In August, 1983, a grassfire raged up Deep Ravine and across the dry, grass-covered battlefield where, in 1876, men of the Seventh U.S. Cavalry under George Armstrong Custer had fought and died at the hands of a Sioux and Cheyenne force led by Sitting Bull. The removal of the normally dense ground cover revealed enough evidence to suggest that an archaeological survey would be fruitful and perhaps could address some unanswered questions about the battle. Describing archaeological investigations during the first year (1984) of a two-year survey, this book offers a detailed analysis of the physical evidence remaining after the battle. Precise information regarding the locations of artifacts and painstaking analyses of the artifacts themselves have uncovered much new information about the guns used in the battle by the victorious Indian warriors. Not only have the types of guns been identified, but through the use of archaeological and criminal-investigative techniques the actual numbers of firearms can now be estimated. This analysis of the battlefield, which represents a significant advance in methodology, shows that the two forces left artifacts in what can be defined as "combatant patterns." What did happen after Custer’s trumpeter, John Martin-dispatched with an order for Captain Benteen to "be quick"-turned and saw the doomed battalion for the last time? Written to satisfy both professional and layman, this book is a vital complement to the historical record.
Based on the archaeological evidence presented in this book, we know more about the weapons used against the Custer and the Cavalry, where many of the men fought, how they died, what happened to their bodies, how the troopers were deployed, and what kind of clothing they wore.
On the afternoon of June 25, 1867, an overwhelming force of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians quickly mounted a savage onslaught against General George Armstrong Custer’s battalion, driving the doomed troopers of the U.S. Seventh Cavalry to a small hill overlooking the Little Bighorn River, where Custer and his men bravely erected their heroic last stand. So goes the myth of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, a myth perpetuated and reinforced for over 100 years. In truth, however, "Custer’s Last Stand" was neither the last of the fighting nor a stand. Using innovative and standard archaeological techniques, combined with historical documents and Indian eyewitness accounts, Richard Allan Fox, Jr. vividly replays this battle in astonishing detail. Through bullets, spent cartridges, and other material data, Fox identifies combat positions and tracks soldiers and Indians across the Battlefield. Guided by the history beneath our feet, and listening to the previously ignored Indian testimonies, Fox reveals scenes of panic and collapse and, ultimately, a story of the Custer battle quite different from the fatalistic versions of history. According to the author, the five companies of the Seventh Cavalry entered the fray in good order, following planned strategies and displaying tactical stability. It was the sudden disintegration of this cohesion that caused the troopers’ defeat. The end came quickly, unexpectedly, and largely amid terror and disarray. Archaeological evidences show that there was no determined fighting and little firearm resistance. The last soldiers to be killed had rushed from Custer Hill.
"An impressive compendium of varying but related methods of understanding the war through historical archaeology. Readers willing to expend some effort will come away with a better understanding of the Civil War."--Civil War Book Review "Geier and Potter deliver a great book that includes archaeological fieldwork, site type diversity, and theoretical perspectives, which provide something for every reader. The authors' contributions vividly convey the battles and effects on the civilian population from participant soldier, prisoner, caregiver, commercial, and civilian perspectives. Connections between contemporary life and Civil War events are made easily here. These connections and extensive use of primary historical sources make the book an excellent undergraduate and graduate text."--Southeastern Archaeology From the introduction: "Archaeological Perspectives on the American Civil War is must reading for professionals, collectors, and all people interested in battlefield archaeology, the material culture of the Civil War era, and the preservation of associated sites. Because of the popularity of Civil War literature and archaeology, this well-illustrated and well-written publication will appeal to the general public, as well as to the professional community."--Edwin C. Bearss, historian emeritus, National Park Service "Speaks to the carnage of war, figuratively and literally, as each author [investigates] the physical evidence of the war and its ramifications to those living at the time and in our culture today. There is little question that the American Civil War changed the fabric of our culture in ways that are still being felt today, and this volume provides a real and tangible link, via the material culture left behind by its participants, to that time."