Archaeology of a Troubled Nation, 1775-1865
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VALLEY FORGE THE NIAGARA After being forced out of Philadelphia by the British, George “We have met the enemy and Washington’s Continental Army spent the harsh winter of 1777-1778 they are ours; two ships, two brigs, at Valley Forge along the Schuylkill River, about 25 miles northwest one schooner, and one sloop,” of center-city. Archaeological investigations conducted by the Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry National Park Service for more than a half-century included large- wrote in his famous report to scale excavations, remote sensing, such as ground-penetrating General William Henry Harrison. radar and sophisticated metal detectors to locate concentrations of On June 17, 1812, the United artifacts, and architectural foundations of buildings and structures States declared war on England. used by Washington’s soldiers. Even Not long after, men and supplies though Washington ordered living poured into Erie to construct a fleet of ships which would ultimately quarters to be neatly laid out in rows, prove to be an unstoppable fighting force. The Battle of Lake Erie on archaeology proved that the huts September 10, 1813, saw the defeat of the British at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, were haphazardly placed in groups by and gave control of the Great Lakes to the United States, eliminating battalion. Dietary evidence indicates the threat on the northwestern frontier by British forces and raising the the soldier’s diet included beef and pork morale of Americans. Hastily built in 1813 — and victorious in battle in somewhat better conditions than — Commodore Perry’s relief flagship Niagara was scuttled in 1820 to historians describe. preserve it from being crushed by ice on Lake Erie. To commemorate 1777 U.S. uniform button. the centennial of the battle in 1913, the remains of Niagara were raised and a ship rebuilt upon them. The cycle was repeated in 1943 and 1988. The process of CHEVAL-DE-FRISE reconstructing the vessel enabled maritime specialists In September of 1777, after his victory at the Battle of Brandywine, to examine this significant General Sir William Howe and his British army marched into symbol of the nation’s military Philadelphia. However, General Howe encountered a supply problem. might while preserving an He was surrounded by George Washington’s Continental Army; more icon of American history and importantly, the Royal British Navy could not move supplies up the archaeological heritage. It Delaware River to the city because two American forts protected the also allowed them to identify a river. Historic documents reference installation of a line of defense The Flagship Niagara in 1913. number of technical problems for Fort Mifflin and Fort Mercer. Large spikes, known as cheval-de- in the design of the vessel, particularly its broad deck and tall masts frise (the plural of which is chevaux-de-frise) were placed at an angle which caused it to be top-heavy and unstable in strong winds. in the river to prevent British ships from supplying Howe’s army. A cheval-de-frise is a log up to 29 feet long with an iron spike on the end that was used to puncture THE HOSPITAL the hull of large sailing ships attempting to move up the Delaware. The spike was THE CIVIL WAR The medical needs of the Continental Army had grown dire by autumn 1777. notched to hold fast once the hull was punctured. These spikes were secured A visitor’s accidental discovery of human bone fragments in the More than 20 percent of the 18,000 soldiers were either sick or wounded. in a square frame or box weighed down with rocks to hold them in place in the northern section of Gettysburg National Military Park resulted in Military hospitals were established in several outlying Pennsylvania river. The recent discovery of a cheval-de-frise in the Delaware River has provided perhaps the only archaeologically-recovered burial from the historic communities while General George Washington quartered his troops at archaeologists an opportunity to examine a nearly intact example, and battlefield. Historic documents indicate significant casualties Valley Forge for the winter. The religious community of Ephrata, Lancaster suggests possible placement of additional chevaux-de-frise not recorded in occurred in this railroad cut between Union and Confederate troops County, known today as Ephrata Cloister, was one of the selected hospital historic documents. on July 1, 1863, the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. In the sites. Archaeological excavations conducted by The State Museum of aftermath of the three-day bloodbath on Adams County’s farmlands Pennsylvania between 1999 and 2003 discovered hundreds of artifacts, Revolutionary War and fields, thousands lay dead and were hastily buried. The proving that the community’s Mount Zion dormitory and prayer house era brazier recovered at Ephrata Cloister. archeological excavation, analysis and interpretation of this burial were used for this purpose. The recovered artifacts include lead musket