Men Get Jail Term For Digging Up Civil War Artifacts

August 5, 2015

Collins Parker,

Chattanooga (WDEF) – Federal Judge Curtis Collier sentenced two East Tennessee men to jail time for digging up Civil War artifacts.

39-year old Kenneth Fagin, Jr. from South Pittsburg and 61-year old Terry Tate from Manchester will serve 30 months in federal prison.

They were convicted of illegal archaeological excavation on federal property.

They pleaded guilty to the charges in February.

The case covers four years of digs.

The pair excavated artifacts from the bottom of Fort McCook at Battle Creek.

The site is on TVA property next to the South Pittsburg Municipal Park.

The got artillery rounds called Hotchkiss shells.

In 2009, Fagin and Tate dug up Civil War era U-rails from public lands in Bridgeport, Alabama.

Then in 2010, they transported and delivered a counterfeit “Sherman Bow-Tie” that was made from Civil War era U-rails that they excavated from public lands in Bridgeport, Alabama.

Fagin also excavated Civil War era artifacts from Shiloh National Military Park, including a .57 cal. three-ring rifle bullet; five fired three-ring rifle bullets and Schenkl artillery shell fragments.