American University Thesis and Dissertation Template for PC 2016

Karen Marie Black

2019

This thesis is dedicated to my mom, Joan Black. Without you, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. You have shown me how to be a strong, independent woman. Your guidance and love have gotten me through life. You will always be the Lorelai to my Rory. I love you.

PUBLIC MEMORY AND THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PAST: THE FUTURE

DIRECTION OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE DIASPORAN

HISTORY IN THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP

Karen Marie Black

ABSTRACT

The Great Dismal Swamp is located in North Carolina and Virginia. Many people, referred to as Maroons who wanted to escape a life of slavery and colonization, lived there during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. This project focuses on the archaeology that was done there and how it should be presented in a museum exhibit. Further, this project evaluates the current exhibit in the National Museum of African American History and Culture and offers a critique to better display and showcase the history of the Dismal Swamp

Maroons.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would first like to acknowledge my chair, Dr. Daniel O. Sayers; without whom, this thesis could not have happened. Your interest in my topic and help throughout this whole process

(twice) has been invaluable.

I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Rachel Watkins and Dr. Buck

Woodard. Your expertise and knowledge helped me to complete this paper.

Special thanks to my friend and fellow swamper, Tamara Mulhall, for lending me her valuable suggestions and comments in the early stages of this process.

To my Lobsta, Ashlee Di’Orio, I thank God every day that we chose to be roommates during field school. You are an inspiration to me in so many ways. Your endless encouragement helped me finish this.

Thank you to my mom, dad, stepmom, and grandma. Having you in my life to raise and guide me helped me reach so many of my goals, including this one.

Jonathan, this paper wouldn’t have been possible without you. I know I made it difficult for you, but the love, sweat, tears, and frustration all led to this.

William and Mia, you two are the shining stars in my life. Thank you for helping me realize my ultimate dream of being a mom.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ...... ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... iii

LIST OF TABLES ...... v

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...... vi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...... vii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1

CHAPTER 2 THE HISTORY AND FOLKLORE OF THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP ...... 5

CHAPTER 3 THE INHABITANTS OF THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP 1607- 1865...... 15

CHAPTER 4 THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP AND ITS INTERPRETATION ...... 20

CHAPTER 5 A CRITIQUE OF, AND RECOMMENDATION FOR, THE EXHIBIT AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE ...... 25

REFERENCES ...... 41

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. List of Artifacts Donated to the NMAAHC...... 28

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure 1. Location of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina and Virginia (Adapted from the USFWS Website) ...... 5

Figure 2. Dirt Roads in the Great Dismal Swamp Refuge with Daniel Sayers in Foreground ...... 7

Figure 3. Lake Drummond in the Great Dismal Swamp Refuge ...... 8

Figure 4. Interior of the Great Dismal Swamp Refuge ...... 9

Figure 5. Part of an island in the interior of the Great Dismal Swamp Refuge ...... 18

Figure 6. The Tools of a Typical Archaeology Field School Kit ...... 20

Figure 7. An Excavation Unit on the Nameless Site ...... 22

Figure 8. Ceramic Sherds Acting as Structural Support in an Excavation Unit on the Nameless Site ...... 24

Figure 9. The Liberation Communities Exhibit at the NMAAHC ...... 31

Figure 10. Close-up of the Liberation Communities Exhibit at the NMAAHC ...... 32

Figure 11. The Exhibited Artifacts from the Great Dismal Swamp at the NMAAHC ...... 33

Figure 12. Text for the Exhibited Artifacts from the Great Dismal Swamp at the NMAAHC .... 34

Figure 13. Excavated Ceramic Sherds on the Nameless Site ...... 36

Figure 14. An Example of the Paper Airplanes Kids Can Create at the National Air and Space Museum...... 37

Figure 15. The G Force Encounter Simulator Logo from the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum...... 38

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

GDSLS Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study

NMAAHC National Museum of African American History and Culture

USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

It is not the data with which we are working that must change or has changed; it is our interpretations, as well as our awareness of the consequences of these interpretations, that must change.

—Mark P. Leone, Archaeology’s Relationship to the Present and Past

I plan to explore how the archaeological interpretations stemming from the work of

Daniel Sayers should be presented as a museum exhibit. The archaeology that has been done thus far in the swamp provides a varied and more in-depth look at the history of the swamp compared to the legends and myths that people have heard about the area. Sayers is the predominant archaeologist that has been working in the Great Dismal Swamp. His dissertation was the first relevant piece of work about the archaeology of the swamp. From his dissertation, Sayers has published multiple papers, field school reports, and one book continuing the work done in the swamp. Through the Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study (GDSLS), several other students were inspired by the archaeology being completed there and have published theses and dissertations about the archaeology of the swamp as well. Jordan Riccio’s thesis, “The People of the Lonely Place: An Archaeological Exploration of Community Structure Within the Great

Dismal Swamp,” and Julia Klima’s thesis, “A Human Resource: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Permanent Interpretive Texts in the Great Dismal Swamp,” are both products of the interest and dedication the archaeology of the Great Dismal Swamp can create. Despite the several years of archaeology that has been completed, only one museum exhibit has been created to inform the general public about the Great Dismal Swamp outside of the refuge itself.

Therefore, this author will be critiquing the current museum exhibit of the swamp, as it is important to consider what message this presentation conveys. As Mark P. Leone explains,

“Once archaeological materials are put on display there are two messages. The obvious one is what the past was like. The other one is the meaning the present imposes on data from another time and which the present thus feeds back to itself. The first message is one we help create as archaeologists. The second is one we can help understand as anthropologists” (1981:5). This research will focus predominantly on the second message and how the first message, Sayers’s archaeological interpretations of the Great Dismal Swamp site, should be presented to the general public through a museum exhibit. As archaeologists and anthropologists, we know that our interpretations are subjective. We view things from the past through the lens of the present. It is vital that a museum exhibit show the most authentic message possible.

