Drummond Street here in Vicksburg.

Confederate frame waist belt belt plate. This one originally had two tongues; one was apparently lost by the Confederate soldier. The buckle has a deep indentation in its frame where the single tongue rested, indicating that the patriot wore the buckle in this condition for a long period of time.

Another Confederate frame waist belt buckle. These are well made of heavy brass stock.

"Martingales" were centered on the chest of the harnesses of horses of the cavalry units.

Confederate "forked tongue" waist belt plate.

Another pre-war waist belt plate.

A friend of mine was going through my digging scrap bucket when he came across this bent and twisted CS oval plate. I had taken a look at when I dug it and mistakenly thought it was a spoon. It's a mysterious variation, for unlike most CS ovals, this one is constructed of heavy brass. Perhaps it WAS a spoon that was converted to a CS buckle. Is the missing piece on its left side a result of removing the spoon's handle? A converted spoon might also explain the heavy brass construction.

VINTAGE CAST IRON MAGICIAN COIN BANK

Old cast iron coin banks are hugely collectible. This one, the Magician Bank, is very well known to collectors. Although this one has been cleaned and painted black, it originally was hand painted in several different colors.

My old Mississippi State University roommate, Rubel Cowart, had this one on display in his house in Starkville for many years. I always admired it, and, when Rubel passed away last year, the executor of the estate, made aware by a mutual friend of both Rubel and myself that I had always coveted it, was kind enough to let me have it. I now have it prominently displayed in my apartment, where it will remain until I pass on and my children decide its fate.

These banks are highly valued by collectors. One in top-notch condition can bring $5,000 or more!

BRASS... NO, LEAD CIVIL WAR KNUCKLES

Among the many "miscellaneous" items I've dug from Civil War camp and battle sites over the years is this palm-sized weapon. Generally made of brass, "brass knuckles" are supposed to give a pugilist an advantage during a fist fight. They are designed to fit through the fingers and are equipped with a rounded seat that rests in the palm. There is little doubt that a whop from a fist whose leading edge is metal would dispense a lot more damage than a fist composed of mere sinew and bone. The soldier who melted his bullets and poured himself this set of "lead knuckles" (soldiers reportedly did pour and use lead knuckles for self defense), however, probably inflicted more damage to his fingers than to the chin of his opponent. Lead is a soft metal, much softer than brass, and as is apparent in the subject, will bend (yield) with little effort. I'd bet this particular set of knuckles was not lost, but was discarded with "extreme prejudice."

SCARCE BEATLES PICTURE SLEEVE BOUGHT FOR $2.00

Though the picture sleeve is in rather rough shape, it is one of the harder-to-find Beatles 45 RPM sleeves. I came across it, along with several other Beatles records, at an estate sale this past weekend. The price was only $2.00 per record with sleeves, $1.00 without. I couldn't pass that up. The other sleeves are not quite so scarce, but the records are near mint. And at $2.00 apiece? I just hope I'm that fortunate at future sales.

L. D. BOYCE'S CHICAGO BLADE & LEDGER AGENTS

I dug this small item many years ago but was only recently successful in identifying it:

This small (1 7/8" tip to tip of stars) aluminum "badge" was used to identify the paperboys (agents) who sold copies of the W. D. Boyce's Chicago Blade and Ledger newspaper throughout the United States. It was dug via metal detector on my property here in Vicksburg.

Boyce's story is quite interesting. He established the weekly Saturday Blade in 1887, an illustrated newspaper aimed at a rural audience and sold by a legion of newsboys. These "agents," some 30,000 of them at one point, earned two cents per paper sold and were not charged for unsold issues. Boyce bought out the Chicago Ledger, another weekly, in 1892. Years later, dwindling sales led to the merger of the Blade and Ledger in 1925 as the monthly Chicago Blade & Ledger. This paper continued until 1937.

As Boyce's enterprises grew, the welfare of his delivery boys was uppermost in his mind. Consideration for them may have been partially responsible for his creation of the BSA. While visiting London in 1909, he became lost on a foggy street in London. An unknown Scout came to his aid, guiding him back to his destination. The boy then refused Boyce's tip, explaining that he was merely doing his duty as a Boy Scout. Boyce returned to America, and, four months later, founded the Boy Scouts of America on February 8, 1910.

I have included a photo of one of Boyce's advertisements in which he states, "22,000 happy agents earn a tidy sum of money every Saturday." Boyce was indeed a true humanitarian. 

EX-SLAVE MEDAL

ALTHOUGH THIS BADGE OR MEDAL IS EXCEEDINGLY RARE, I'VE BEEN FORTUNATE TO DIG A PAIR OF THEM, ONE ABOUT FIVE MILES SOUTH OF VICKSBURG, THE OTHER WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS. IT READS, "NATIONAL EX-SLAVE MUTUAL RELIEF BOUNTY & PENSION ASS'N OF THE U. S. A." THE ORGANIZATION WAS BEGUN IN THE 1890s AND REPRESENTED AN ATTEMPT BY EX-SLAVES TO RECEIVE PENSIONS OR REPARATIONS RELATED TO THEIR BONDAGE BEFORE AND DURING THE WAR FOR SOUTHERN INDEPENDENCE.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE OF THE BACKGROUND OF THE MEDAL AND THE ORGANIZATION, THERE IS A TWO-PAGE ARTICLE REGARDING THE SUBJECT APPEARING IN THE APRIL 2015 (VOL. 38, NO. 5) ISSUE OF "NORTH SOUTH TRADERS' CIVIL WAR" MAGAZINE.

LEATHER COVERED TRUNK

There is no shortage of old trunks that at one time were indispensable when traveling. Many of them have deteriorated to the point that they are better sent to the land fill than making any effort to rehabilitate. The old humpbacks with curved wood casings are a favorite for restoration; they are beautiful when restored. The one shown in the photo above is unusual - and one of my favorites - in that it is covered in red leather. It makes a functional side piece that complements other antiques.

RARE CAST IRON BLACK/AFRICAN-AMERICAN LIQUOR COLLECTIBLE

This is one I'll probably never run across again!

ANCIENT PEWTER & SILVER PLATE

These two beautiful items are from local estates. Above is a heavy silver-plated pewter teapot that features a unique design - the pot tilts on the base by way of two large studs located on either side of the pot. The large silver-plated urn shown below features three spouts and a dedication inscribed above the center spout that reads, "Presented to James Campbell by his friends, Chicago, May 27, 1868."

ZIPPO LIGHTER - MOBILE RIVERINE FORCE VIETNAM

Reminiscent of our war with North Vietnam, this Zippo was probably used by a local veteran during his tour of duty. Zippos, including those associated with wartime activities, are very collectible.

From Wikipedia...

In the Vietnam War, the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) (after May 1967), initially designated Mekong Delta Mobile Afloat Force, and later euphemistically the Riverines, were a joint US Army and US Navy force that comprised a substantial part of the Brown Water Navy. It was modeled after lessons learned by the French experience in the First Indochina War and had the task of both transport (of soldiers and equipment) and combat. The primary base was at Đồng Tâm Base Camp, with a floating base at the base of the Mekong River. It played a key role in the Tet Offensive.