Civically-Engaged Sensory Archaeology at Fort Ward and Defenses of Washington
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ABSTRACT Title of Document: MAKING SENSE OF THE FORT; CIVICALLY-ENGAGED SENSORY ARCHAEOLOGY AT FORT WARD AND DEFENSES OF WASHINGTON Mary Furlong Minkoff Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Directed By: Professor Paul A. Shackel Department of Anthropology In this dissertation, I ask the question, what is the best way to understand the history and archaeology of The Fort and other African American communities associated with the Defenses of Washington? The Fort is an African American community that settled on the grounds of Fort Ward in Alexandria, Virginia from the 1860s through the early 1960s. To answer this question, I adopted a civically- engaged, sensory approach to archaeology and established three project goals. First, I use sensory archaeology, historical research, and community memories to explore the origins of The Fort community, its relationship to Fort Ward, and the land surrounding it. Second, I incorporate the archaeology, memory, and history of The Fort community into a broader narrative of the local and national past through shared sensory experiences. Third, I conclude by describing how a sensory approach could be used to understand the experiences of African Americans at other Civil War Defenses of Washington sites. These goals have been developed with the consideration and input from The Fort Ward/Seminary African American Descendant Society (Descendant Society) and the National Park Service (NPS). MAKING SENSE OF THE FORT: CIVICALLY-ENGAGED SENSORY ARCHAEOLOGY AT FORT WARD AND THE DEFENSES OF WASHINGTON By Mary Furlong Minkoff Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2015 Advisory Committee: Professor Paul A. Shackel, Chair Professor A. Lynn Bolles Professor Mark P. Leone Professor Donald W. Linebaugh Dr. Matthew Palus © Copyright by Mary Furlong Minkoff 2015 Dedication This is dedicated to all of the members of The Fort and Seminary communities. I hope they hear their voices in these pages. ii Acknowledgements Conceptualizing, researching, and writing this dissertation would have been impossible without the memories, conversations, editing eye, and cooperation of The Fort Ward/Seminary African American Descendant Society. Thank you for trusting me to write a version of your story. In particular I would like to thank Adrienne T. Washington, Francis and Calvin Terrell, Gerald Wanzer, and Laurence Bradby for welcoming into their home and sharing their memories with me. Thank you also to Glenn Euguster for his dedication to reporting on The Fort and Fort Ward. Without the Descendant Society this work would have been impossible. I would also like to thank my advisor Paul A. Shackel striking the perfect balance between knowing when to push me as an academic, listen to me as a person, and to talk about sports. Thank you to Mark P. Leone for being an advocate for me and my work, even when you didn’t always understand it. To Matt Palus for giving great feedback from the field to the final draft. To Don Linebaugh for reminding me the importance of standing structures and short sentences and to A. Lynn Bolles for always giving me a new perspective and a new source. I would also like to thank everyone who helped get me to this point. Including, Jay K. Johnson for introducing me to archaeology, telling me that “if you’re not happy every day (in my first field school) archaeology isn’t the career for you, but if you are, you’ll never want to do anything else,” and making sure I was happy every day. To Bill Lees, Della Scott-Ireton, and all of the FPAN nation, thank for teaching me how to be a public archaeologist, giving me the freedom to make mistakes, trusting me represent FPAN, and always making time to discuss football iii and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. To Judy Bense for making me tough enough for a PhD program and any field site and Norma Harris for believing in me every step along the way. I also want to thank the amazing graduate students I have had the privilege to work, study, and celebrate with during the past six years. Kate Deeley, Courtney Hoffman, Molly Russell, and Jenna Zimmerman I would not have made it through the past few years without you. Whether it was spending all day sitting next to each other as we typed up rough drafts or celebrating Mari Gras all night, you are the best friends a PhD student could ever want. Also, thanks to Mike Roller, Adam Fracchia, Stefan Woehlke, Beth Pruitt, David Colon-Cabrera, Kristin Sullivan, Amanda Tang, Ben Skolnick, Megan Springate, Jocelyn Knauf, Megan Bailey, and Tanya Icaza for teaching me the importance of a smart, funny, and kind cohort. iv Table of Contents Dedication ..................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... v List of Tables ............................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ............................................................................................................... x Sensory Archaeology ................................................................................................ 3 Sense of Memory. ................................................................................................. 7 Sense of Place. .................................................................................................... 11 Sense of Community. .......................................................................................... 13 Project History ........................................................................................................ 15 Involvement of Community Groups. .................................................................. 15 Civic Engagement and My Role in The Fort Project. ......................................... 17 Historical and Archaeological Research. ............................................................ 22 Methodology of Dissertation .................................................................................. 30 Archaeological Research. ................................................................................... 30 Oral Histories and Recorded Memories. ............................................................. 32 Historical Research. ............................................................................................ 35 Organization of Dissertation ................................................................................... 36 Chapter 2: Historic Preservation as the Materiality of Memory ................................. 39 History of Historic Preservation ............................................................................. 40 African American Historic Preservation ................................................................. 45 African American Historical Archaeology ............................................................. 57 Historic Preservation and Archaeology in Alexandria ........................................... 63 Preservation of Defenses of Washington ................................................................ 70 Preservation at Fort Ward ....................................................................................... 72 Historic Preservation of The Fort Community. .................................................. 74 Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 75 Chapter 3: Sensing Race in the History and Memory of the Chesapeake .................. 77 Slavery and the Concept of Race ............................................................................ 78 African Americans in the Chesapeake before the Civil War .................................. 80 The Chesapeake during the Civil War .................................................................... 90 The 19th Century and Post-War Chesapeake ......................................................... 97 Early 20th Century Chesapeake ............................................................................ 100 Mid-20th Century Chesapeake .............................................................................. 103 Chapter 4: Sense of Place and the Origins of the Fort Community .......................... 107 Historical Research and Memory Methodology ................................................... 109 The Fort Community Predated the Civil War: Documentary and Memory Evidence ............................................................................................................................... 112 The Fort Community Grew Out of a Contraband Camp: Documentary and Memory Evidence ................................................................................................................ 124 The Fort Community Resulted from Migration Following the Civil War: Documentary and Memory Evidence ................................................................... 133 v Archaeological and Landscape Methodology and Analysis ................................. 136 Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 148 Literature Review of African American Communities ........................................