I will be using Leone’s theory of critical archaeology, the theory of resistance in African

American archaeology, and Paul A. Shackel’s theory of public memory as guidelines to develop my interpretation of how this archaeology should be presented. Leone’s theory of critical archaeology focuses on the impact of a more critical interpretation. Leone explains that “a critical archaeology retains and reaffirms the discipline’s commitment to understanding the past, but what past to construct becomes a matter of conscious choice that inevitably involves an understanding of context and meaning” (1987:285). How we construct the interpretation of the swamp and present it to the public is a reflection of our choices and knowledge of the site.

The theory of resistance in African American archaeology has become increasingly studied in last couple of decades as more archaeologists are considering it when interpreting historic sites. “Essentially, resistance to slavery and colonial domination seems best viewed as a continuum of behaviors, with more ‘everyday’ forms of resistance such as work slowdowns and

tool damage at one end, and revolt, flight, and marronage at the more confrontational or violent end of the spectrum” (Weik 1997:84). Viewing the Dismal Swamp Maroons as partaking in a resistance movement adds another level of complexity to the archaeology of this site.

Shackel’s theory of public memory is vital as it shows how a particular interpretation of the past can become public memory with a negative impact. Shackel states, “A collective memory becomes public when a group has the resources and power to promote a particular past.

These histories mask or naturalize inequalities through material culture, such as memorials, museums, and the built landscape” (2001:655). As archaeologists, we act as the stewards for the past. The interpretation of the past we present must be free of inequalities that frequent many histories. “Public memory is more a reflection of present political and social relations than a true reconstruction of the past” (Shackel 2001:655). This theory provides a basis of why an initial interpretation and museum exhibit carries so much importance.

To further my research, I will also consult the literary contributions of David Glassberg, a public historian, and his research on the connection between memory and public history. In his

“Public History and the Study of Memory,” Glassberg suggests that “understanding the various ways in which societies think about the past and use it in the present can help public historians to understand the institutional contexts in which they operate as well as the presuppositions about history with which the public approaches their work” (1996:8). By understanding how the general public views history and the interpretation that was created can help archaeologists and museum curators develop an authentic exhibit.

Lastly, I will consult the work of as Donald A. Ritchie, a noted historian, whose research on the benefits of an interactive methodology that incorporates multiple viewpoints will be pivotal in my recommendation of the Dismal Swamp exhibit. Ritchie points out, “All historical

research is revisionist, involving a reexamination of what we thought we knew in accordance with the latest evidence and interests, to make the past relevant for the present” (2001:93). Part of making the past relevant for the present is incorporating the past into an interactive exhibit, where visitors can truly interact with the past in multiple ways. Ritchie recommends interactive videos, email, computers, websites, and other technology to encourage audience participation and interest (Ritchie 2003). Incorporating Ritchie’s interactive methodology will help the public appreciate the history and archaeology of the swamp.

This paper will first provide a background on the history and folklore of the Great Dismal

Swamp. It will describe the swamp’s inhabitants, focusing on the African American Maroons, who settled there, and the possible reasons for creating a home in this intimidating environment.

A summary of the archaeology that has been completed and its interpretation will be included next. Further, I will review the 2016 exhibit on the archaeology of the Great Dismal Swamp in the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. This will finally lead to suggestions for the proposed future direction of the exhibit.

CHAPTER 2

THE HISTORY AND FOLKLORE OF THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP

Figure 1. Location of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina and Virginia (Adapted from the USFWS Website)

Spanning the state borders of North Carolina and Virginia, the Great Dismal Swamp is

190 square miles of swamp land (Sayers 2007:61). Originally the swamp was approximately

1000 square miles, but due to drainage and development over the years, it has shrunk to its current size, about 10% of what it used to be. It is located on the Eastern coast of both North

Carolina and Virginia. The city of Chesapeake lies to the northeast, Suffolk to the northwest, and 5

Elizabeth City to the south. The Great Dismal Swamp also provides 190 square miles as a

National Refuge, under the stewardship of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) since

1974. One can easily get to the refuge as state highways and roads run along its boundaries.

Gaining access to the refuge is obtainable by “monitored gates along its western and southern boundaries” (Sayers 2015:20). Once inside, narrow dirt roads allow visitors to traverse miles of the refuge. Further, there are also parking lots near Jericho and Washington Ditch to allow visitors easy access to popular sites (Sayers 2015:21).

Figure 2. Dirt Roads in the Great Dismal Swamp Refuge with Daniel Sayers in Foreground

The major source of water in the swamp is Lake Drummond, which rests in the approximate center of the swamp in Virginia. Lake Drummond has a surface area of around 3100 acres, but the maximum depth is six feet. Unique in other aspects as well, it is one of only two natural freshwater lakes in Virginia, and it is also situated at the highest elevation in the swamp.

Nine ditches flow out of Lake Drummond, including Jericho Ditch and Feeder Ditch. Visitors 7

may use the Feeder Ditch to access Lake Drummond on small boats (Sayers 2015:20). Many canals run through the swamp, both natural and man-made.

Figure 3. Lake Drummond in the Great Dismal Swamp Refuge

The Great Dismal Swamp is home to black bears, otters, a variety of snakes and birds, white-tailed deer, and several other animal species. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service website, the swamp itself consists of both forest and swamp vegetation, such as pine, cedar, and oak trees but also marsh, bog, and shrubs. During summer, the environment of the area is hot and humid with the water temperatures staying cooler; however, during the winter, temperatures will drop drastically at night. Along with the weather, one must also consider the biting insects, venomous snakes, and irritated bears. Traveling through the swamp has its own difficulties as well, though there are dirt roads mentioned earlier that run along the ditches which make getting some places in the swamp easier. However, these are recent developments, and one

would normally have to hike through underbrush, murky water, hanging vines, among other obstacles to trek from one spot to another.

Figure 4. Interior of the Great Dismal Swamp Refuge

As with most swamps, there are areas of higher elevation, called islands, which would have been a relief to reach after traveling through the swamp water. It is these “topographic anomalies [that] are prime loci of human settlement” (Sayers 2015:22). Despite the numerous factors that make for a difficult, and almost uninhabitable, living environment, the Great Dismal

Swamp had residents for hundreds of years: from the local legends surrounding the lady of the

Lake, to Native Americans, to canal workers, and finally to the Diasporan people, who are the focus of this paper. To clarify, diaspora refers to the “mass, often involuntary dispersal of a population from center (or homeland) to multiple areas, and the creation of communities and identities based on the histories and consequences of dispersal according to the Oxford

Bibliography.

