These finds came from a small lawn area that was part of Camp Chase during the Civil War. The first visit yielded one three-ringer Minie ball. The second visit was much better, I found my first Flying Eagle cent, dated 1857, another Minie ball and a large musketball. I'm no expert on Civil War sites, but finding coins from the era does not seem to be especially common in these types of sites.
Camp Chase was opened in May 1861 and was closed in 1865. The camp covered 160 acres on the west side of Columbus. The camp was named for former Ohio Governor and Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase. It was a training camp for Ohio volunteer army soldiers, a parole camp, a muster outpost for 150,000 Union troops and a 25,000 Confederates passed through the prisoner-of-war camp.
The former camp land has all been converted to other uses, with the exception of the cemetery. The majority of the land is now single family homes. The Westgate neighborhood was built on the site between the 1910s and 1950s. Camp relics can turn up anywhere in the neighborhood. I searched another site that was part of the camp a few years ago and came up with some flat buttons.
Camp Chase was opened in May 1861 and was closed in 1865. The camp covered 160 acres on the west side of Columbus. The camp was named for former Ohio Governor and Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase. It was a training camp for Ohio volunteer army soldiers, a parole camp, a muster outpost for 150,000 Union troops and a 25,000 Confederates passed through the prisoner-of-war camp.
The former camp land has all been converted to other uses, with the exception of the cemetery. The majority of the land is now single family homes. The Westgate neighborhood was built on the site between the 1910s and 1950s. Camp relics can turn up anywhere in the neighborhood. I searched another site that was part of the camp a few years ago and came up with some flat buttons.
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