Judson and Teresa Carden are in the middle of a relic hunt at Bluff Springs and have allowed me to tag along. Judson has been very patient with my questions about the Civil War artifacts he is finding. Based on his finds, this appears to be the site of a temporary camp used by Confederate Cavalry units which participated in a battle just north of Pringle's Creek (also known as Pritchett's Mill Branch) in Bluff Springs on March 25, 1865.
Here are his answers to three of my questions.
What happened here in early 1865?
“On March 12, 1865 Major General Frederick Steele left Barancas with a force of Yankee infantry, cavalry and artillery amounting to roughly thirteen thousand men. Their objective was to strike and disable the railroad at Pollard, then turn west and proceed to Blakely, Alabama to ultimately capture the city of Mobile.
General Lidell at Blakely telegraphed Col C.G. Armistead at Canoe Station to move at once in the direction of Pensacola to ascertain what General Steele's intentions were and to impede his progress. Armistead's command consisted of the 16th Confederate Cavalry and the 8th Alabama Cavalry of Col. Ball.
While Armistead was skirmishing with the Yankees who were slowly moving north, General Clanton at Pollard sent the 6th and 8th Alabama (Livingston) Cavalry to Bluff Springs. It was thought that the Yankees could be moving up the Conecuh (Escambia) River as well. The river was not navigable above Bluff Springs. The Confederates would have had good ground to offer battle. However, no Yankees ever came up the river, and as General Steele reached Bluff Springs the 6th and 8th Alabama Cavalry moved to the ridge north of Pringle's Creek and there fought a battle with General Steele's troops on March 25, 1865.”
(Note: For another description of General Steeles's march from Pensacola to Pollard and the related skirmishes along the way see Neal Collier's account at algersullivan.org/pringles_creek.html)(For more information on the Sixth Alabama Cavalry Regiment see archives.state.al.us/referenc/alamilor/6thcav.html)
What artifacts led to your conclusion that this was the site of a short term Confederate Cavalry camp?
“The Selma Arsenal bullets found in the camp put this in a very late war period.
The Alabama Volunteer Corps button gives the state of origin of the troops.
The numerous worn out and broken horse shoes distributed throughout the camp along with Confederate spurs attest to this being cavalry.
Melted lead from camp fires and carved bullets indicate they were here for at least a few days.
The high number of discarded bullets indicate they were ridding their cartridge boxes of loose or broken cartridges. This was done for an expected battle.
The rest of my conclusion is based on the study of correspondence between Confederate Generals in the area at that time.”
What are some of the more significant finds from the site?
“All finds were significant and the fact that this was an undisturbed site lets me put the whole picture together.
We can tell that these regiments were still armed predominately with the .69 cal. smooth bore musket. This is evidenced by the higher number of .69 cal buck and balls ammunition found as compared to the other caliber bullets found. This weapon was considered obsolete by the Federal Army which was armed entirely with rifled guns.
Two identical crude cast brass Confederate spurs located in different parts of the camp indicate that this type of spur was possibly government issued equipment to troops operating in this area.
The site itself is very significant in the fact that is was completely unknown to Civil War historians. Its being found gives a more complete story to what happened in the days leading up to the Battle of Pringle's Creek.”