There are hundreds of stories that surround the Great Dismal Swamp, some more famous than others. There has been plenty of literature written about the local legends and myths of the

Great Dismal. One of the more famous works that compiles multiple myths, legends, poems, and stories is The Great Dismal Swamp in Myth and Legend by Waverly Traylor. Traylor’s book imparts the varied tales of the swamp. One such poem was written by Thomas Moore:

But oft, from the Indian hunter’s camp, This lover and maid so true Are seen at the house midnight damp To cross the lake by a fire-fly lamp, And paddle their white canoe! —Thomas Moore, A Ballad: The Lake of the Dismal Swamp

The first step to understanding the unique qualities of the Great Dismal Swamp is to consider its folklore history. One of the most famous folklore legends is the one of the Lady of the Lake. The Lady of the Lake is said to be seen at night in a ghostly white canoe floating across Lake Drummond in the Great Dismal Swamp. The story goes that the Indian maiden died just before her wedding and paddles through the lake in her white canoe. Legends say that her beloved came to believe that the maiden had left her grave and gone to the swamp. It is said that he tried to follow her to the lake and never returned, but they reunited in death (Moore 1803).

Another well-known story is that of the enchanted deer. It is said that a woman called Aunt Paula was engaged to be married; however, when she found out her betrothed was more interested in deer hunting then her, she threw off her wedding dress and stomped into the mud of the swamp near Corapeake Ditch. Aunt Paula would then disappear into the swamp for weeks at a time. One hunter, who hardly ever missed his shots, reported shooting a big buck with his trusty gun. When he went to check out his kill, there was no blood or deer anywhere. People say this was Aunt

Paula playing games with the hunters, still feeling jilted after her broken engagement (Traylor

2010:15). And then of course there are also the swamp fairies and wood demons. The swamp

fairies supposedly create the mysterious lights and sounds that can be seen and heard throughout the swamp at night to soothe the wood demons. These infamous creatures reportedly like to cause mischief and trouble such as playing around in Lake Drummond and creating huge waves that roll onto the shore, starting fires, or opening dams (Traylor 2010:10). These stories are just a few of the many myths and folklore that surround the Great Dismal Swamp.

For years, the swamp was forgotten about or discarded in relation to archaeology. “There was a good deal of public skepticism at the idea that appreciable social history happened in the pre-Civil War swamp” (Sayers 2015:12). Thus, not much investigation was done until much later. The legends surrounding it caused most people not to venture inside; they even caused people to regard the Maroons as hostile and savage. Generally, these people were “self- emancipators from enslavement” and are referred to as Maroons (Sayers 2015:3). To further explain, “marronage, the process of flight from slavery, was a fundamental form of flagrant defiance by captive African-American” (Price 1996:3). There are two main types of marronage: petit marronage, which entailed slaves repeatedly visiting friends or family on another plantation on a temporary basis, and grand marronage, which entailed individual slaves coming together to create independent communities (Prince 1996:3). Grand marronage can be broken down even further into two forms: extralimital and intralimital. Extralimital marronage involves enslaved

Africans who escaped slavery and moved to areas where slavery was not present such as other countries (Sayers 2004:436). Intralimital marronage involves enslaved Africans who escaped slavery and fled to remote areas still within the slave system. These people still lived with the threat of slavery surrounding them, despite their escape from the local settlements (Sayers

2012:139). This paper focuses on the concept of intralimital grand marronage, as enslaved slaves

in the Virginia and North Carolina areas escaped to the Great Dismal Swamp and created communities there (Sayers 2015:80).

Though the focus of this paper so far has been on the African American Maroons living within the Dismal Swamp, the GDSLS has also explored other Maroons living in the swamp interior, such as Indigenous Americans (Riccio 2012:5). Both the Nansemond tribe of Virginia and Meherrin tribe of North Carolina have documented connections to the Great Dismal Swamp.

These disenfranchised Native Americans would leave their homelands to escape the looming threat of Colonialism and saw the swamp as a place of refuge.

Overall, the image of the Maroon the locals created was one born of fear from the folklore that circulated. So for many years during the late 18th century and most of the 19th century, the only interest in the swamp was for its resources and the money that could be earned from it. There are verified reports of people becoming interested in the swamp and starting to survey the land beginning in the 19th century (Pettie 1976:285). Two important figures who were fascinated with the Great Dismal Swamp were Colonel William Byrd II and George Washington.

These men saw the swamp’s potentials benefits. Both were instrumental in developing the first canals and ditches. Washington, in particular, was interested in the Dismal’s potential benefits for both timber and farming possibilities (Pettie 1976:30). In fact, the Dismal Swamp Canal began in 1793 as a way for timber to be cut down and transported. The canals of the swamp were a huge resource for travel, especially in the future Civil War era. Although both Byrd and

Washington’s parties’ excursions into the swamp started strong with limitless possibilities, each soon realized that the swamp is, in fact, dismal and quite difficult to traverse. As Pettie states,

“Although the company continued to extract timber from the swamp, Washington grew weary of the enterprise and disposed of some of his interests” (1976:30-31). The Great Dismal Swamp is a

challenging environment. Despite its natural resources, which have the potential to be extremely profitable, few people can withstand the challenges of being in the Great Dismal Swamp.

Writers were some of the few who could withstand the unique challenges the swamp presented. In the early 1800s, several writers found the Great Dismal intriguing, and those have wandered through its shaded waters and lands to describe the visually appealing landscape.

Writers such as Thomas Moore, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Robert Frost felt inspired to depict the Great Dismal (Pettie 1976:31). Stowe even went so far as to use the swamp as setting for her novel Dred.

