“THE FORT ON THE FIRST BILL IN DORCBESTER? ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION§ OF COLONEL GRIDLEU’S Rl%‘OLUTIONARU WAR STAR FORT AT DORCHESTER FIEIGETS, BOSTON NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, SOUTH EOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS National Park Service - Denver Service Center Resource Planning Group Applied Archeology Center 1998 a I I I I I I a I I I I I I Cover: ThomasPark in the 1930s. The Peabodyand Stearnsmonument and the radial walkways that mark the salientsof the sta.rfort are shown. The high school (foreground)is at the location of the former SouthBoston Reservoir. United States Department of the Interior NATIOA’AL PARK SERVICE DSC-Resource “laming Group Applied Archeology Center 12200-A Plum Orchard Drive H30!5 @SC-RP) Silver Spring, Maryland 20904 BOST-157-43 Memorandum To: Regional Director, Northeast RegionalOffice From: Project Manager, Denver Service Center Reference: Boston National Historic Park, Package157, RehabilitateDorchester Heights, Project Type 43 Subject: Transmittal of Final Archeological Report The final report, “The Fort on the First Hill in Dorchester:” Archeological Investigations of Colonel Grid& ‘s Revolutionary War Star Fort at Dorchester Heights, Boston National National Historic Site, South Boston, Massachusens,by Drs. James W. Mueller, Steven R. Pendery and William A. Griswold is hereby transmitted for your library. The Applied Archeology Center completed the archeology and collaborated nicely with the Northeast Cultural ResourcesCenter during the field and reporting phasesof the project. The artifact collection has been returnedto the Navy Yard. The requestedCommonwealth of Massachusettssite form is attachedwith one specially identified copy of the report being shipped to the park. This special copy with the site form should be forwarded to the State Historic Preservation Office. This distribution of the final report completes all compliance requirements for this archeological project. Please direct any questions or comments to Jim Mueller of the Denver Service Center via cc:mail or at (301) 344-6260. I Attachment cc: (w/att.) S.I. Libraries Exchange, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC 20560 Gifts and Exchange Division, Library of Congress,Washington, DC 20240 Archivist of the U.S., National Archives and Record System, Washington, DC 20408 Department of the Interior Library, Gifts and ExchangeSection, 18” and C Streets, N.W. Washington, DC 20408 bee: Manager, Harpers Ferry Center/Library (w/z@ Manager, Northeast Cultural ResourcesCenter/Library (w/att) Chief, Archeology Branch, Northeast Cultural ResourcesCenter (w/3 att) Archeologist Griswold, Northeast Cultural ResourcesCenter (w/3 att) Superintendent,Boston National Historic Park/Libray) (w/a@ Compliance Specialist, Boston National Historic Park (w/22 att) DSC-RPA-Mueller (w/3 att) DSC-RPA-Files (3. 1 w/2tt.! DSC-PGT-Libra&(w/att) ‘s filL;t~ fim dsr Jmueller:slp: 12/15/98:301/344-626O:finalrptrawdor “THE FORT ON THJ3 FIRST HILL IN DORCHESTER:” ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF COLONEL GRIDLEY’S REVOLUTIONARY WAR STAR FORT AT DORCHESTER HEIGHTS, BOSTON NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK, SOUTH BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 1 by JamesW. Mueller, StevenR. Pendery,and William A. Griswold I National Park Service I I ConstructionPackage I BOST 157 U.S. Departmentof the Interior National Park Service I Applied ArcheologyCenter 12,200Plum OrchardDrive Silver Spring, Maryland 20901 1998 I ABSTRACT Backgroundstudies and field testingresulted in the discoveryof parts of a star fort that was built on DorchesterHeights in May 1776. The work was doneas part of the Section106 compliancefor improvementsto the groundsand monumentof DorchesterHeights, a unit of BostonNational Historic Park, in SouthBoston, Massachusetts. The archeologywas primarily doneby the National Park Service authors on National Park Service property. Background studies were done intermittentlybeginning in 1990,while one seasonof fieldwork was doneeach year between1994 and 1996. This fort is unique in the region and rare in the United Statesbecause it is a RevolutionaryWar, earthenfort with masonrybridge abutments and powder house. The excavationswere conductedin the undisturbedportions of the ditch, the entranceway,and the powder magazine.The lower half of the ditch asit hadbeen dug into the nativeglacial drumlin was still intact with portionsof a drainagecunette and a bunqzmte-likestep preserved at the baseof the ditch. The ditch was filed, probablyin 1852,when the first gradingfor ThomasPark was done, with imported loam, rather than with the hypothesizeddrumlin matrix from the parapets.Except for the gatearea, the ditch ffl containedno military artifactsand contained very few artifactsof any kind. The ditch floor was found very closeto the