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WALKER -A Walker man tilling his turnip patch uncovered a Civil War-era medal.

Brent Jones recently was working the garden when his rototiller kicked up a metal object.

"It was perfectly round, not a rock," he said. "I kicked the dirt off of it."

Jones thought maybe it was a coin. He took the object inside and cleaned it.

"I saw the state of West Virginia on it and dates prior to statehood. I thought it had to be something from the Civil War, but I still didn't know what it was."

Jones turned to his computer.

Searching the Internet, he quickly discovered the object was an 1866, state-issued, bronze Civil War medal for Union soldiers.

Further inspection revealed the medal was an honorable discharge medal issued to Alonzo T. Morriston, Corp. 13th Reg. Inf. Vol.

The medal is one of about 26,000 commissioned in 1866 by the state.

Greg Carroll, historian for the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, said Gov. Arthur Boreman commissioned three classes of medals: Class I for honorable discharges; Class II for killed in action; and Class III for liberty, which was awarded to soldiers who perished as a result of disease or wounds received in battle.

Carroll said the medals are fairly valuable, worth anywhere from a $400 to more than $1,000.

Morriston's medal was Class I.

Carroll said the state still has about 4,000 unclaimed Civil War medals, including 75 medals for black soldiers who were members of the 45th U.S. Infantry.

"Most of them are in the original box," he said.

Jones admits he is no history buff. To his knowledge the land has no ties to Civil War campaigns.

"A guy I work with came out here a few years ago with a metal detector and all he found was junk," Jones said.

However, the land was once owned by the Morriston family and there are still Morristons in the area.

Jones' mother attends church in Leachtown with Fonda Morriston.

After Jones told his mother about the medal, she called Morriston.

"She asked me if I ever heard of Alonzo T. Morriston and I said yes," Morriston said.

Morrison said her late husband, Mason J. Morriston Jr., was Alonzo Morriston's grandson.

"I have books that tell about him in the Morriston family history, written about 1946," Morriston said.

Jones gave the medal to his mother to give to Morriston. But Morriston has yet to receive it. She fell several weeks ago and hasn't been to church.

Morriston said Jones can keep the medal if he wants it. She plans to donate it to a veterans organization.

"My son thought it should go to a veteran's museum where others can see it," she said.