Investments and improvements to the swamp continued through the early part of the nineteenth century with federal, state, and local entities spending time, money, and resources to develop the swamp’s waterways (Pettie 1976: 32). Investors and others had realized the economic value of the canal system, specifically the Dismal Swamp Canal, to transport goods, to resource timber, and to use in case of war fare. The amount of work being done there rose, and so did the need to house the canal workers. Labor camps were developed as well as hostels and inns along the canals. These buildings played host to not only canals workers in the area but also criminals. Pettie states, “Major Farange’s House was a 128-foot-long building with half its rooms in Virginia and the other half in North Carolina. By all accounts fugitives from each state resided in perfect harmony in opposite ends of the inn” (1976:32). Despite the potential for less than reputable guests, two other inns were built as well. Both were named the Lake Drummond

Hotel and catered to those with an interest in drinking, gambling, and hunting (Pettie 1974:32).

Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, the swamp was home to a variety of activities and development, but, by the time of the Civil War, interest in the profitability of the Great

Dismal had withered mostly due to the local legends and the difficulty of working and traversing

the swamp. These stories continued to spread the image of the Maroon and others who might live in the swamp. The Dismal Swamp Maroons tended to be escaped African-Americans from nearby local areas or swamp canal workers who escaped enslavement. These stories created fear and anxiety of what or who might be hiding in the swamp, and that persona was applied to all who dwelled there, including the Native Americans, African Americans, and formerly enslaved canal workers, who built a home for themselves in the swamp.

Finally, preservation efforts took hold in the mid-20th century as conservations groups began calling for preservation of what was left of the Great Dismal Swamp. But it wasn’t until

1974 that the U.S. Congress established the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge through the Dismal Swamp Act. According to the USFWS website, the refuge consists of over

112,000 acres, and even has a welcome center that highlights the history, animal and plant life, and geography of the swamp. Visitors can participate in several activities while visiting the refuge such as hiking, biking, fishing, and boating. There are multiple varieties of plants and animals to observe as well as shown on USFWS website for the Great Dismal Swamp Refuge.

But it has taken many years for the Great Dismal to get to where it is today. In the past, the people who lived outside of the swamp built those legendary stories about who and what existed in the swamp and the fugitives who hid out in the Dismal. But they did not just build local legends, they had created a public memory that has lasted for years.

CHAPTER 3

THE INHABITANTS OF THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP 1607-1865

Colonialism had most certainly arrived by 1607 in the region around the Great Dismal

Swamp, and that year was a turning point in the history of the swamp (Sayers 2015:1). Thus the time period the GDSLS focuses on is 1607 through the end of the Civil War. However, this is not to say that the Dismal Swamp does not have a deep human history; it does. Native people have been crossing, living, and surviving the swamp for millennia. These prehistoric people even left artifacts for the Maroons to find and use. The swamp’s history is long and continuous. So much so that even the Native American word pocossin is still used by tribes today to refer to the swamp’s natural islands.

Beginning around 1630 (Sayers, Burke, Henry 2007:60), the swamp saw its first influx of inhabitants in the historic period starting with local Indigenous people. As colonialism spread across the mid-Atlantic region, such as the settlements of Jamestown and Roanoke which were very near the swamp, many Native Americans were forced out of their homes or chose to flee as the land around them changed. Trade routes were destroyed, land was stolen, and fights broke out between the indigenous people and the colonials (Sayers et al. 2007:67-69). Notable conflicts such as the Second Anglo-Indian War, 1622-1632, and Tuscarora War, 1711-1714, provide evidence of the Native Americans’ defiance to the colonials. Other acts of defiance included fleeing to unsettled areas of America. During the repeated cycles of warfare between settler colonials and indigenous people, some of the Native Americans choose to flee to the Great

Dismal Swamp as a defensive strategy. The Great Dismal Swamp served as a place of refuge from the colonial encounter, a place where Native peoples could continue their lives with the swamp as their security and less fear of violence. However, many more Native Americans were forced to leave their land as the colonials took it for their own. 15

Once they resettled in the Great Dismal, while it might have made sense for the Native

Americans to completely cut ties with the early settlers, studies, such as those done by M.A.

Mathis and J.J. Crow or H.T. Ward and R.P.S. Davis, Jr., in North Carolina and Virginia

“indicate that many contact and historical era Native Americans did participate in various ways and to various degrees in the colonialist system despite the exploitative and alienating practices of colonials” (Sayers et al. 2007:70). To participate in some aspects of the colonialist system but still retain their own independence, they would have had to settle along the outskirts of the swamp. Sayers believes this would have been no more than half a mile into the swamp. This would have allowed for communication and trade to continue at the Native Americans’ discretion. These people would have used a combination of materials acquired from trade with the outside world and also found materials within the swamp (Sayers 2007:70). This allowed them to keep their peace and relative safety from the outside world for years until they were joined by another group of Diasporic people.

While some Native Americans preferred living on the outskirts of the swamp, the majority of African and African American Maroons would have traveled to the interior regions of the swamp for several reasons. From around 1700 to 1865 (Sayers et al. 2007:62), the swamp was home to hundreds of Maroons, Africans and African Americans who had escaped slavery.

As Sayers et al. point out in their journal article, “Thousands of Maroons fled outside the political economy of slavery to…the northern areas and Canada (e.g. the so-called Underground

Railroad), Mexico, and to Spanish-controlled Florida. Also, Maroons fled to Native American- controlled regions beyond the reaches of the slavery system, particularly to the west” (2007:73).

The swamp existed as a region outside of the control of slavery. Because of the local legends and folklore, the various wild animals, and the difficulty of traversing this swamp’s difficult

landscape, few people would venture into its depths. This turned the Great Dismal into a natural place for runaway slaves to escape to. Most scholars have agreed that the Great Dismal Swamp housed the largest population of Maroons in North American in the 1700s and 1800s (Sayers et al. 2007: 72). However, to fully escape the confines of colonization and slavery, Maroons had to forge a home for themselves within the interior regions of the swamp. Otherwise, there were chances of slave hunters finding them.