--Douglas D. Scott, Midwest Archaeology Center, Lincoln, Nebraska From studies of Antietam Battlefield, site of the bloodiest day in American military history, to Andersonville, the infamous Confederate prison, these graphically illustrated essays broaden our understanding of the American Civil War. They demonstrate how historical archaeology, combined with the traditional techniques of the study of history, generates new insights into battlefield tactics, social and military history, and the effects of the war on civilians and communities. The paperback edition includes a new foreword by award-winning journalist Jim Lehrer. Contents Introduction, by Edwin C. Bearss "To Peel This Land," by Clarence R. Geier and Stephen R. Potter Part I. Tactics and the Conduct of Battle 1. "No Maneuvering and Very Little Tactics": Archaeology and the Battle of Brawner Farm, by Stephen R. Potter, Robert C. Sonderman, Marian C. Creveling, and Susannah L. Dean 2. The Submarine H. L. Hunley: Confederate Innovation and Southern Icon, by Steven D. Smith 3. Fortifying the Landscape: An Archaeological Study of Military Engineering and the Atlanta Campaign, by Robert J. Fryman 4. An Irishman Dies at Antietam: An Archaeology of the Individual, by Stephen R. Potter and Douglas W. Owsley 5. The Battle of Cool Spring, July 16-20, 1864, by Joseph Whitehorne and Clarence R. Geier Part II. The Home Front and Military Life 6. "For the Convenience and Comforts of the Soldiers and Employees at the Depot": Archaeology of the Owens' House/Post Office Complex, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, by W. Stephen McBride, Susan C. Andrews, and Sean P. Coughlin 7. Defending the Capital: The Civil War Garrison at Fort C. F. Smith, by Joseph Balicki 8. The Sheridan Field Hospital, Winchester, Virginia, 1864, by Joseph W. A. Whitehorne, Clarence R. Geier, and Warren R. Hofstra 9. Far from the Battlefield: Archaeology at Andersonville Prison, by Guy Prentice and Marie C. Prentice 10. Antietam: The Cultural Impact of Battle on an Agrarian Landscape, by Elise Manning-Sterling 11. "Four Years of Hell": Domestic Life in Harpers Ferry during the Civil War, by Paul A. Shackel 12. "The Colored Laborers Work as Well as When Slaves": African Americans in the Breadbasket of the Confederacy, 1850-1880, by Kenneth E. Koons 13. "Free within Ourselves": African American Landscapes at Manassas National Battlefield Park, by Laura J. Galke 14. Battling beyond First and Second Manassas: Perseverance on a Free African American Farm Site, by Erika K. Martin Seibert and Mia Parsons Part III. New Methods and Techniques 15. The Archaeology of Retreat: Systematic Metal Detector Survey and Information System Analysis at the Battlefield of Chickamauga, September 1863, by John E. Cornelison, Jr. 16. Surveying the Civil War: Methodological Approaches at Antietam Battlefield, by Bruce B. Sterling and Bernard W. Slaughter 17. Archaeological Interpretations of the Battle of Antietam through Analysis of Small Arms Projectiles, by Bruce B. Sterling 18. Double the Cannister and Give 'Em Hell: Artillery at Antietam, by Jeffrey Harbison Clarence R. Geier, professor of anthropology at James Madison University, is coeditor of Look to the Earth: Historical Archaeology and the American Civil War. He has directed and collaborated on historical archaeology projects at the battlefields of Third Winchester, Cool Spring, and Cedar Creek and has conducted research at the site of the Sheridan Field Hospital. His most recent work has focused on the interpretation of the Confederate military complex of Fort Edward Johnson/Camp Shenandoah in Augusta County, Virginia. Stephen R. Potter, regional archaeologist with the National Park Service for the National Capital Region, has overseen archaeological research at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Manassas National Battlefield Park, and Antietam National Battlefield. His work was featured on "Death at Antietam," a television program produced by the Learning Channel. He is the author of Commoners, Tribute, and Chiefs: The Development of Algonquian Culture in the Potomac Valley.
Almost as soon as the last shot was fired in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the battlefield became an archaeological site. For many years afterward, as fascination with the famed 1876 fight intensified, visitors to the area scavenged the many relics left behind. It took decades, however, before researchers began to tease information from the battle’s debris—and the new field of battlefield archaeology began to emerge. In Uncovering History, renowned archaeologist Douglas D. Scott offers a comprehensive account of investigations at the Little Bighorn, from the earliest collecting efforts to early-twentieth-century findings. Artifacts found on a field of battle and removed without context or care are just relics, curiosities that arouse romantic imagination. When investigators recover these artifacts in a systematic manner, though, these items become a valuable source of clues for reconstructing battle events. Here Scott describes how detailed analysis of specific detritus at the Little Bighorn—such as cartridge cases, fragments of camping equipment and clothing, and skeletal remains—have allowed researchers to reconstruct and reinterpret the history of the conflict. In the process, he demonstrates how major advances in technology, such as metal detection and GPS, have expanded the capabilities of battlefield archaeologists to uncover new evidence and analyze it with greater accuracy. Through his broad survey of Little Bighorn archaeology across a span of 130 years, Scott expands our understanding of the battle, its protagonists, and the enduring legacy of the battlefield as a national memorial.
