Steve is absolutely right. Going anywhere near a National Military Park with a metal detector is an invitation to trouble.

The fact of the matter is that Pea Ridge, Wilson's Creek, Shiloh, etc., etc., have been picked over for years leaving little if anything undisturbed since the time of the battle.

The first relic hunters were the soldiers that participated in the battle. They scrounged the field looking for any souvenirs they could send home to Ma, Pa, and Emmy Lou.

Once the dead were buried and the armies moved on the civilian population of the area converged on the field to salvage anything usuable that was left behind.

Once planting season arrived the battlefield was cultivated and crops planted (People still had to eat). The farmer would move anything that interferred with his planting and toss it in a ditch.

The War ended and the federal government sent crews in to dig up their dead and reinter them in National Cemetaries.
Some nomality set in at least for a short time.

Then came to reunion era. Aging veterans returned to the battlefields in droves bringing their families. They camped on the battlefields and once again scoured them for souvenirs. This was not lost on the locals and soon a cottage industry grew up around the site.

WWI & WWII once again put pressure on these sites as cannon and shot were melted down for the War effort.

I believe that The Archeological Resources Protection Act was passed in the 1980's.

For over a hundred years these sites have been picked over, planted, camped on. Yet let one green behind the ears archeologist who doesn't know the difference between a Lube Groove Enfield and a Dimmick Rifle bullet claim that he or she can interpet the entire battle from what's left in the ground and common sense falls by the wayside.

Go figure.