Slave owners would post advertisements in newspapers for escaped slaves, oftentimes offering a reward for their capture (Sayers 2015:88-89). This encouraged search parties into the swamp with hunting dogs, though these reports are few and far between and rarely was anyone captured – mostly because of their interior location (Sayers et al. 2007:73). This was one of the main reasons Maroons may have chosen to live within the interior regions of the swamp. They had run away from their slave owners and were avoiding reentering the slave system. They would have needed to place themselves completely out of reach for fear of recapture, punishment, perhaps even death, and also to create their own way of life (Sayers 2015:116).

There were some permanent Maroon communities that existed closer to the edge of the Swamp.

These fringe communities remained involved with the outside world for trade purposes (Sayers et al. 2007:73). Daniel Sayers has suggested that there are actually three distinct Diasporic modes of communitization that developed: the semi-independent perimetrical mode, the interior scission mode, and the canal labor exploitation mode. These three modes consisted of labor relations, flexible structuring principles, kinships rules, and social relation systems (Sayers 2015:106).

These communities were further influenced by the living conditions of the swamp itself.

The focus of the GDSLS, however, is on the inhabitants who lived in the areas deeper within the swamp’s boundaries. These interior scission sites could be found on high ground like

ridges and islands, though the Maroons may have found ways to live away from dry ground, such as in stilt-structure communities (Sayers 2015:107). Getting to these interior dry sites would have been proven to be a challenge. There are numerous varieties of trees, scrubs, bushes, and vines that flourish in the Great Dismal Swamp, making a large part of the landscape thick with plant cover and difficult to traverse (Rose 2000).

Figure 5. Part of an island in the interior of the Great Dismal Swamp Refuge

It’s important to realize that despite how difficult the Maroons’ living conditions must have been in the interior sections of the Great Dismal Swamp, it was still a better option than a hostile slavery environment. Further, their flight shows how much they valued their freedom and

wanted to live their own life in their own community built of their own traditions (Sayers

2015:116).

CHAPTER 4

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP AND ITS INTERPRETATION

Figure 6. The Tools of a Typical Archaeology Field School Kit

Before the GDSLS, little to no archaeology had been done in the swamp, though rumors of the Maroon settlements there had been heard of. When Daniel Sayers started his archaeological fieldwork, only one archaeological site had been recorded (Sayers 2015:22) and almost nothing was known about the interior swamp communities (Sayers 2015:153). As Terry

Weik points out, “It is important that Maroon sites be investigated more intensively and extensively, for recent studies have demonstrated that they are a rich and virtually untapped area of archaeological study” (1997:83). Despite the difficulties of doing archaeology in the swamp, the area is abundant with Maroon history. Sayers saw the potential value and history that was going untold in the Great Dismal. In 2003, the GDSLS was initiated (Sayers 2015:111). But where would Sayers begin his fieldwork? “Though there are some clues as to the general locations of a few known canal laborer settlements, there no known extant documents that indicate precisely where any Diasporan sites are located. However, many historical sources refer to canal laborers and Maroons settling on hills, hummocks, and ridges” (Sayers et al. 2007:2).

Jumping off this idea, the search for islands where Maroons likely would have settled began. By the end of his first survey season, Sayers had added seven more archaeological sites to the limited number of previously known archaeological sites (Sayers 2015:22).

The first two sites that Sayers began work on were the Nameless site (31GA120) and the

Cross Canal site (31GA119). It became apparent however that the “evidence [of the Cross Canal site] seems to point rather strongly to this area having been the locus of an enslaved canal laborer community camp” (Sayers 2007:156). This evidence was in contrast to the archaeology of the

Nameless site which indicated that people tried to settle there for an indefinite amount of time and create a community (Sayers 2006:155). From 2009 to present day, the GDSLS Field School has occurred each summer, directed by Sayers and continuing the archaeology of the Maroon settlements. With such a small artifact assemblage (Sayers 2015:114-199), it became apparent that the Maroons came to the swamp with few items. In particular, “A clear hallmark of scission communities was the very heavy reliance on swamp-available materials and the appropriation of previously deposited material culture” (Sayers 2015:156). The Maroons who inhabited the

interior sites used what was available to them in the land around them. They were not like the fringe communities who had the benefit and opportunity to interact with the outside world. When swamp materials were not enough, these Maroons repurposed found items. To elaborate, plenty of reworked prehistoric artifacts have been found, such as a projectile point reworked into a scraper (Sayers 2015:128-129), suggesting that the Maroons were using what they found in the swamp and reworking them into an item that they could benefit from. This innovation and creativity is part of what should be presented to the general public in a museum exhibit.

Figure 7. An Excavation Unit on the Nameless Site

A Dismal Swamp exhibit needs to dispel the public memory that has been created and encouraged by the legends and myths of the “savage” people who lived in the swamp. As there is only one museum exhibit displaying the archaeology of the Dismal Swamp Maroons, it’s important that an honest and all-encompassing history be communicated. Several aspects of the life of a Great Dismal Swamp Maroon need to be shown. First, the public needs to understand

the desperate desire for the African and African-American enslaved people to both resist the slavery system they were ensconced in but also to be free to live their own life and traditions.

Further, people need to understand the modes of communitization and the differences and similarities between these communities. The living conditions of the swamp in the scission communities, such as limited resources to hunt and cook with, surviving the wild animals, and adjusting to the challenging landscape, should also be described and shown, as well as the tools and material culture the Maroons had to work with to live there.

The Maroons had very little in the swamp, as evidenced by the lack of artifacts found during the GDSLS which focuses on the scission communities, and yet they were still able to create a life, community, and traditions for themselves (Sayers 2015:156-157). From the

GDSLS, the artifact assemblage of the interior sites produced very few colonial ceramics or glassware (Riccio 2012:72). Those discoveries were actually very rare and caused great excitement when found during field school. The common materials that the Maroons would use were swamp-created materials, such as wood, mud, and brush (Riccio 2012:72). More often than not, ceramic sherds that were found would have most likely been used as structural support as the Great Dismal has very loose sandy soil (Riccio 2012:72). So the otherwise useless broken sherds were turned into something vital and functional. To elaborate, since access to more durable building materials was out of range, the Maroons used the available materials around them to create their structures, even permanent dwellings. The identification of “several architectural footprints clearly indicates substantial investment of labor and time, suggesting that the builders of those structures intended them to be permanent dwellings” (Sayers 2015:120).

