The Archaeology of Forts and Battlefields

145 Pages·2011·3.07 MB·English

by  David R. Starbuck

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ARCHAEOLOGY/HISTORY a
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“A great survey of the state of military-sites archaeology in America.” c
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—Lynn L. M. Evans, curator of archaeology for Mackinac State Historic Parks
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forts and battLEfiELds embody the conflicts between nations. Victory h
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or defeat in past wars has helped determine the shape of modern society. This
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book discusses some of the most dynamic and exciting archaeological projects ever o
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conducted at sites of military conflict throughout the United States. o DaviD R. StaRbuck
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David Starbuck offers detailed case studies of interesting sites from each major y

war fought on North American soil, including the French and Indian War, the o
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American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Indian Wars in the West. He dis- F
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cusses how archaeologists use modern scientific techniques to discover the remains r
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of forts, battlefields, and military encampments, and details some of the problems

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encountered when human remains are found at military sites. n
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Surveying a broad range of both terrestrial and underwater sites, Starbuck

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uses the lens of military conflict to explain how forensic anthropology has helped
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greatly in assigning “identity” to forgotten soldiers, and how archaeology has tt
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helped us to protect sites, accurately reconstruct forts and battlefields, and better e
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understand the lives lived and lost in those locations. e
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Having directed excavations at several major military sites, Starbuck is able d
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to provide a personal perspective on what survives of these forts and battlefields
today and what they tell us about our past.
david r. starbuck, associate professor of anthropology and sociology at
Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, is the author of eight books, in-
cluding Massacre at Fort William Henry, Rangers and Redcoats on the Hudson, and
Excavating the Sutlers’ House.
Front cover: The interior of Fort Niagara State Historic Site. Inset: French and Indian War reenactors
camped in 2007 at the southern end of Lake George, New York. This event was held to commemo-
rate the 250th anniversary of the massacre at Fort William Henry.
A volume in the series
The American Experience in Archaeological Perspective
edited by Michael S. Nassaney
ISBN 978-0-8130-3689-2
UniversiTy Press of floridA ,!7IA8B3-adgijc!
www.upf.com UPF
The American Experience in Archaeological Perspective
The Archaeology of Forts and Battlefields
The American Experience in Archaeological Perspective
University Press of Florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola

The Archaeology of
Forts and Battlefields
David R. Starbuck
Foreword by Michael S. Nassaney
University Press of Florida
Gainesville ■ Tallahassee ■ Tampa ■ Boca Raton
Pensacola ■ Orlando ■ Miami ■ Jacksonville ■ Ft. Myers ■ Sarasota
Copyright 2011 by David R. Starbuck
Printed in the United States of America. This book is printed on Glatfelter Natures Book,
a paper certified under the standards of the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC). It is a recycled
stock that contains 30 percent post-consumer waste and is acid-free.
All rights reserved
16 15 14 13 12 11 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Starbuck, David R.
The archaeology of forts and battlefields / David R. Starbuck ; foreword by Michael S. Nassaney.
p. cm. — (The American experience in archaeological perspective)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8130-3689-2 (alk. paper)
1. Battlefields—United States. 2. Excavations (Archaeology)—United States. 3. United States—
History, Military—18th century. 4. United States—History, Military—19th century.
5. Archaeology and history—United States. 6. Fortification—United States—History.
7. United States—Antiquities. I. Title.
E181.S83 2011
973—dc22 2011011285
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University System
of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast
University, Florida International University, Florida State University, New College of Florida, Uni-
versity of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida, University of South
Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://www.upf.com
Contents
List of Figures vii
Foreword ix
Preface and Acknowledgments xiii
1. An Archaeologist’s Perspective 1
2. Research Priorities 10
3. Forts and Battlefields: Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century
Beginnings 17
4. The French and Indian War 25
5. The American Revolution 49
6. The American Civil War 69
7. Indian Wars in the American West 79
8. Human Remains 89
9. Reflections on the Past and the Future 106
Bibliography 109
Index 123

