Slaves and Freedmen at Seabrook Plantation, Hilton Head Island, SC
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THE PLANTATION LANDSCAPE: SLAVES AND FREEDMEN AT SEABROOK PLANTATION, HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. CHICORA FOUNDATION RESEARCH SERIES 34 THE PLANTATION LANDSCAPE: SLAVES AND FREEDMEN AT SEABROOK PLANTATION, HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. Research Series 34 Rachel Campo Michael Trinkley Debi Hacker With Contributions By: Gina Baylon Arthur D. Cohen S. Homes Hogue Irwin Rovner Chicora Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 8664 • 861 Arbutus Drive Columbia, South Carolina 29202 803/787-6910 Email: [email protected] September 1998 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publications Data Campo, Rache~ 1970- The plantation landscape: slaves and freedmen at Seabrook Planation, Hilton Head Island,. S.C.! Rachel Campo. Michael Trinkley, Debi Hacker; with contributions by Gina Baylon ... let al.]. p. em. -- (Research series I Chicora Foundation; 34) "Septmber 1998." Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 1-58317-003-0 I. Seabrook Plantation (S.C) 2. Hilton Head Island (S.C) -Antiquities. 3. Excavations (Archaeology)--South Carolina-Hilton Head Island. 4. Afr~Americans--South Carolina-Hilton Head Island -History. 5. Plantation life--South Carolina--Hilton Head Island. I. Trinkley. Michael. 11. Hacker, Debi. III. Baylon. Gina. IV. Title. V. Series: Research series (Chicora Foundation) ; 34. F279.S38C36 1998 975.7'99--dc21 98-39805 C1P @ 1998 by Chicora Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transcribed in any fonn without pennission of Chicora Foundation, except for brief quotations used in reviews. Full credit must be given to the authors and the publisher. ISBN 1-58317-003-0 ISSN 0882-2041 The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. ex> The South has a way of closing down over its own like the jars in which we once captured fireflies out on the veranda. ---Sharon McKern ABSTRACT Seabrook Plantation was situated on Skull excavations included those at the prehistoric shell Creek at the northern end of Hilton Head Island, midden, site 38BU821, which had been heavily Beaufort County, South Carolina. The plantation plowed by the time excavations were conducted. appears to have been constructed sometime before 1833 and was situated between Cotton Hope Excavations at the Main House Complex Plantation and Myrtle Bank Plantation. William concentrated on a utilitarian building and a well. Seabrook purchased the plantation in 1833 and it Excavations at the slave rows revealed the remains was passed down through his family until Hilton of two structures in the Southern Slave Row, which Head fell to the Union in November of 1861. At was occupied during the second half of the this time, the plantation main house was used as nineteenth century, and one structure in the the military headquarters of various military Northern Slave Row, 11sed during the first half of regiments stationed there to guard Skull Creek the nineteenth century. against Confederate intrusion. These investigations reveal differences in Seabrook Plantation was also home to a the landscape architecture and material culture at number of African-American slaves prior to 1861, the two slave settlements, highlighting the changing who were considered "contraband of war" by the lifestyle between slaves and freedmen at the time federal government. Many of these African of the Civil War. Investigations have focused on Americans chose to stay at Seabrook rather than comparisons of Miller's ceramic indices, artifact live in federal encampments in the area. groups, and architecture at the two slave areas. In Archaeological evidence presented in these addition, ethnobotanical, faunal, pollen, and investigations indicates that these people lived at phytolith investigations were also undertaken. one of the slave row areas located near the marsh edge adjacent to Skull Creek. As a result of these investigations, we have begun to better nnderstand the changing lifestyles The plantation was used by the American of slaves as they quickly became freedmen at Missionary Association as a school from 1866 to Seabrook Plantation, and at other nineteenth 1869, as part of the Port Royal Experiment. After century sites at Hilton Head Island. this time, the plantation passed through various hands during the end of the nineteenth century, but was never operated again by the Seabrook family. Dnring the early twentieth centnry, the plantation continued to exchange hands until it came to be developed in the last few years Archaeological excavations were conducted at Seabrook Plantation from August to October 1994 and focnsed on three main areas at the plantation, including the Main House Complex and two slave rows. Much of the plantation main house had eroded into Skull Creek at the time of excavations, although artifact densities in the area of the main house were examined. Other 