The Maroons used these limited materials to create a home for themselves. Evidence of this home is reflected in the identified features of the nameless site, such as Feature 507 Complex (a

cabin structure), Feature 81 (a rectilinear building), or Feature 535 Complex (a linear architectural feature). The Feature 535 Complex includes post holes, where the timber of the structure would be supported with the ceramic sherds mentioned previously. Finding these post holes offer valuable information about the lifestyle of the Maroons and how they survived in the

Great Dismal.

Figure 8. Ceramic Sherds Acting as Structural Support in an Excavation Unit on the Nameless Site

Life for the Maroons in the swamp allowed them to escape the brutal slavery system for, some might say, a brutal and grueling life in a challenging environment. But the difference for the Maroons is that life in the swamp allowed them to build their own communities, create their own rules and traditions, and work for themselves.

CHAPTER 5

A CRITIQUE OF, AND RECOMMENDATION FOR, THE EXHIBIT AT THE NATIONAL

MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE

Museums produce messages, or meaningful statements and actions.

—Richard Handler and Eric Gable, The New History in an Old Museum

With archaeological work being done at the Great Dismal Swamp, and interpretations being formed, it’s now time to think about these interpretations and how they should be presented to the general public.

An exhibit on the Great Dismal Swamp is a way to present the completed archaeology in a public setting, in addition to written archaeological reports, journal articles, and books. But what are the other ways in which we may make this material more easily accessible to the general public? Incorporating an interactive element to the existing National Refuge might help.

While the National Refuge offers valuable information about the local wildlife and nature, it barely touches on the archaeological interpretations of the sites located there. Adding basic information and directing visitors where to go to obtain more information would be extremely helpful.

The Great Dismal Swamp is not well-known outside of the mid-Atlantic region. Thus, there is another level of difficulty added to a public archaeology of the Dismal because it is challenging to encourage interest in an area people have heard little about before. We must engage the general public with this history without falling victim to creating or affirming the public memory of the swamp, which currently focuses mainly on the folklore and legends that have been passed down. We will have to strive to create a truthful representation of the Maroons,

one that encompasses every aspect of the Maroons’ flight to freedom and their new settlements.

It will be important to describe fully that the Maroons valued their freedom over slavery so much that they left “civilization” and lived in the Great Dismal Swamp, which is not the easiest environment to survive in, just to have that freedom. We cannot let the public’s expectation of what should be shown, or what they might expect to see, influence what really occurred. As stewards of the past, it is our responsibility to communicate the true history, and not exclude an alternative past or dismiss one that does not reinforce patriotism (Shackel 2001:657).

Shackel tells us that “public memory is more a reflection of present political and social relations than a true reconstruction of the past” (2001:656). The Great Dismal Swamp exhibit must be wary of letting political or social agendas influence the interpretation of the history of the site. This means that although the general public might view the Maroons as the legends and folklore have depicted them, we must strive to show them as fighting for their freedom and resisting the system of slavery. For instance, the public needs to understand that just the act of marronage was a way to resist colonialism and its effects such as slavery. Building a settlement, learning to survive in these dismal conditions, using minimal resources: these acts are all testaments to who the Maroons really were. To further complicate matters, the general public visitor to a museum may not know or understand the history of marronage. An exhibit on the swamp will also have to include what a Maroon was, why a person might have participated in the act of marronage, and explain the significance of it.

Thus, though this exhibit will predominantly exhibit the Maroons escape from slavery as a method to start a new community, it is also a symbol of their resistance. Marronage was a way to fight against the slavery system. It allowed African Americans to resist the alienating process of being enslaved (Sayers 2008, Weik 1997). An exhibit on the Maroons of the Great Dismal

Swamp needs to also showcase marronage was one way in which African American resisted the forces of colonialism and systemic slavery.

So far this author has presented a few ideas of how the archaeology that has been done in the Great Dismal needs to be presented in an exhibit setting to the general public. The history of the Great Dismal Swamp and the Maroons that lived there are a crucial part of African American past. Since the inception of this paper, an exhibit has been created outside of the Great Dismal

Swamp Refuge.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) was established by Act of Congress in 2002. The museum opened to the public on September 24,

2016. According to the Smithsonian Institution website, it has collected more than 36,000 artifacts and objects in its efforts to explore and exhibit African American culture and history in the United States. The museum does its best to take its visitors on a journey from slavery in the

1400s to Reconstruction in the late 1800s, to Jim Crow and Segregation of the 1900s, to a changing American landscape of the midcentury civil rights movement and beyond. In addition to the history of African Americans in the United States, the museum also focuses on African

American culture with an entire floor dedicated to music, theater, and sports. According to the

Smithsonian Institution’s website, the building itself is also a tribute to the culture of the African

American homeland, meant to replicate the three tiered West African crown. Since its opening, there have been more than four million visits to the National Museum of African American

History and Culture.

While in the process of gathering artifacts to display in the museum exhibits, Smithsonian curators reached out to Daniel Sayers in an effort to include the history of African American

Maroons. After numerous discussions of what the exhibit would be and include, about a dozen artifacts were donated to the museum.

