Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Spring 2012 Comparison of Archeological Survey Techniques at Camp Lawton, a Civil War Prison Stockade James Kevin Chapman Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Recommended Citation Chapman, James Kevin, "Comparison of Archeological Survey Techniques at Camp Lawton, a Civil War Prison Stockade" (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 623. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/623 This thesis (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COMPARISON OF ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEY TECHNIQUES AT CAMP LAWTON, A CIVIL WAR PRISON STOCKADE by JAMES KEVIN CHAPMAN (Under the Direction of Sue Moore) ABSTRACT In 2009, Dr. Sue Moore of Georgia Southern University was contacted by State Archeologist Dr. Dave Crass of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Division. He proposed an exploratory survey of the site of a Civil War Confederate prisoner of war camp known as Camp Lawton located on Magnolia Springs State Park and Bo Ginn National Fish Hatchery in Millen, Georgia. Camp Lawton was constructed, occupied, and abandoned over an approximately three month period in the fall of 1864. The survey served a twofold purpose. First, was to evaluate survey methods to determine the most efficient for use on this and similar sites. Second, was to determine the archeological integrity of the site. INDEX WORDS: Camp Lawton, Civil War, Prison, Stockade, Millen, Georgia, Lawton, Shovel Test, Metal Detection, Survey, Archeology, Magnolia Springs State Park, Bo Ginn National Fish Hatchery 1 COMPARISON OF ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEY TECHNIQUES AT CAMP LAWTON, A CIVIL WAR PRISON STOCKADE by JAMES KEVIN CHAPMAN B.A. Anthropology, Georgia Southern University, 2007 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS STATESBORO, GEORGIA 2012 2 © 2012 JAMES KEVIN CHAPMAN All Rights Reserved 3 COMPARISON OF ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEY TECHNIQUES AT CAMP LAWTON, A CIVIL WAR PRISON STOCKADE by JAMES KEVIN CHAPMAN Major Professor: Sue Moore Committee: Stephen Hale John Derden Electronic Version Approved: May, 2012 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks to the member of my thesis Committee: Dr. Sure Moore, Dr. Stephen Hale and Dr. John Derden. Without their guidance I could never have completed this work. I am also very grateful to my family: my beloved Anna Wibirt, my mother Charlotte Chapman, my brother Scott Chapman and his wife Blair. Thank all of you for being there and for understanding when I was not. A special thanks to all the members of the Camp Lawton Project who have made all we have done possible. Without Amanda Marrow, Matthew Newberrry and Matthew Luke I would never have achieved all that I have managed to achieve. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................10 2 CIVIL WAR PRISONS IN HISTORICAL LITERATURE ....................................13 3 ROBERT KNOX SNEDEN AND THE PRISON NARRATIVES……….……....18 4 THE CAMP LAWTON PRISON STOCKADE………………………….……….23 5 CAMP LAWTON IN HISTORICAL LITERATURE……….………...….……....49 6 ARCHAEOLOGY OF CONFEDERATE PRISON STOCKADES……….…….. 54 7 METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………………...70 8 ANALYSIS………………………………………………………………………..81 9 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………….……….101 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................104 APPENDICES A MAPS ...................................................................................................................109 B ARTIFACT CATALOGUE ..................................................................................127 C SITE FORMS FOR SITES LOCATED ON MAGNOLIA SPRINGS STATE PARK AND BO GINN NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY……………………..………145 D FORMS……………………………………………………………………...…..189 6 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Shovel Test Results .............................................................................................83 Table 2: Comparison of artifacts recovered. ......................................................................87 7 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Plans of Camp Lawton from the Official Records ..........................................110 Figure 2: Map of Larson and Crook excavations at Camp Sumter .................................111 Figure 3: Map showing the location of Tract 01-0142 at Andersonville historic site ....112 Figure 4: Map of soil resistivity survey ..........................................................................113 Figure 5: Map of excavations carried out at Andersonville North Gate in 1989 ............114 Figure 6: Map of Southeast corner of Andersonville Stockade excavated in 1990 ........115 Figure 7: Map of Andrsonville showing the area covered by the 2005 GPR survey .....116 Figure 8: Map of the 1981 camp Lawton Drucker Survey .............................................117 Figure 9: Location of the New South Associates 2000 mitigation .................................118 Figure 10: Topographic map of suspected gun emplacement .........................................119 Figure 11: Location of shovel tests during New South's 2000 investigation ...................120 Figure 12: Map of GPR survey at Camp Lawton in 2005 ...............................................121 Figure 13: LAMAR Institute GPR results .......................................................................122 Figure 14: Map showing shovle test results .....................................................................123 Figure 15: Shovel test F-7 - Mortar and Bricks in Situ......................................................84 Figure 16: Map of the distribution of artifacts recovered in the metal detection survey .124 Figure 17: Improvised tobacco pipe ..................................................................................86 Figure 18: Map of metal detection results with stockade wall prediction .......................125 Figure 19: Map of Test Area 1 and GPR Test Area with predicted stockade wall ..........126 Figure 20: Two halves of a broken spoon ..........................................................................90 Figure 21: Claw Hook and Buckle .....................................................................................91 Figure 22: Ring with 3rd Corps Emblem ............................................................................92 Figure 23: 3rd Corps Badge ................................................................................................92 8 Figure 24: Possible tools made from iron wire ..................................................................92 Figure 25: Improvised tobacco pipe showing makers marks on each side ........................93 Figure 26: Ambrotype Picture Frame ................................................................................93 Figure 27: Tiencken tourniquet buckle ..............................................................................94 Figure 28: Silver amalgamated spoon ................................................................................94 Figure 29: 1824 US large cent ...........................................................................................95 Figure 30: 1835 US large cent ...........................................................................................95 Figure 31: Heintz and Henkle trade token .........................................................................96 Figure 32: C.A. colby & Co. trade token ...........................................................................96 Figure 33: 1862 Austian Pfennig .......................................................................................97 Figure 34: George Washington token ................................................................................97 Figure 35: Arentinian Half Real ........................................................................................98 Figure 36: Intact Miniè ball ...............................................................................................98 Figure 37: Cut bullets.........................................................................................................99 Figure 38: Military issue buttons .......................................................................................99 Figure 39: New York state button ....................................................................................100 Figure 40: Hand cut brass star .........................................................................................100 9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In 2009, I contacted Dr. Sue Moore of Georgia Southern University (GSU) in hopes of returning to earn a Master’s of Arts in Social Science (MASS) degree with a concentration in archeology. During the discussion a possible subject for my thesis was suggested, a survey of a Confederate prisoner of war (POW) facility, named Camp Lawton, in the