Gettysburg Battlefield Creates Sticky Fingers

By Alexandra Thompson on August 1, 2012

In the three day struggle that occurred on the Gettysburg fields, thousands upon thousands of bullets were spent.  After the battle, thousands upon thousands of personal items used by the soldiers were left behind and lost to the throes of history and to the earth that swallowed them up.

That is until people with metal detectors go out onto the battlefield to look for such items.

The only problem with this is that doing this without a permit or a legitimate reason and clearing by the park makes such actions against the law.  If a looter is caught, he can be charged under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 and it has happened that some “looters” of the park have been put into prison (Post-Gazette.com, “Gettysburg rangers stay vigilant for looters”). Unfortunately, the relic hunters are at it again this summer.

A few weeks ago a park ranger discovered small golf-ball sized holes that are an indicator that someone was poking around in the ground looking for bullets, buckles and anything made out of metal.  The park rangers report that relic hunting such as this happens several times a year despite its questionable legality.

In truth, the only draw that seems plausible for such relic hunters is to own a piece of the history.  Risking jail over a bullet might mean little to anyone else who was not a history buff or historian of the era and is not willing to shell out 10-30 dollars to get one of their own at an antique store.  Things that could possibly be found on the battlefield these days may provide little draw to someone who is just in it for the money.  Items like bullets and belt buckles have little monetary value since there are millions of them in circulation within the militaria community.  These holes were discovered near Spangler’s Spring and the park rangers say that they are keeping an eye out for the culprit.

They have no idea who did it, but they are currently standing vigilant in case said relic hunter ever comes back to try and fine ore bullets.

They have posted this number in case anyone has any information: 334-0909.

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