elevationpredicted from a study of 200 yearsof historic drawingsand maps.The shapeof the ditch floor and floor featuresare presumedto dateto 1776in the absenceof contradictoryevidence for 1812modifications. Original, 1776parts, as welt asmodifications fort the War of 1812,of the entrancewayand powder magazinewere uncovered. The entrancewayconsisted of the original, 1776 masonry bridge abutmentsfor crossingthe ditch at the south-facingarm of the western salient. Possibly,a horizontalretractable bridge may havebeen used by soldiersto crossthe ditch with their cannons and equipment. The abutmentincluded part of the original, 1776 dram that is thoughtto have carried surfacewater from the paradeground into the ditch. This drainagewas disturbedseveral times to repair the undergroundbracing system for the gate that was probably locatedalong the centerlineof the parapetsand in line with the bridge crossing. The gate probablyconsisted of a double-doorhung from verticaljambs that were supportedby an undergroundsill threshold.The entrancewayis located~10s: to whereit was shownon a 1776drawing of the fort-on the somewhat protectedsouth side of the fort, away from Bostonand its harbor. The mortared,fieldstone foundation with supportingfloor partitionsand drainsof the 1776powder magazinewere encountered.The magazinewas small, but proportionalto the sizeof the fort, and locatedunderground, perhaps seven feet beneaththe paradelevel of the north salient.Brick rubble suggestinga brick superstructurewas foundintramurally in the foundation.The magazinehad been repairedor re-built in 1814when the Britishthreat during the War of 1812increased; other repairs between1776 and 1814are possible.The locationof the magazineunder the exposednorth salient on the Boston,harbor-side of the fort is surprising.Fragments of an officer’s epauletwere foundin the rubble betweenthe foundationwalls and, exceptfor musketballs from the ditch at the gate, comprisethe only military artifactsfound duringthree field seasons. ACKNOVVL,EDGEMENTS The authorsappreciate the assistanceof the staff of the BostonNational Historical Park includmg SuperintendentJohn Burchill, AssistantSuperintendent Peter Steele, Preservation Specialist Stephen Carlson, and Chief of MaintenanceDavid Rose and Marcy Eeitel. We also thank DSC project COTRs JamesDoherty and JackHighland, as well as DSC job captainRandy Copelandand Park PlannerRuth Raphealfor their cooperationin the early stagesof planningand design. At the NortheastCultural ResourcesCenter, Nancy Pendleton,Mary Troy, and Robin Maloney made valuablecontributions to our work. We also owe the successof this project to the assistanceof projectvolunteers Marley R. Brown, JR, Marley R. Brown, N, DianeGiglia, Nancy Osgood,and Roger Heinen.Finally, the daily contributionsof Mr. ThomasGlover, a neighborliving acrossthe streetfrom the monument,worked tirelessly every singleday and madean immensecontribution to our work. His delightin recountinghistory to visitorswill alwaysbe rememberedand appreciated. The inspiredparticipation of anotherneighbor, 12-year-oldChristopher Cazenave, who had no previousarcheological experience, will alwaysbe treasured.Finally, the authorsare glad to part of the team that brought the improvedPark, symbol of the South Boston’shistorical role, to the citizensof the DorchesterHeights neighborhoods. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii . TABLE OF CON’IEA’TS Ill I LIST OF FIGURES Y I LIST OFPHOTOGRAPHS Vii LIST OF TABLES Vii I CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION The Project Ii The Environment Reader’sGuide to the Report I CHAPTER 2. THROUGH THE YEARS 6 Native AmericanSettlement 6 FortificationTheory--The European Prologue 7 - FortificationPraxis--The Regional Prologue 9 Prologueto the 1776Fortifications 11 I Prologueto the 1814Fortifications 14 CHAPTER 3. ON DORCHESTER HEIGHTS 17 Linear Fortification--TheMarch 1776Chandeliers 17 I Point Fortification--TheMay 1776Star Fort 20 The War of 1812Improvements 23 PublicRecreation and Linden/ThomasPark 25 I The Peabodyand Steams Monument 26 TwentiethCentury Commemoration 28 I CHAPTER 4. PRIOR TO EXCAVATION 29 PreviousField Studies 29 TopographicAnalysis 30 I The PredictedMorphology of the Fort 32 Pre-excavationStratigraphy 34 I ResearchObjectives 34 I ..,.I. 111 P I Tableof Contents(continued) CHAPTER 5. METHODOLOGY AND NON-FORT EXCAVATIONS 37 The Strategy 37 The Tactics 41 The Resultsof TestUnits 2 and3 42 Summary 44 CHAPTER 6. THE DITCH EXCAVATIONS 45 The North Salient--TestUnit 8 and Extensions 45 The NorthwestSalient--Trenches 1,8,9 andTest Unit 1 46 The West Salient--Trench2 andTest Unit 4 52 The SouthSalient--Test Units 10,7, and5 55 The SoutheastSalient--Test Unit 11 59 The Artifact Collection 59 Summary 65 CHAPTIB 7. THE GATE EXCAVATIONS 69 The ScarpAbutment, Drain, andGate Features--Trenches 3-6 andTest Unit 6 69 The CounterscarpAbutment--Trench