Table 1. List of Artifacts Donated to the NMAAHC

Artifact Number Maker Object Date Made Dimensions

Description

31GA120 Unknown Ball (White) Ca. 1620-1640 11.98 mm x 6.26

Artifact 1 Clay Tobacco mm x 2.73 mm

Pipe Fragment

31GA120 Unknown Brick Fragment Ca. 1800-1860 25.18 mm x

Artifact 2 (possibly 13.42 mm x 6.28

modified) mm

31GA120 Unknown British Gunflint Ca. 1790-1860 8.14 mm x 5.89

Artifact 3 Chip/Flake mm x 1.67 mm

31GA120 Unknown Burnt Clay Ca. 1600-1860 3.43 mm x 3.48

Artifact 4 mm x 3.51 mm

31GA120 Unknown Clear Glass Ca. 1600-1860 5.63 mm x 4.38

Artifact 5 Chip/Shard mm x 0.92 mm

31GA120 Unknown Clear Quartz Ca. 1600-1860 5.52 mm x 4.79

Artifact 6 Flake mm x 1.45 mm

31GA120 Unknown Burnt Clay Ca. 1600-1860 24.53 mm x

Artifact 7 21.69 mm x

11.31 mm

31GA120 Unknown Handthrown Ca. 1730 7.5 cm x 7.25

Artifact 8 Ceramic cm x 1 cm

(Croaker

Landing Ware

reused)

31GA120 Unknown Lead Shot with Ca. 1790-1860 5.24 mm x 5.20

Artifact 9 Flattened Facet mm x 4.38 mm

31GA120 Unknown Lead Spoil, Ca. 1790-1860 4.72 mm x 3.78

Artifact 10 probably from mm x 1.90 mm

onsite lead

production

31GA120 Unknown Nail (Machine Ca. 1790-1860 18.55 mm x

Artifact 11 Cut, head and 15.90 mm x 5.66

partial stem) mm

31GA120 Unknown Soapstone Ca. 1600-1860 3.75 cm x 2.25

Artifact 12 (steatite) Item, cm x 1.25 cm

Possibly

Decorative

(ancient artifact

reworked)

31GA120 Unknown Red Ochre Ca. 1790-1860 4.92 mm x 4.89

Artifact 13 (small) mm x 3.35 mm

31GA120 Unknown Reworked Ca. 1800-1860 3.5 cm x 2 cm x

Artifact 14 (ancient) 0.75 cm

Projectile Point

31GA120 Unknown Rosy Clear (not dateable) 5.22 mm x 3.14

Artifact 15 Quartz Flake mm x 1.99 mm

The artifacts are displayed in the Liberation Communities exhibit in the Slavery and

Freedom section of the museum. As discussed previously, the Maroon artifacts recovered from the Dismal Swamp are small assemblages and fragmentary. With limited resources (Sayers 2015,

Riccio 2012), Dismal Swamp inhabitants had to make do with what they brought with them or what they found in the swamp. The recovered artifacts, such as reworked knives or scrapers, demonstrate this adaptation (Sayers 2012). Due to this aspect of Maroon life and materiality,

Sayers hoped to have the exhibit convey that small artifacts can reflect a big life.

Figure 9. The Liberation Communities Exhibit at the NMAAHC

Figure 10. Close-up of the Liberation Communities Exhibit at the NMAAHC

Despite good intentions, the display case holding the artifacts from the swamp is unnoticeable for multiple reasons. First, the set-up of the display does little to showcase these unique artifacts and their unusual history. Enclosed in a wall opening, protected by glass, sits the donated Dismal Swamp artifacts on a lower level shelf. Because the artifacts are at a lower level, your eye does not go automatically to them. Second, the artifacts share this small exhibit space with an unrelated object, a Liberian hat from the Gola tribe, placed on a higher shelf in a more prominent setting. Since the Liberian hat is substantially bigger than the smaller swamp artifacts, the viewer’s eye is distracted from the Maroon assemblage. Third, despite the fact that there is light trained on both shelves, the hat is decorated and visually more dynamic.

The NMAAHC exhibition demonstrates that the Maroon artifacts from the Dismal

Swamp can be difficult to showcase. They are typically smaller in scale than other artifacts and usually are not heavily adorned (Sayers 2015:116). But these artifacts, minute as they might be, tell a big story. And this story is different than the one the folklore describe. The inhabitants of

the Great Dismal Swamp were not savages or hostile people. The NMAAHC exhibit “can help contradict the status quo by providing an alternative past” (Shackel 2000:vii). The alternative past that needs to be shown is simple: the Maroons were a people looking for their own community without being controlled, beaten, and degraded. The Maroon exhibit should “include the way humans struggle, persist, and overcome the odds to rebuild a new life in a desolate land”

(Shackel 2000:xi). This is the story that needs to be shown. Several artifacts on a lower shelf that are overshadowed by an unusual object do not do the Maroons any justice.

Figure 11. The Exhibited Artifacts from the Great Dismal Swamp at the NMAAHC

Figure 12. Text for the Exhibited Artifacts from the Great Dismal Swamp at the NMAAHC

Aside from this difficulty, another possible reason for the shortcomings of the Liberation

Communities exhibit is the struggle to open the NMAAHC itself. Although the museum was officially authorized in 2003 by President George W. Bush, it was a project that had been around for decades according to a New York Times article (Bowley 2016). The project of a museum dedicated to the experience of African Americans in the United States had been a desire for many people since the beginning of the 19th century, but it was not until the 1980s that it made some progress. “For 15 years, though, a bill to create the museum was defeated” (Bowley 2016).

Even when it was finally authorized, the museum faced additional challenges such as funding, a location, and, perhaps most importantly, a collection. Lonnie G. Bunch III, the museum director, led the search for donors. According to a Washington Post article, museum officials sought for diversity in their supporters, leading to African American organizations representing 28% of institutional support (McGlone 2016). Eventually Bunch was able to raise $265 million in private contributions for a public museum, a definite challenge.

Another major challenge was finding a location for the museum. Congress rejected a site near the Capitol. Supporters wanted a site on the National Mall, but critics said the Mall was too crowded (Bowley 2016). Finally, after arguing that a prime location would guarantee the most visitors and fundraising support, a five acre spot on the Mall near the Washington Monument was chosen.

Lastly, the NMAAHC was a museum without a collection, and no Smithsonian museum has ever started life without a collection (Bowley 2016). The museum team decided to collect artifacts from around the nation in an “Antiques Roadshow” style they called “Save our African

American Treasures.” Although this was an unusual method to develop a museum collection, it worked for the NMAAHC. This collection effort yielded many of the 40,000 objects that the museum now holds (Bowley 2016).

Although the museum has had numerous challenges to overcome, it was able to do so. It pushed through additional opening delays caused by design and construction among other issues.

