Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Ever chopped cotton?

No Neal. That is the old style clamp used on the bale of the cotton bale. That one came of the paddlewheeler Westfield. The Navy bought the Westfield from the Vanderbilts to haul confiscated cotton off of captured confederate blockade runners.
It was run aground on a sand bar new years 1863 in Galveston bay during the battle of Galveston. And it was blown up to keep it from falling into Confederate hands. Only problem was it exploded waaaaaay too early and took most of the crew with it.

They found 1000’s of these clamps in the remains that weren’t destroyed when Tex Historical commission and Tx A&M were doing the archaeological excavation of the wreck back about 2010 or so. Nobody knew what they were. Archaeologist started sending pics to all his pards. Son and his boss ended up with a pic. Son sent me one to ask if I knew what it was. Hell I didn’t know?? Fast forward. His boss went up to Lubbock to see his dad in nursing home. Beginning of dementia. In conversation he asked his dad if he had ever seen anything like this, and showed him pic. Without hesitation his dad said "it’s an old style cotton bale clamp!” Sho nuff, thats what it was. Old man spent many a day around cotton gins in the panhandle!!! Was a great story!!!