re: Metal Detecting

Go drive around downtown Baton Rouge and look for construction sites where they are tearing up the dirt. Go to the spot as early as you can on a weekend day, preferably Sunday and have fun. If the construction crew shows up, ask if it's okay to detect in an area where they aren't working. I've been kicked out of sites by police and state archeologists but never got in any real trouble. You'll be surprised at the number of other folks down there doing the same thing. Talk to them and see if they can put you on some sites.

The land between the sidewalk and the street is not privately owned so you can try there too. The closer to the old Pentagon Barracks, the better. Once, they were replacing the parking lot of the barracks so they tore up the old asphalt. It was a goldmine of buttons, bullets, and a couple of buckles.

Like someone else said, go try a cane field right after it gets harvested and cleared. There was Civil War action in those fields on the bayou between Donaldsonville and Labadieville. Lots of old stuff out there if you can find someone willing to let you search. There used to be a very active MD club in BR and they would arrange hunts so someone with connections would get permission and the club would show up and hunt. Try Googling a club.