Mr. Bartleson, thank you so much for the picture. More importantly, thanks for taking the time to respond. It is extremely helpful in fully understanding what I've found.
Pete, my brother put a magnet to the slider/striker per your request. Without a doubt -- using his language -- the slider/stiker is iron.
What does that mean?
Also, I post below a "fuze" I found Monday. It seems to be a time fuze of some sort. Unfortunately, I can't put my hands on calipers. Nonetheless, I tried to take as good pictures as I could of the artifact with a ruler. Do any of you have an idea of what it might be? My friend seems to think it is Confederate, possibly from a 24 pdr.
Any ideas, thoughts or suggestions?
Again, thanks for the warm reception to this site!