An Archaeological and Archival Investigation of a U.S
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Volume 1998 Article 2 1998 Camp Elizabeth, Sterling County, Texas: An Archaeological and Archival Investigation of a U.S. Army Subpost, and Evidence Supporting Its Use by the Military and "Buffalo Soldiers" Maureen Brown Center for Archaeological Research Jose E. Zapata Center for Archeological Research, University of Texas at San Antonio, [email protected] Bruce K. Moses Center for Archaeological Research Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ita Part of the American Material Culture Commons, Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Other American Studies Commons, Other Arts and Humanities Commons, Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, and the United States History Commons Tell us how this article helped you. Cite this Record Brown, Maureen; Zapata, Jose E.; and Moses, Bruce K. (1998) "Camp Elizabeth, Sterling County, Texas: An Archaeological and Archival Investigation of a U.S. Army Subpost, and Evidence Supporting Its Use by the Military and "Buffalo Soldiers"," Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State: Vol. 1998, Article 2. https://doi.org/10.21112/ita.1998.1.2 ISSN: 2475-9333 Available at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ita/vol1998/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Regional Heritage Research at SFA ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State by an authorized editor of SFA ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Camp Elizabeth, Sterling County, Texas: An Archaeological and Archival Investigation of a U.S. Army Subpost, and Evidence Supporting Its Use by the Military and "Buffalo Soldiers" Licensing Statement This is a work produced for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) by the report producer. TxDOT and the report producer jointly own all rights, title, and interest in and to all intellectual property developed under TxDOT’s contract with the report producer. The report may be cited and brief passages from this publication may be reproduced without permission provided that credit is given to both TxDOT and the report producer. Permission to reprint an entire chapter, section, figures or tables must be obtained in advance from either the Supervisor of the Archeological Studies Branch, Environmental Affairs Division, Texas Department of Transportation, 125 East 11th Street, Austin, Texas, 78701 or from the report producer. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License This article is available in Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ita/vol1998/iss1/2 Camp Elizabeth, Sterling County, Texas: . An Archaeological and Archival Investigation of a u.s. Army Subpost, and Evidence Supporting Its Use by the Military and "Buffalo Soldiers 11 Maureen Brown, Jose E. Zapata, and Bruce K. Moses with contributions by Anne A. Fox, C. Britt Bousman, I. Waymle Cox, and Cynthia L. Tennis Sponsored by: San Angelo District Texas Department of Transportation Archaeological Survey Report, No. 267 Center for Archaeological Research The University of Texas at San Antonio 1998 Camp Elizabeth, Sterling County, Texas: An Archaeological and Archival Investigation of a U.S. Army Subpost, and Evidence Supporting Its Use by the Military and "Buffalo Soldiers" Maureen Brown, Jose E. Zapata, and Bruce K. Moses with contributions by Anne A. Fox, C. Britt Bousman, L Waynne Cox, and Cynthia L. Tennis Robert J. Hard and C. Britt Bousman Principal Investigators Texas Antiquities Permit No. 1866 Archaeological Survey Report, No. 267 Center for Archaeological Research The University of Texas at San Antonio ©copyright 1998 The following information is provided in accordance with the General Rules of Practice and Procedure, Chapter 41.11 (Investigative Reports), Texas Antiquities Committee: 1. Type of investigation: Archaeological and archival mitigation 2. Project name: Camp Elizabeth 3. County: Sterling 4. Principal investigator: Robert J. Hard and C. Britt Bousman 5. Name and location of sponsoring agency: Texas Department of Transportation, Austin, Texas 78701 6. Texas Antiquities Permit No.: 1866 7. Published by the Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 6900 N. Loop 1604 W., San Antonio, Texas 78249-0658, 1998 A list of publications offered by the Center for Archaeological Research is available. Call (210) 458-4378; write to the Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 6900 N. Loop 1604 W., San Antonio, Texas 78249-0658; e-mail to [email protected]; or visit CAR's web site at http://www.csbs.utsa.edu/researchlcar. Abstract The Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) engaged in a two-phase contract with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to complete archaeological and archival investigations of the Camp at the Head of the North Concho (41 STIll). The camp, known locally as Camp Elizabeth, was a military outpost of Fort Concho in San Angelo, Texas, and is now located approximately nine miles northwest of Sterling City along V.S. Highway 87. The camp lies within the right-of-way along V.S. 87 that will be impacted by a highway improvement project. CAR's archaeological and archival investigations confirmed the presence of the former military occupation of the camp during the late-nineteenth century. No evidence supporting a legendary presence of the Texas Rangers at Camp Elizabeth was found. Archival evidence that the Buffalo Soldiers, African-American troops, were stationed at Camp Elizabeth is presented. Archaeological excavations identified numerous features, including a farrier's shop. Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................ i List of Figures .................................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ....................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................................. vi Chapter 1: Introduction Maureen Brown ............................................................................. '" .................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Project Background Bruce K. Moses, Cynthia L. Tennis, and Maureen Brown ................................................................... 5 Chapter 3: Research Issues Maureen Brown and Jose E. Zapata ................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 4: Archival Investigations Jose E. Zapata, 1. Waynne Cox, and C. Britt Bousman ...................................................................... 19 Chapter 5: Archaeological Investigations Maureen Brown, Bruce K. Moses, and Jose E. Zapata ...................................................................... 47 Chapter 6: Conclusions and Interpretations Maureen Brown, Anne A. Fox, Bruce K. Moses, Jose E. Zapata, and C. Britt Bousma .................... 81 References Cited ............................................................................................................................. 102 Appendix A: 1870 and 1880 Census Data .................................................................................... 112 Appendix B: Artifact Data ............................................................................................................................ 131 11 Figures 1-1. Project location ............................................................................................................................................ 1 1-2. Detail of project location .............................................................................................................................. 2 1-3. Project area, looking north/northwest. ......................................................................................................... 3 2-1. Vegetation zones in the vicinity of the project area ..................................................................................... 7 2-2. Vegetation in the project area ....................................................................................................................... 7 2-3. Plan of Camp Elizabeth as remembered by Kellis ..................................................................................... 12 2-4. TxDOT's investigations at 41ST111 .......................................................................................................... 14 4-1. Texas forts and selected communities in 1855 ........................................................................................... 20 4-2. Texas forts and selected communities in 1870 ........................................................................................... 24 4-3. Fort Concho and outposts, ca. 1875 ........................................................................................................... 35 4-4. Ft. Concho Scout Report map of the location of Camp at the Head of the North Concho ........................ 37 4-5. Texas frontier