EXCAVATIONS AT A PORTION OF THE SECESSIONVILLE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE (38CH1456), JAMES ISLAND, CHARLESTON COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA ~~ ,---~_tlll ~_--,· CHICORA FOUNDATION RESEARCH SERIES 52 EXCAVATIONS AT A PORTION OF THE SECESSIONVILLE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE (38CH1456), JAMES ISLAND, CHARLESTON COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA Research Series 52 Michael Trinkley Debi Hacker With Contributions By: Cheryl Claassen Arthur Cohen Douglas S. Frink S. Homes Hogue Irwin Rovner Michael S. Smith Chicora Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 8664 • 861 Arbutus Drive Columbia, South Carolina 29202 8031787-6910 Email: [email protected] June 1997 ISSN 0882-2041 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publications Data Trinkley, Michael. Excavations at a pOltion of the Secessionville archaeological site (38CH1456), James Island, Charleston County, South Carolina / Michael Trinkley. Debi Hacker ; with contributions by Cheryl Claassen. ret al.I p. cm. -- (Research series, ISSN 0882-2041 ; 52) "June 1997." Includes bibliographical references. 1. Secessionville (S.C.)--Antiquities. 2. Excavations (Archaeology)--South Carolina--Secessionville. 3. Indians of North America--South Carolina--Secessionville--Antiquities. 4. United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Antiquities. 5. Military camps--South Carolina--Secessionville--History--19th century. I. Hacker, Debi. II. Claassen, Cheryl, 1953- III. Chicora Foundation. IV. Title. V. Series: Research series (Chicora Foundation) ; 52. F279.S39T74 1998 975.T915--dc21 97-46639 CIP Copyright @ 1997 by Chicora Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transcribed in any form without the permission of Chicora Foundation, except for blief quotations used in reviews. Full credit must be given to the author and the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Infomlation Sciences - Permanence of Paper for Printed I.ihrary Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. 00 Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die. -- President Herbert Hoover in his speech to the Republican National Convention, June 27,1944 ABSTRACT The portion of the Secessionville Site 1862. The bulk of the prehistoric materials designated 38CH1456 is situated on the identified were in disturbed contexts - in the southeastern edge of James Island, on the southern plowzone, in the Civil War fill of the earthworks, edge of the Secessionville Peninsula overlooking and in the postbellum fill of the ditches. Most of what is today called Secessionville Creek. The area these remains date from the Late Archaic and is best known as the location of the Confederate Early Woodland, with a very minor Mississippian Tower Battery and the site of the June 16, 1862 component. battle which closed the James Island "door" to Charleston for the Union arnly. The defeat of Although several intact shell pit features General Henry Benham at Secessionville likely were encountered below the plowzone, most were prolonged the Civil War and certainly altered the potted out by site looters. One very large, and Federal strategy along the Carolina coast. dense, shell pit was examined. This feature provides exceptional subsistence data for the As early as about 2,000 B.C., however, the Thorn's Creek phase with very detailed site was occupied by Native Americans producing zooarchaeological analysis of the faunal and what is today known as Thom's Creek pottery. shellfish remains. This feature has also been dated Over the next 3,500 years the peninsula's proximity using radiometric techniques. to shellfish beds and other natural resources made it a prime location of the settlement of small During the excavations, the focus turned to groups. Later the peninsula was the location of the Civil War materials present on the site. Initially colonial, and then antebellum plantations. These, these were primarily the subsurface remains of the in turn, gave way to what was called Riversville, a extensive ditch and earthwork system developed by planters community on the eve of the Civil War. the Confederate forces at Secessionville. Not only was it possible to closely correlate the findings of Archaeological site 38CH145 6 was initially the excavation with the drawings of the earthworks identified in 1992, but was at first thought to produced at the end of the Civil War, but it was represent a Mississippian village. In 1996 Chicora also possible to evaluate the fortification's Foundation was retained by the property owner, faithfulness to the military engineering principles Martschink Realty Company, to conduct data of the period. recovery excavations on the tract. This work was intended to allow the development of the property The stripping also identified an area and the excavations followed a data recovery plan containing a semi-subterranean hut used by approved by the South Carolina State Historic Confederate troops: Nearby was an uncompleted Preservation