Conclusion

The concluding chapter looks at future directions of research and takes time to dwell on lessons learned from the project, which was the basis for compiling the book. It looks especially at archaeological methods, including using multiple independent lines of inference to support conclusions, geographical scale, historic contingency, spatial analysis, imagined communities, liminal stages, and phenomenology.

Building the Log Hut City

This chapter uses experimental archaeology to attempt to learn how soldiers constructed the huts they would live in during the winter at Morristown, New Jersey. For the historic reconstruction, the same tools and techniques were, as much as possible, employed to replicate the technology available in 1777. The research touches on numerous topics that have not seen much attention, such as the integration of the camps with the local economy, the acquisition of provisions for the camps, the historic technology the soldiers used, and the many roles and skills that were necessary for hut building.

The Material World of the Revolutionary War Soldier at Valley Forge Revisited

This chapter by Jesse West-Rosenthal examines the Revolutionary War soldiers’ material culture at Valley Forge. Much has been written of the suffering that these soldiers endured during that harsh winter, but this chapter provides insight into routines that both kept soldiers busy and helped them perform important and necessary tasks for the military effort. Archaeological explorations at the Washington Memorial Chapel, including a camp kitchen, provided evidence that soldiers kept busy by casting musket balls, by maintaining weaponry and clothing, and, interestingly, by re-purposing musket balls into gaming pieces.

The Unfulfilled American Revolution

This chapter uses ethnohistoric research to address history’s failure to recognize the roles that peoples of African descent, Native peoples, and women had in the revolutionary cause. The chapter further describes how white men of privilege were not the only ones who voiced “the spirit of freedom,” as evidenced by Abigail Adams’s inspirational words. The research provides information about camp followers and presents specific biographic accounts of African Descendants and Native peoples who were stationed at the Middle Encampment in Redding, Connecticut.

The Rochambeau Project

This chapter documents archaeological and written sources that reconstruct the marching route that Rochambeau and his troops took through Connecticut as they made their way to assist Washington in defeating the British at Yorktown. These events sealed the American victory in the war. One can almost imagine what a site it was to see the French soldiers heading through Connecticut toward victory. The chapter uses several important pieces of evidence to reconstruct the trail, including diary entries; a number of maps, like Berthier’s famous depictions of the marching camps; and even itineraries prepared in France beforehand.

Forgotten Stones

During the winter of 1778–1779, part of Washington’s Continental army camped at three locations in Redding, Connecticut. This chapter focuses on the Middle Encampment occupied by Connecticut’s First Brigade under the command of General Samuel Parsons. Western Connecticut State University researchers spent four summers in field schools at the site, which had previously seen minimal professional research. The site was successfully nominated as a Connecticut Archaeological Preserve. The research identified numerous Revolutionary War structures, addressed important questions about the site’s spatial organization, and contributed new information about soldiers’ diets through FTIR analysis.

“The Ground Necessary”

In order to examine the spatial layout and organization of the encampment at Valley Forge, this chapter describes the results of a sampling from an archaeological transect through its Wayne’s Woods section. The transect started from a forward-moving area at the outskirts and continued along a defensive entrenchment, moving through soldiers’ huts, officers’ huts, and, finally, through the camp kitchens and sutlers’ area, which were the more centrally located sections of the camp. The research provided information about the status differences between soldiers and officers, including their diets, defensive entrenchments and earthworks, and routines and activities. It also demonstrated that organization of the Wayne’s Wood section followed the general outline of von Steuben’s orders.

A More Tolerable Quarter

Chapter 2 explores archaeological evidence of a special dining cabin constructed for General George Washington at Valley Forge. The former Isaac Potts house, which served as Washington and Martha Washington’s quarters, had become too small to accommodate the role he served as Commander-in-Chief. In his military role, Washington paid careful attention to entertaining, meeting with, and corresponding with those officers who served under him on a regular basis.

“Make sure you Aim, for one Shot well pointed is worth a Dozen thrown away”

Chapter 1 explores archaeological evidence of a target range at Valley Forge National Historic Park. Under the direction of General von Steuben, American soldiers began to take on the organization and discipline necessary to challenge the British Regular army. Musketry and marksmanship were important skills for the Revolutionary war soldier. Using metal detecting and ballistic evidence, Catts and Balicki demonstrate how they documented and analysed this kind of training in the context of winter encampments.

Introduction

This introduction provides background information into the history of research about encampments. It delineates why these kinds of sites are so important in terms of military scholarship. This research area provides perhaps the best means of accessing the daily lives of soldiers and officers who were stationed away from the combat fields. The winter encampments not only formed a place of respite from vigorous combat but also provided soldiers with time to train and strategize.