Robbie Baker slowly swung his metal detector, then motioned me over when he heard high-pitched chirps in his earphones. His prediction: Its a bullet.
After three swift cuts with a small shovel, Robbie flipped out a chunk of dirt. A bullet was lodged in the soil, a three-ring Minie ball. The conical-shaped bullet with a concave base was the choice on both sides during the Civil War. As large as .68 caliber, If death wasnt instant, the wound often was fatal.
During several months of detecting on private property, we more he than I unearthed nearly 50 Minie balls, as well as musket round balls, Union Army buttons emblazoned with the mid-1800s eagle and other artifacts from the period.