During the Civil War, the Valley swarmed with soldiers. Union troops marched south along the Valley Pike (U.S. 11); Confederate units moved north to stop them; and renegades and bushwhackers roamed the area.
Historians with the National Park Service estimate that there were often as many as 20-30,000 men in the Valley. The troops camped wherever they could find food, water and other supplies before moving on and leaving their trash behind.
Over the years, Civil War collectors have found evidence of their presence throughout the region. Here is the story of one such discovery.
It was the summer of 1967; school was out and eleven-year-old Earl “Doodle” Fink, Jr. was enjoying a day of his vacation.
In a recent interview, Earl recalled that he and several of his friends were “running through the creek,” the War Branch of Smith Creek in the Mountain Valley area where he lived.
Earl noticed a new little “sandy” island in the middle of the creek likely created by a recent storm. He could not resist the temptation to flatten the island.
Getting a “running start,” Earl jumped right into its center and immediately felt the pain of a “nasty” cut on his leg. After tending his wound by soaking it for some time in the water, Earl ventured back onto the sand and discovered a piece of metal protruding in the area where he had jumped. Digging around in the river mud, he finally pulled out an old gun with its ramrod extended, the source of his injury.
Earl and his friends ran home with the gun. On the way, they encountered Shirley White who owned the adjacent dairy farm. Earl remembers showing him the weapon and asking him what he should do with it. White told him to “hold onto it,” adding that it was probably an old Civil War gun.
The gun’s 100-year burial in the waters of Smith Creek is evidenced by rust and worn spots. It was later identified as a .69 caliber smoothbore Harper’s Ferry musket—so-named because of its place of manufacture.
Because of its style and manufacturer, the musket was likely used by a Confederate soldier.
How the gun came to be in the creek is a mystery.
The land through which the creek runs was at one time owned by Samuel Lincoln. His family lived on this property near the Massanutten Mountain during the Civil War period. These relatives of President Abraham Lincoln were ardent supporters of the Confederacy and fought for the South.
T
he musket, which still belongs to the Fink family, is currently on display at the Plains District Memorial Museum as a part of the “Civil War in Plains District” exhibit.
Helen W. Smith volunteers at the Plains District Memorial Museum, where she is board vice president and also coordinates the exhibits and lecture series. She is a native of Mayland.
