Oh, The Unusual Things We Find In Civil War Camps!

Tom Hughes

Sergeant Major
Joined
May 27, 2019
Location
Mississippi
stamp1.jpg

I dug this lead item in a civil war camp in Clinton, MS.....It distinctly has the reverse number 12 on the surface of the piece. I'm thinking it is some type of seal stamp...but who knows? Maybe somebody on this forum can confirm or has seen something similar.
You certainly find all types of "unusual" items in camp sites.

stamp2.jpg

Here it is in my hand. It almost has that "field-made" look to it.

stamp3.jpg

Here's a photo of the bottom.

I did some research and did discover that the 12th Mississippi regiment was composed of several central and south Mississippi counties including Hinds county where the Raymond Fencibles were recruited from. Raymond is only 7 miles from where I found this piece. Could this number 12 be a regimental designation?? Just a speculation, of course. I guess I'll never know for certain.
I've never seen anything quite like it. But it's unusual because most seal stamps were made of brass or pewter, not lead...but this was clearly made to stamp a number "12" into a soft material.

Thanks for letting me share my unusual item from a civil war Mississippi camp with you all.
 
Something about the shape makes me think of those rubber things they put on chair feet. Of course, it isn't that!

Is the inside filled with the same material? Or did it fill up while buried?
 
I think it’s camp art. Being made of lead I don’t believe it’s official issue. I’ve come across many cast items that probably was made by a soldier with nothing better to do
 
I think it’s camp art. Being made of lead I don’t believe it’s official issue. I’ve come across many cast items that probably was made by a soldier with nothing better to do
You may be right, Bill.
The body of this piece looks to have had enough mass to have made a musket ball and then a US was stamped on the surface. It's certainly interesting.
 
Perhaps someone had a US stamp to mark equipment with and they wanted to practice with it before they started stamping equipment for real.
 
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