Office. Essentially, a variety of areas house, as well as several trash deposits. Our focus were to be stripped using heavy equipment, in this area included not only the exploration of allowing the posited palisade, structures, and other the material culture of the Confederate military, features to be identified, recorded, and sampled. but also examination of faunal, phytolith, and pollen remains. This feature also served as a test of As work began it was found that there was the OCR carbon dating technique. no Mississippian village. The features thought to represent palisades were agricultural ditches, The Confederate hut and its surroundings perhaps associated with Riversville, and the ditches at Secessionville are of particular interest since no of the Water Battery constructed at Secessionville sinlilar site has been explored in South Carolina. by the Confederate forces in late 1861 and early 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS l.ist of Tahles v I.ist of Figures vi Ac know!cuge Illenb viii Introu ucti(lll 1 1'/l! 1";OIlS Research and tIle De1"(~!opment of'the Project 1 Research Strategy and Qllestions 7 The Natural Setting 11 ClIration 15 The Prehistory and History of the Site Area 17 Prehistoric Synopsis 17 Historic Synopsis 28 Excavations 59 Strategy and Methods 59 tJ;caFatiol7S 62 Feal1lres 64 Semi-Subterranean Huts at other ('iFi! War Sites 82 Analysis of Material Culture 91 Introuetion 91 Prehistoric Materials 95 Historic Remains 103 Dating the Site 115 The Thorn '.I' Creek Feature 115 Jile CiFi! Jfar Hut 117 Phytolith Analyses at Secessionville . Irwin Rovner 119 Introdllction 119 Methods 119 Results 121 Conclusions 123 Pollen Analysis at Sccessionville .. Arthur D. Cohen 125 Introduction. ,125 Results 125 Faunal Remains from Secessionville ... S. Homes Hogue 127 Introduction 127 Materials and Methods 127 ldent!fied Fallna 129 [hom ',\' Creek i-eature 5 131 /listorie Features 1. 8. and 10 143 Conclusions 152 ill 1·:thllohot3Ilic:J I RCl11ains 157 Inlmdllclioll 157 Procedures Gild Resillts 158 [)iSClissioll 160 Se:Jsoll:JI Datillg nf Thomos Creek Shelllish Rel113ins ... Cheryl Claassen 163 ()ther Shelllish 165 Shel(tfsh in Ihe Thom\ Creek Feat1lre 165 Understanding Ihe Shell/ish [)ier 167 Summary 169 Petrogr:Jphic :lI1d Mineral Characlcriz:Jtiol1 of T h 0111 Os Creek Plain Sherds 171 Inttmti!lction 171 Petrographic Fec/lIliqlles 171 Pelrographic Results 172 C onc/usions 174 Summary or What Weore Learned 175 Abollt Ihe Fhom '.I' Creek Phase 175 About Ihe Confederate OCClipaiioll or Secessionl'ille 178 Ab01/l Field Melhods 181 Sources Cited 183 IV LIST OF TABLES Table J. Artifacts recovered from Featun.: R 105 2. Artifacts recovered from Feature 10 106 :1 . Machine cut nails from Feature 10 108 4. OCR dates for Feature 10 117 5. Feature :'i minimum numher ()f individuals. number of bones. and meat yield 132 (). Feature 5. Zone 1, tine sieving 135 7. Feature 5. Zone 1. medium sieving 136 8. Feature 5. Zone 2, tine sieving 137 9. Feature 5. Zone 2. medium sieving 138 11). Feature 5, fine sieving 144 ll. Feature 5. medium sieving 145 12. Feature 1. minimum number of individuals, number of bones. weight. and meat yield 148 I::>. Feature 8. minimum numher of individuals. number of bones, weight, and meat yield 148 14. Feature 10. minimum number of individuals. number of bones, weight. and meat yield 149 15. Feature 10. zones 1-5 150 10. Modified hones from Features 1. 8. and 10 152 t7. Cattle element percentages 154 lK Analysis of Feature 5 notation and waterscreened samples 159 ]C>. Wood charcoal identitied in handpicked collections 159 20. Mercellaria dying in fast gro'Wth 164 21. Allometric values for shelltish 167 22. Shell weight and estimated meat yield for shelltish in Feature 5 168 23. Comparison of sample foods and nutritional requirements 169 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Project vicinity in Charleston County 2 Loc::ttion of 38CH1456 on the Secessionville Peninsula 3 Vicw () !" the fields at 38CH1456 4 -to View of the marsh south of 38CH1456 4 5. Areas mechanically stripped by Brockington and Associates in 1994 6 6. Cultural periods along the South Carolina Coast 18 7. Projectile point traditions of North Carolina 20 8. Project area in 1796 30 9. Secessionville peninsula in 1825 30 10. A portion of Payne's 1841 plat of the peninsula 31 ll. James Island in 1862 34 12. Terminology of earthworks 38 13. Fortifications forms 39 14. Fort Lamar 40 15. Battle of Secessionville 42 16. Capers' map of SecessionvilJe 43 17. General Stevens' map of Secessionville 44 18. Map of the Secessionville battlefield 44 19. Gillmore's map of James Island showing Confederate defenses 48 20. Gillmore's drawing of Fort Lamar and the Secessionville works 49 2l. Photograph of Secessionville in 1865 50 22. Plat showing the Secessionville peninsula in 1872 51 23. Portion of the 1919 James Island topographic map 52 24. The Secessionville peninsula in 1942 53 25. Portion of the 1957 aerial photograph of Secessionville 54 26. Portion of the 1977 aerial photograph of Secessionville 54 27.