Despite all this, the NMAAHC has been open now for three years, and it is time to revisit some of the exhibits such as the Liberation Communities.

The NMAAHC should show the Great Dismal Swamp Maroon story in its own exhibit space. The first thing to consider is visitor knowledge, as William T. Anderson and Shirley

Payne Low point out in their book (1985). Without any knowledge or understanding of marronage, the average visitor will not be able to truly engage with the exhibit. A short explanation of the concept of marronage presented in simple terms should be sufficient to explain the idea. This way visitors can grasp the notion of the extreme methods some Africans and African Americans took to resist being enslaved. Perhaps, even an interactive computerized competitive quiz will make this bland material more engaging.

The artifacts that are chosen to be displayed need to tell the Maroons’ story, not a random collection of objects (Anderson & Payne Low 1985). A reworked scraper or knife would be an exemplary artifact to display. This artifact tells much about the life of the scission community

Maroons. Without the opportunity to trade outside of their interior site home, Maroons would find lithic artifacts, rework, and repurpose them. This one artifact exemplifies the lack of available colonial materials and reinforces the idea of separation from the colonial slavery system. Another artifact that would help tell the Maroon story is a ceramic sherd. Many museum visitors are used to seeing ceramic sherds joined together again to recreate the broken vessel.

However, the Maroons did not use ceramic vessel, but rather wedged found ceramic fragments in postholes as support for earthfast staves of their structures in the swamp. This artifact exemplifies the Maroons’ resourcefulness and showcases the difficulty of living in this environment in which a post in ground structure needs broken pieces of refuse to help poles stand upright.

Figure 13. Excavated Ceramic Sherds on the Nameless Site

In addition to displaying the most telling artifacts, the NMAAHC exhibit also needs to reconsider its choice of displaying the artifacts in the usual, old fashioned ways. As Donald A.

Ritchie explains, it is the older museums who primarily use fixed signs with short descriptions to exhibit their artifacts that struggle to keep visitors interested (2001:95). The NMAAHC is a new museum, having been open for only a few years, and many of its exhibits are not traditional.

They incorporate technology or unique exhibit space. I believe if that same innovative approach was instilled in the Dismal Swamp exhibit, the exhibit could affect and interest more people. For instance, allowing visitors such as children the opportunity to create a new tool using clay would mirror how the Maroons had to create new tools using pieces of ceramic sherds. The National

Museum of Air and Space in Washington, DC does this with great success by encouraging this young visitors to create airplanes from paper in one of their exhibits. The museum has even created a website entitled How Things Fly that kids can use after their museum visit to create paper airplanes.

Figure 14. An Example of the Paper Airplanes Kids Can Create at the National Air and Space Museum

Ritchie suggests using audio, videotaped narratives, interviews, and interactive exhibit space

(2001:95). Giving visitors the opportunity to ask questions, offer suggestions, or share feelings could go a long way in helping visitors feel invested in the Maroon story.

NMAAHC could use these suggestions in multiple ways. The first thing to address is the exhibit space. The Dismal Swamp artifacts need to be displayed in their own case. Since they are such small artifacts, any other artifact overshadows them. Being shown in their exhibit space will help the visitors grasp the concept of small artifacts can reflect big lives. Adding a more noticeable exhibit title or even a picture to draw visitors’ attention will also be beneficial. People cannot really appreciate the challenges of living and creating a life in the swamp unless they have seen pictures of the environment. Adding pictures would be a simple solution with a lot of benefits. A more elaborative way would be to incorporate virtual reality like the Intrepid Sea,

Air, and Space Museum in New York City that gives people the chance to navigate a submarine and fly a supersonic jet. Allowing visitors to put on a virtual reality mask or step into a simulator machine and experience navigating their way through the swamp would be the ultimate way to engage viewers in this experience.

Figure 15. The G Force Encounter Simulator Logo from the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum

“Casual observation of these high-tech displays makes it clear that younger visitors are especially attracted to the interactive videos and computer components,” states Ritchie

(2001:95). By creating an interactive or technological component, the exhibit could draw in the interest of younger visitors as well as older ones. Technology could be incorporated by using footage from the Smithsonian Channel documentary, Escape to the Great Dismal Swamp. This will assist visitors in visualizing the environment the Maroons lived in as well grabbing their attention. Another method to incorporate technology would be to include a digital picture book with photographs of the swamp, the artifacts, the archaeological excavations, etc. Using touch screens for the digital picture book like the Museum of American Finance in New York City does in their exhibits would also be helpful. Interactive components could be interspersed in the exhibit by giving visitors the opportunity to leave questions or comments about the exhibit in a comment box. Another interactive method would be to include pull out drawers with artifacts or information about the folklore of the swamp or the wildlife and plant life of the swamp. The exhibit could also feature provocative questions in relation to the Maroons, such as “How would you survive in this type of environment?”.

Making some of these changes would not only add interest to the NMAAHC exhibit, but it would also assist in creating a more accurate public memory of the inhabitants of the Great

Dismal Swamp. Most people know little about the people who lived in the swamp during the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, and those who do have a memory of people living the swamp tend to remember the folklore stories discussed in a previous chapter. Very few people have memories of the Maroons who lived in the swamp and their story of resistance, struggle, community, and freedom. “Understanding the various ways in which societies think about the past and use it in the present can help public historians to understand the institutional contexts in which they operate as well as the presuppositions about history with which the public approaches their work,” explains David Glassberg (1996:8). By acknowledging the public’s preconceived

notions and/or lack of knowledge in regard to the Dismal Swamp inhabitants, we can create an exhibit that conveys the Maroons’ story in a method museum visitors will find interesting. By doing this, we can change the public memory of the Great Dismal Swamp Maroons from hostile escaped slaves to a people who resisted a brutal slavery system and created their own free communities. As Ritchie notes, “The future of the past lies not just in classrooms and monographs, but in museums, historical sites, the media and on the Internet. In each of those venues, the use of oral history and the concurrent willingness to listen and to learn can offer historians their best advantage” (2001:97). Let’s make the past of the Great Dismal Swamp

Maroons into a future the general public would find inspiring.

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