Figures
1.1. Some of the key military sites in the United States 2
1.2. The Alamo as it appears today in San Antonio, Texas 3
1.3. Military sites in the northeastern United States 4
1.4. A reenactor portraying an officer from the French and
Indian War 6
2.1. Metal detecting at the Monmouth Battlefield in New Jersey 12
2.2. Plan of Fort Edward in 1756 15
3.1. Palisade trenches at James Fort 20
3.2. Ongoing excavation of James Fort in November 2005 20
4.1. Flintlock gun cocks, frizzens, and breech plugs recovered from
Fort St. Joseph 28
4.2. Reconstructed circular log stockade at Fort Necessity in western
Pennsylvania 30
4.3. Excavating the western corner of Fort Dummer in Brattleboro,
Vermont 33
4.4. Reconstructed main entrance of Fort Ticonderoga in northern
New York State 35
4.5. Interior of Fort Niagara State Historic Site 36
4.6. Excavation of a two-sided barracks fireplace on Rogers Island in
Fort Edward, New York 38
4.7. Excavation of a hut site on Rogers Island in Fort Edward, New
York 39
4.8. Examples of artifacts discovered inside the sutling house in Fort
Edward, New York 40
4.9. Excavation trench at the northeast corner of the parade ground at
Fort William Henry 45
4.10. Excavation into the foundation of the West Barracks at Fort
William Henry 47
viii · Figures
5.1. Barracks buildings inside His Majesty’s Fort at Crown Point 51
5.2. Reconstructed fort at Fort Stanwix National Monument in Rome,
New York 52
5.3. Daniel Sivilich demonstrating how BRAVO enters data into a
laptop computer 56
5.4. Reconstructed log huts at Valley Forge National Historical Park in
Pennsylvania 57
5.5. Refuse pit full of butchered cow legs atop Mount Independence on
Lake Champlain 65
5.6. Excavation of the foundation of one of the blockhouses at the site
of Mount Independence 66
5.7. “Talking heads” of soldiers inside the Mount Independence
Visitors’ Center 67
6.1. Little Round Top at the Gettysburg Battlefield 70
6.2. Early replica of the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley outside
the Charleston Museum 73
6.3. Recent signboard at Charleston Harbor describing steps in the
Hunley Recovery Project 74
7.1. Last Stand Hill at the Little Bighorn Battlefield 85
7.2. Headstones on Last Stand Hill 85
8.1. Reconstructed faces of soldiers inside the National Park Service
Visitors Center at the Little Bighorn Battlefield 92
8.2. Stanley Gifford exposing soldiers’ skeletons inside the crypt at Fort
William Henry 94
8.3. One of the soldiers’ skeletons exposed in the military cemetery at
Fort William Henry 95
8.4. Soldier’s skeleton discovered inside a modern utility trench on
Mohican Street 96
8.5. Dark stain in Union Cemetery that marks the grave containing the
remains of Jane McCrea and Sarah McNeil 102
8.6. David Starbuck working inside the grave shaft in Union Cemetery
103
9.1. French and Indian War reenactors camped in 2007 at Lake
George, New York 107
Foreword
Forts and battlefields were essential places in the European exploration
and settlement of North America and the means by which Americans
struggled to forge a new identity apart from their English forebears.
Conflict, defense, and aggression were also central to America’s territo-
rial expansion from sea to shining sea. Thus it comes as no surprise that
forts and battlefields have long been commemorated by the National Park
Service as places that played an important role in creating a national con-
sciousness that served to legitimize the formative actions of our ances-
tors, who fought and died for their beliefs and principles of sovereignty,
freedom, and individualism. The act of commemoration often involved
restoration or reconstruction and required evidence for the location of
features, the movements of combatants, and soldiers’ lifeways.
Although the tactics and strategies employed to possess and defend
America changed from the earliest European settlements through the
nineteenth century, forts were critical in taking and maintaining control
of large reaches of the continent beginning with well known places like
James Fort, Fort Michilimackinac, and Fort William Henry, to name just
a few. Skirmishes, battles, and military settlements have long attracted the
interest of history buffs and professional archaeologists, both of whom
recognize “value” in the material remains of warriors such as buckles,
buttons, ammunition, and armaments. Because of the popularity of forts
and battlefields, their material record has been compromised. Locals
frequently robbed abandoned forts of construction materials and settle-
ments that grew up at these strategic locations involved destructive land
modifications that negatively impacted the archaeology. Nevertheless,
predictable finds at these types of sites include foundations of various
buildings, stockade walls, structural debris, privies, earthworks, and nu-