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables v List of Figures vi Acknowledgements vii Introduction 1 Development of the Project 1 Goals and Research Objectives of the Project 6 The Natural Setting of Seabrook Plantation 7 Curation 15 Synopsis of Seabrook Plantation History ... Michael Trinkley and Gina Baylon 17 The False Trail of Thomas Henry Barksdale 17 Colonial Activity on Hilton Head Island 18 Antebellum Ownership by the Seabrook Family 19 Seabrook Plantation During the Civil War 25 Early Use of Seabrook by the Freedmen 31 Late Nineteenth Through Twentieth Century Life at Seabrook Plantation 33 Excavations at Seabrook Plantation 39 Strategy and Methods 38 38BU323 41 38BU821 66 Artifact Analysis for Seabrook Plantation ... Rachel Campo 71 Introduction 71 Landscape Features as Artifacts 73 The Main House Complex 77 Northern Slave Row 99 Southern Slave Row 105 Dating Synthesis 119 Pattern Analysis 123 Ceramics and Status 129 Summary 137 Examination of Prehistoric Materials at 38BU821 ... Michael Trinkley 139 Introduction 139 Pottery 141 Other Prehistoric Artifacts 145 Historic Artifacts 145 Summary 146 iii Ethnobotanical Remains 147 Introduction 147 Procedures and Results 147 Summary 150 Phytolith Analyses at Seabrook Plantation ... Irwin Rovner 151 Introduction 151 Methods 151 Results 153 Conclusions 157 Pollen Analyses at Seabrook Plantation ... Arthur D. Cohen 159 Introduction 159 Results 159 Vertebrate Faunal Remains from Seabrook Plantation ... S. Homes Hogue 161 Introduction 161 Materials and Methods 161 Identified Fauna 162 Results 165 Conclusions 173 Summary 175 Sources Cited 183 IV LIST OF TABLES Table I. Shell weights at 38BU821 66 2. Average lengthlwidth ratios for African-American houses 76 3. Artifact densities at Seabrook Plantation 77 4. Datable pottery from the Utilitarian Building in the Main Complex 78 5. Mean ceramic dates for the Main Plantation Complex 79 6. Nails recovered from the Utilitarian Building 80 7. Buttons from the Utilitarian Building in the Main Complex 83 8. Datable pottery from the Main House area 85 9. Nails recovered from the Main House area 85 10. Buttons from the Main House area 86 II. Datable pottery from the Well area 89 12. Nails recovered from the Well area 91 13. Pipe stems recovered from the Well area 92 14. Buttons from the Well area 92 15. Datable pottery from the Well Shaft area 94 16. Form and function of ceramic vessels from the well shaft area 95 17. Nails recovered from the Well Shaft area 96 18. Pipe stems recovered from the Well Shaft area 97 19. Buttons from the Well Shaft area 97 20. Datable pottery from the Northern Slave Row 100 2I. Mean ceramic dates for the Northern Slave Row 101 22. Form and function of ceramic vessels from the Northern Slave Row area 101 23. Nails recovered from the Northern Slave Row 102 24. Pipe stems recovered from the Northern Slave Row 102 25. Datable pottery from the Southern Slave Row 106 26. Mean ceramic dates for the Southern Slave Row 107 27. Form and function of ceramic vessels from .the Southern Slave Row area 108 28. Pipe stems recovered from the Southern Slave Row 109 29. Buttons from the Southern Slave Row 110 30. Artifact densities for the Southern Slave Row 111 3I. Datable pottery from Structure 2, Southern Slave Row 111 32. Form and function of ceramic vessels from Structure 2, Southern Slave Row 112 33. Pipe stems recovered from Structure 2, Southern Slave Row 113 34. Buttons from Structure 2, Southern Slave Row 114 35. Datable pottery from the Yard Area, Southern Slave Row 115 36. Buttons from the Yard Area, Southern Slave Row 117 37. Datable pottery from the Midden, Southern Slave Row 118 38. Mean ceramic dates for Seabrook Plantation 119 39. Artifact patterns at Seabrook Platnation 124 40. Previously published artifacts patterns 124 4I. Comparison of Clothing, Furniture, and Personal Group artifacts 128 42. Miller's Index Values for Block 1 of the Main House complex 131 43. Miller's Index Values for Block 2 of the Main House complex 132 v 44. Miller's Index Values for the Main House Area and Yard 133 45. Miller's Index Values for the Northern Slave Row 134 46. Miller's Index Values for Structure 1 in the Southern Slave Row 135 47. Miller's Index Values for Structure 2 in the Southern Slave Row 136 48. Miller's Index Values for the Southern Slave Row Yard Area 137 49. Flat ware and hollow ware percentages 138 50. Prehistoric artifacts recovered from 38BU821 139 51. Comparison of pottery density at various Lowcountry shell middens 141 52. Analysis of flotation samples 148 53. Frequency counts of selected phytolith types 154 54. Pollen types identified at the Well (0-1") 159 55. Pollen types identified at the Midden, Structure 1, Southern Slave Row 160 56. Pollen types identified at the Midden, Structnre 2, Southern Slave Row 160 57. Seabrook Plantation, minimum number of individuals, number of bones, weight, and estimated meat yield 163 58. Comparisons of faunal samples recovered from Slave and Freedmen areas 167 59.