Without realizing, most archaeologists shift within a scale of interpretation of material culture. Material data is interpreted from the scale of an individual in a specific place and time, then shifted to the complex dynamics of cultural groups spread over time and place. This book discusses the cultural, social and spatial aspects of scale and its impact on archaeology, and shows how an improved awareness of scale offers new and exciting interpretations.
Ever since the Custer massacres on June 25, 1876, the question has been asked: What happened - what REALLY happened - at the Battle of the Little Bighorn? We know some of the answers, because half of George Armstrong Custer’s Seventh Cavalry - the men with Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen - survived the fight, but what of the half that did not, the troopers, civilians, scouts, and journalist who were with Custer? Now, because a grass fire in August 1983 cleared the terrain of brush and grass and made possible thorough archaeological examinations of the battlefield in 1984 and 1985, we have many answers to important questions. On the basis of the archaeological evidence presented in this book, we know more about what kinds of weapons were used against the cavalry. We know exactly where many of the men fought, how they died, and what happened to their bodies at the time of or after death. We know how the troopers were deployed, what kind of clothing they wore, what kind of equipment they had, how they fought. Through the techniques of historical archaeology and forensic anthropology, the remains and grave of one of Custer’s scouts, Mitch Boyer, have been identified. And through geomorphology and the process of elimination, we know with almost 100 percent certainty where the twenty-eight missing men who supposedly were buried en masse in Deep Ravine will be found.
This volume presents recent archaeological and ethnohistorical research on the encampments, trails, and support structures of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. These sites illuminate the daily lives of soldiers, officers, and camp followers away from the more well-known military campaigns and battles. The research featured here includes previously unpublished findings from the winter encampments at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, as well as work from sites in Redding, Connecticut, and Morristown, New Jersey. Topics range from excavations of a special dining cabin constructed for General George Washington to ballistic analysis of a target range established by General von Steuben. Contributors use experimental archaeology to learn how soldiers constructed their log hut quarters, and they reconstruct Rochambeau’s marching route through Connecticut on his way to help Washington defeat the British at Yorktown. They also describe the underrecognized roles of African descendants, Native peoples, and women who lived and worked at the camps. Showing how archaeology can contribute insights into the American Revolution beyond what historical records convey, this volume calls for protection of and further research into non-conflict sites that were crucial to this formative struggle in the history of the United States. Contributors: Cosimo Sgarlata | Joseph Balicki | Joseph R. Blondino | Douglas Campana | Wade P. Catts | Daniel Cruson | Mathew Grubel | Mary Harper | Diane Hassan | David G. Orr | Julia Steele | Laurie Weinstein
George Armstrong Custer has been so heavily mythologized that the human being has been all but lost. Now, in the first complete biography in decades, Jeffry Wert reexamines the life of the famous soldier to give us Custer in all his colorful complexity. Although remembered today as the loser at Little Big Horn, Custer was the victor of many cavalry engagements in the Civil War. He played an important role in several battles in the Virginia theater of the war, including the Shenandoah campaign. Renowned for his fearlessness in battle, he was always in front of his troops, leading the charge. His men were fiercely loyal to him, and he was highly regarded by Sheridan and Grant as well. Some historians think he may have been the finest cavalry officer in the Union Army. But when he was assigned to the Indian wars on the Plains, life changed drastically for Custer. No longer was he in command of soldiers bound together by a cause they believed in. Discipline problems were rampant, and Custer's response to them earned him a court-martial. There were long lulls in the fighting, during which time Custer turned his attention elsewhere, often to his wife, Libbie Bacon Custer, to whom he was devoted. Their romance and marriage is a remarkable love story, told here in part through their personal correspondence. After Custer's death, Libbie would remain faithful to his memory until her own death nearly six decades later. Jeffry Wert carefully examines the events around the defeat at Little Big Horn, drawing on recent archeological findings and the latest scholarship. His evenhanded account of the dramatic battle puts Custer's performance, and that of his subordinates, in proper perspective. From beginning to end, this masterful biography peels off the layers of legend to reveal for us the real George Armstrong Custer.
The August 30, 1813, massacre at Fort Mims left hundreds dead and ultimately changed the course of American history. The Indian victory shocked and horrified a young America, ushering in a period of violence surrounded by racial and social confusion. Fort Mims became a rallying cry, calling Americans to fight their assailants and avenge the dead. In A Conquering Spirit, Waselkov thoroughly explicates the social climes surrounding this tumultuous moment in early American history with a comprehensive collection of illustrations, artifact photographs, and detailed accounts of every known participant in the attack on Fort Mims. These rich and extensive resources make A Conquering Spirit an invaluable collection for any reader interested in America's frontier era. * Winner of the Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year award by the Alabama Library Association* Winner of the Clinton Jackson Coley award from the Alabama Historical Association
