Utilization of Iron at Fort Mitchell 1RU102: a Functional Analysis
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Utilization of Iron at Fort Mitchell 1RU102: A Functional Analysis by William Jason Lowe A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Auburn, Alabama May 5, 2013 Keywords: iron, fort, historical archaeology, Creek War, frontier, Russell County, Alabama Copyright 2013 by William Jason Lowe Approved by John W. Cottier, Chair, Associate Professor of Anthropology Philip L. Chaney, Associate Professor of Geology and Geography Kristrina Shuler, Assistant Professor of Anthropology Abstract From 1813 until 1840, the Fort Mitchell site, 1RU102, was a significant character in the history of the United States. It served as a fortification during both Creeks wars and as a focal point of trade between the United States government and Native Americans in the surrounding area between those wars. Despite the significance of this site, little is known about the interior of the forts and how the people who lived and worked in the forts made do with limited resources on the American Frontier. Iron in the 19th century was not as readily available as it is today. In fact, it could be said that it was actually scarce. This study looks at how the people who lived and worked in and around the Fort Mitchell site used iron. ii Acknowledgments There are many people I wish to thank for their help in completing this thesis. First, I would like to thank my committee members Dr. John Cottier, Dr. Kristrina Shuler, and Dr. Philip Chaney for their suggestions and encouragement. I am especially grateful to my committee chair Dr. Cottier for his guidance and for permitting me to use the material recovered from Fort Mitchell for this project. I would also like to thank him for all the editorial suggestions he has made and for all the times he has read this paper. He has been my boss, friend, and most importantly, my mentor for many years. I would like to thank John W. Moore Sr., Carol Moore, and Sue Pritchard for their help with all the various tasks involving Microsoft Excel. I would like to thank Cain E. Pressley and John W. Moore Jr. for lending me their expertise with a computer. I would like to thank my father, William P. Lowe for his support. Without him, I would not be where I am today. Finally, I would like to express my extreme gratitude to my wife Shannon P. Lowe. Her suggestions, support, patience, and confidence in me made this thesis possible. iii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xiv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 Fort Mitchell Overview ................................................................................................... 1 Iron at Fort Mitchell ........................................................................................................ 2 Overview of the Chapters ............................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 2: REGIONAL HISTORY .............................................................................. 6 The Federal Road ............................................................................................................ 6 The War of 1812 ............................................................................................................. 9 The Treaty of Ghent .................................................................................................. 10 Results of the War ..................................................................................................... 10 The Creek War of 1813-1814 ....................................................................................... 11 The Creek War of 1836 ................................................................................................. 20 Southern Indian Removal ............................................................................................. 26 iv CHAPTER 3: HISTORY OF THE FORT MITCHELL SITE ......................................... 28 The First Fort ................................................................................................................ 28 The Factory System ...................................................................................................... 29 The Georgia Factory ..................................................................................................... 30 Operation of the Factory at Fort Mitchell ................................................................. 31 Goods Traded ............................................................................................................ 32 Nails .......................................................................................................................... 33 Trade Guns ................................................................................................................ 35 Panton, Leslie, and Company ....................................................................................... 36 The Second Fort ............................................................................................................ 38 Iron in Early Alabama and Georgia .............................................................................. 39 Forts in Nineteenth Century America ........................................................................... 39 CHAPTER 4: SITE DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION OF THE FORTS .................... 42 Geographic Location ..................................................................................................... 42 Site Description ............................................................................................................. 42 CHAPTER 5: METHODOLOGY .................................................................................... 45 Field Methods ............................................................................................................... 45 Laboratory Methods ...................................................................................................... 49 Limitations .................................................................................................................... 51 CHAPTER 6: DESCRIPTION OF THE FEATURES AND THE IRON ARTIFACTS THEY CONTAINED ........................................................................................................ 52 v Unused Feature Numbers .............................................................................................. 52 Temporal Placement ..................................................................................................... 52 Features Associated with the First Fort ........................................................................ 53 Features Associated with the Indian Factory ................................................................ 58 Features Associated with the Second Fort .................................................................... 61 Feature Associated with Both the First Fort and the Second fort ................................. 67 Features with an Undetermined Temporal Association ................................................ 67 Feature Associated with Neither the Forts Nor the Indian Factory .............................. 72 Features Associated with the Indian Factory and the Second Fort ............................... 72 Modern Features ........................................................................................................... 73 CHAPTER 7: DATA DESCRIPTION ............................................................................. 74 Kitchen Group ............................................................................................................... 74 Architecture Group ....................................................................................................... 75 Furniture Group ............................................................................................................ 78 Arms Group .................................................................................................................. 79 Clothing Group ............................................................................................................. 79 Personal Group.............................................................................................................. 81 Activities Group ............................................................................................................ 82 Miscellaneous Group .................................................................................................... 87 CHAPTER 8: DATA ANALYSIS ................................................................................... 89 vi CHAPTER 9: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ..................................................... 95 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 100 Appendix 1.1: First Fort Artifact Tables by Feature ......................................................