In Toto

Here it is...all of the major categories mapped together. Two clear clusters emerge in the center and southeast quadrant.


In other news, Scott and I moved some furniture over to the Burch House today...a large desk and some outdoor stuff. Wednesday (probably) April and the gang will be, among other things, readying the Burch House for the field session.

Jim

Minie Balls and Caps

Here is the map illustrating the locations of the Minie balls and percussion caps recovered from the Union encampment. The find spots are circled in red.

Map showing Civil War era ordnance.

Doesn't look like much, does it; but the image is deceiving. The circle in the lower right hand corner includes two .58 caliber US Army issued projectiles, a .54 caliber Burnside carbine projectile, and three percussion caps. Furthermore, this is the area in which Steve has found a number of projectiles and pieces of personal belongings. The circle to the northwest identifies the recovery of another .58 caliber projectile. We recovered another percussion cap across the ravine. The find in the northwest corner of the site is a modern shotgun shell.

When we put everything together on one map, I suspect the patterns will become a little clearer.

Jim

And Police the Camp!

Can't say I know much about Union Army protocols, but if they were anything like those of the 20th century, soldiers spent a good part of their time cleaning camps and barracks--policing the site--which would leave little for archaeologists to find. At the Union encampment we did recover some kitchen wares (ceramics, eating utensils) and clothing items (buttons). Their distributions appear in the map below.




There are two concentrations, one in the center of the site and the other in the southeast quadrant. Are these actual tent sites? Can we distinguish between the campsites of officers (the southeast) and enlisted men (center) ?

We are a long way from identifying individual tent sites, much less attributing them to different ranks, but we can use our survey results to pose hypotheses, as I've done yesterday and today, and to develop appropriate methods and strategies for testing those hypotheses.

Jim

Tie Up the Horses, Private!

The map below of the Union encampment illustrates the distribution of equestrian artifacts...horseshoes and horseshoe nails...recovered through metal detecting.

Union Encampment #1. Blue lines represent clusters of horseshoes and horseshoe nails.

There are some isolated finds, but there are also clusters, particularly in the center of the site and in the southeast quadrant. These may well have been the locations of corrals or lines to which the soldiers tied their horses. A number of other nails from buildings or wooden crates were recovered...perhaps their distributions mark the locations of corrals, stables, or other structures. I'll take a look at it tonight.

Jim

Civil War encampment

April's student Magen completed the Union encampment site catalogue the other day. She identified four percussion caps and four Minie balls, including three probable US Army issued .58 caliber projectiles and one .54 caliber Burnside carbine projectile.

Of the 126 recovered artifacts, Magen identified 29 as equestrian; specifically, horseshoes and horseshoe nails.

Most of the other artifacts are miscellaneous bits of hardware, particularly nails, many too corroded to determine function or type.

Artifacts related to eating and drinking included three fork fragments, one knife, and two ceramic sherds: whiteware and American gray stoneware.

I'll try to find some time tonight to plot the different categories on our site map. Hopefully, their spatial distribution will reveal something of the way in which the camp was organized.

Jennie Cosham, registrar at the Maryland Historical Trust, assigned the number 18CH788 to the site. After the field session we will get a report out that includes both the encampment and the north end of the Port Tobacco courthouse survey.

Movie Choices

We'll get back to blogging on a daily basis in a few weeks. The crew is hustling to complete some large projects before the ASM field session, so we haven't worked on Port Tobacco very much.

This year during the field session we have scheduled two movie-and-pizza nights in the courthouse. I expect we will post a poll next week. Right now we have the following choices and we're happy to add others:

1. Indiana Jones/Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. King of California
3. The Mummy
4. National Treasure 1/2

We will have a microwave for popcorn...we scoff at theater prices. You needn't sneak any treats into the 'theater,' but be prepared to share.

Jim

Lavish Screens

Yes, I know...we've been negligent. My crew has been busy on other projects and April has been dealing with a course load and publication schedule that would crush people thrice her size. But planning for the field session continues.

A major effort is under way to replace the tired screens that ASM has used on field sessions for years. Thanks to the efforts of Dan Coates (Northern Chesapeake Chapter vice-president), we will be rolling out two new types of screens that made their debut at the end of last year's field session. We are particularly proud to show off the Lavish screen (see picture below).

Dan Coates with the Lavish (left) and H-frame screens.

The Lavish screen was developed by Al Lavish for the J. Patterson Park & Museum 20 years ago. Dan has made a few of his own improvements. Its lightweight, durable materials make this table screen easy to transport (I can lift it above my head and easily carry it several hundred feet in an open field), easy to use, and resistant to weather. It comfortably accommodates four adult screeners at a time. The result: efficient processing of large quantities of soil with a stable, sturdy instrument. No more stooping, no collapsing tripods, no more small screens impeded by hanging ropes. Too high? Dig a little divit below each of the four legs or make a level pile of backdirt to stand on.

Guess what? We are going to need these screens at Port Tobacco to cover as much territory as we hope to during the field session. They will be much coveted on future field sessions. I have one of my own and hope to have another soon.

Jim