resulted in initial identification and subsequent reburial in a marked balls, gun flints, gun parts, a bayonet, marked regimental buttons, glass medicine vials and an iron brazier (similar grave at the park. These skeletal remains contained an archive of to a camp stove). By June 1778, the Ephrata hospital was closed. Of the 250 sick and wounded soldiers who received clues about the life and death of this soldier who fought during the care, 57 died. In addition, several Cloister members made the ultimate sacrifice during their service as nurses and American Civil War that were revealed through archaeology. succumbed to an outbreak of typhus or typhoid fever. APRIL 1775 JULY 1776 DECEMBER 1777 OCTOBER 1781 JULY 1794 JUNE 1812 OCTOBER 1834 FEBRUARY 1838 SEPTEMBER 1850 JULY 1863 APRIL 1865 First shots fired of Declaration of Washington’s troops British defeated at Whiskey Rebellion War of 1812 Opening of the Main Line Pennsylvania revises Fugitive Slave Act Battle of Gettysburg Confederate Army Revolutionary War at Independence is endure harsh winter at Battle of Yorktown, occurs in western begins over trade of Public Works- Canal Constitution. Blacks passes making it illegal surrenders at Lexington and Concord, signed in Valley Forge Virginia which marks Pennsylvania as a issues and railroad system lose right to vote (are to aid escaped slaves Appomattox Massachusetts Philadelphia the end of the result of outrage over included the Columbia disenfranchised) Courthouse ending Revolutionary War excessive taxation and Philadelphia Railroad the Civil War historic record. historic a detailed fashion that cannot be matched by the the by matched be cannot that fashion detailed a contributes to our appreciation of these events in in events these of appreciation our to contributes were killed in action or later died of wounds, disease or illness. illness. or disease wounds, of died later or action in killed were in the supply system. The archaeological evidence of this this of evidence archaeological The system. supply the in ancestors for their convictions. Archaeology Archaeology convictions. their for ancestors 8,600 African Americans. More than 33,000 Pennsylvanians Pennsylvanians 33,000 than More Americans. African 8,600 winter conditions, in addition to disease and breakdowns breakdowns and disease to addition in conditions, winter sites documents the conditions endured by our our by endured conditions the documents sites 350,000 men enlisted in Pennsylvania’s regiments, including including regiments, Pennsylvania’s in enlisted men 350,000 Forge for the winter of 1777-1778. His troops endured harsh harsh endured troops His 1777-1778. of winter the for Forge the American Civil War, the archaeology of these these of archaeology the War, Civil American the to efficiently transport supplies to Union forces. Upwards of of Upwards forces. Union to supplies transport efficiently to Brandywine and Germantown and forced his retreat to Valley Valley to retreat his forced and Germantown and Brandywine Ephrata, and later at Gettysburg in the center of of center the in Gettysburg at later and Ephrata, system which had begun in the 1830s enabled Pennsylvania Pennsylvania enabled 1830s the in begun had which system British forces resulted in Washington’s ill-fated battles at at battles ill-fated Washington’s in resulted forces British of the nation’s iron by the Civil War. The expansive railroad railroad expansive The War. Civil the by iron nation’s the of American troops. The Philadelphia Campaign of 1777 by by 1777 of Campaign Philadelphia The troops. American deplorable conditions at their hospital in in hospital their at conditions deplorable and steel production had facilitated the fabrication of half half of fabrication the facilitated had production steel and of patriots which aided in securing guns and supplies for for supplies and guns securing in aided which patriots of Forge during the Revolutionary War, to the the to War, Revolutionary the during Forge production, as well as steam locomotives and factories. Iron Iron factories. and locomotives steam as well as production, of the Delaware on December 25, 1776, buoyed the morale morale the buoyed 1776, 25, December on Delaware the of From the suffering of American troops at Valley Valley at troops American of suffering the From The coal industry fueled iron furnaces and forges for iron iron for forges and furnaces iron fueled industry coal The Mifflin. General George Washington’s successful crossing crossing successful Washington’s George General Mifflin. especially of the human role in these conflicts. conflicts. these in role human the of especially manufacturing, leather making, lumbering and tobacco. tobacco. and lumbering making, leather manufacturing, were sunk between Fort Mercer and Fort Fort and Mercer Fort between sunk were chevaux-de-frise enhanced our understanding of this era but but era this of understanding our enhanced system, a shift that resulted in increased production in textile textile in production increased in resulted that shift a system, Delaware River between 1776 and August 1777.