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Boy finds Civil War-era bullets in backyard

An 8-year-old boy found Civil War-era bullets while using a metal detector in the backyard of his home in Gold Hill, North Carolina.

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — One boy found quite a historical keepsake in his Gold Hill, North Carolina, backyard last week.

Eight-year old Macallister Fraley was using a metal detector in the backyard of his home when he found Civil War-era bullets.

Macallister said his two younger brothers helped dig them up.

The brothers also found several nails that were dated back to between 1900 and 1909.

"At first, I just didn't know what we were finding. I was like okay, it's just a bullet, so I went on and we found more and more every time we went around our lawn," Macallister said.

Aaron Kepley, the incoming director of the Rowan Museum, verified the bullets authenticity.

"These were invented in 1847 in France. By the time of the Civil War, all infantry weapons used these," Kepley said.

Kepley said the bullets are all muzzle loader bullets from the late 1800s and early 1900s.

"The fact that it was found by kids is awesome, because this is giving me a chance to explain to them the difference in the bullets and stuff like that," Kepley said.

Kepley said the Fraley family's home sits on land that used to be an old hunting club and because these bullets are a smaller caliber, they may have been used for target practice.

"Pretty significant that there's so many of them and all of them have been shot too," Kepley said.

Macallister and his younger brothers plan to go back out in the yard to look for more.

It's up to the family whether they want to keep their discovery or donate it to a museum.

Kepley said finding historical objects like this on your own property, makes them yours.