"An impressive compendium of varying but related methods of understanding the war through historical archaeology. Readers willing to expend some effort will come away with a better understanding of the Civil War."--Civil War Book Review "Geier and Potter deliver a great book that includes archaeological fieldwork, site type diversity, and theoretical perspectives, which provide something for every reader. The authors' contributions vividly convey the battles and effects on the civilian population from participant soldier, prisoner, caregiver, commercial, and civilian perspectives. Connections between contemporary life and Civil War events are made easily here. These connections and extensive use of primary historical sources make the book an excellent undergraduate and graduate text."--Southeastern Archaeology From the introduction: "Archaeological Perspectives on the American Civil War is must reading for professionals, collectors, and all people interested in battlefield archaeology, the material culture of the Civil War era, and the preservation of associated sites. Because of the popularity of Civil War literature and archaeology, this well-illustrated and well-written publication will appeal to the general public, as well as to the professional community."--Edwin C. Bearss, historian emeritus, National Park Service "Speaks to the carnage of war, figuratively and literally, as each author [investigates] the physical evidence of the war and its ramifications to those living at the time and in our culture today. There is little question that the American Civil War changed the fabric of our culture in ways that are still being felt today, and this volume provides a real and tangible link, via the material culture left behind by its participants, to that time."--Douglas D. Scott, Midwest Archaeology Center, Lincoln, Nebraska From studies of Antietam Battlefield, site of the bloodiest day in American military history, to Andersonville, the infamous Confederate prison, these graphically illustrated essays broaden our understanding of the American Civil War. They demonstrate how historical archaeology, combined with the traditional techniques of the study of history, generates new insights into battlefield tactics, social and military history, and the effects of the war on civilians and communities. The paperback edition includes a new foreword by award-winning journalist Jim Lehrer. Contents Introduction, by Edwin C. Bearss "To Peel This Land," by Clarence R. Geier and Stephen R. Potter Part I. Tactics and the Conduct of Battle 1. "No Maneuvering and Very Little Tactics": Archaeology and the Battle of Brawner Farm, by Stephen R. Potter, Robert C. Sonderman, Marian C. Creveling, and Susannah L. Dean 2. The Submarine H. L. Hunley: Confederate Innovation and Southern Icon, by Steven D. Smith 3. Fortifying the Landscape: An Archaeological Study of Military Engineering and the Atlanta Campaign, by Robert J. Fryman 4. An Irishman Dies at Antietam: An Archaeology of the Individual, by Stephen R. Potter and Douglas W. Owsley 5. The Battle of Cool Spring, July 16-20, 1864, by Joseph Whitehorne and Clarence R. Geier Part II. The Home Front and Military Life 6. "For the Convenience and Comforts of the Soldiers and Employees at the Depot": Archaeology of the Owens' House/Post Office Complex, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, by W. Stephen McBride, Susan C. Andrews, and Sean P. Coughlin 7. Defending the Capital: The Civil War Garrison at Fort C. F. Smith, by Joseph Balicki 8. The Sheridan Field Hospital, Winchester, Virginia, 1864, by Joseph W. A. Whitehorne, Clarence R. Geier, and Warren R. Hofstra 9. Far from the Battlefield: Archaeology at Andersonville Prison, by Guy Prentice and Marie C. Prentice 10. Antietam: The Cultural Impact of Battle on an Agrarian Landscape, by Elise Manning-Sterling 11. "Four Years of Hell": Domestic Life in Harpers Ferry during the Civil War, by Paul A. Shackel 12. "The Colored Laborers Work as Well as When Slaves": African Americans in the Breadbasket of the Confederacy, 1850-1880, by Kenneth E. Koons 13. "Free within Ourselves": African American Landscapes at Manassas National Battlefield Park, by Laura J. Galke 14. Battling beyond First and Second Manassas: Perseverance on a Free African American Farm Site, by Erika K. Martin Seibert and Mia Parsons Part III. New Methods and Techniques 15. The Archaeology of Retreat: Systematic Metal Detector Survey and Information System Analysis at the Battlefield of Chickamauga, September 1863, by John E. Cornelison, Jr. 16. Surveying the Civil War: Methodological Approaches at Antietam Battlefield, by Bruce B. Sterling and Bernard W. Slaughter 17. Archaeological Interpretations of the Battle of Antietam through Analysis of Small Arms Projectiles, by Bruce B. Sterling 18. Double the Cannister and Give 'Em Hell: Artillery at Antietam, by Jeffrey Harbison Clarence R. Geier, professor of anthropology at James Madison University, is coeditor of Look to the Earth: Historical Archaeology and the American Civil War. He has directed and collaborated on historical archaeology projects at the battlefields of Third Winchester, Cool Spring, and Cedar Creek and has conducted research at the site of the Sheridan Field Hospital. His most recent work has focused on the interpretation of the Confederate military complex of Fort Edward Johnson/Camp Shenandoah in Augusta County, Virginia. Stephen R. Potter, regional archaeologist with the National Park Service for the National Capital Region, has overseen archaeological research at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Manassas National Battlefield Park, and Antietam National Battlefield. His work was featured on "Death at Antietam," a television program produced by the Learning Channel. He is the author of Commoners, Tribute, and Chiefs: The Development of Algonquian Culture in the Potomac Valley.

Presenting the best current archaeological scholarship on the American Civil War, From These Honored Dead shows how historical archaeology can uncover the facts beneath the many myths and conflicting memories of the war that have been passed down through generations. By incorporating the results of archaeological investigations, the essays in this volume shed new light on many aspects of the Civil War. Topics include soldier life in camp and on the battlefield, defense mechanisms such as earthworks construction, the role of animals during military operations, and a refreshing focus on the conflict in the Trans-Mississippi West. Supplying a range of methods and exciting conclusions, this book displays the power of archaeology in interpreting this devastating period in U.S. history.

The Cold War was one of the twentieth century's defining events, with long-lasting political, social, and material implications. It created a global landscape of culturally and politically significant artifacts and sites that are critical to understanding and preserving the history of that conflict. The stories of these artifacts and sites remain mostly untold, however, because so many of the facilities operated in secret. In this volume, Todd Hanson examines the Cold War's secret sites through three theoretical frameworks: conflict archaeology, the archaeology of the recent past, and the archaeology of science. He presents case studies of investigations conducted at some famous--and some not so famous--historic sites that were pivotal to the conflict, including Bikini Atoll, the Nevada Test Site, and the Cuban sites of the Soviet Missile Crisis. Hanson illustrates how, by examining nuclear weapons testing sites, missile silos, peace camps, fallout shelters, and more, archaeology can help strip away the Cold War's myths, secrets, and political rhetoric in order to better understand the conflict's formative role in the making of the contemporary American landscape. Addressing modern ramifications of the Cold War, Hanson also looks at the preservation of atomic heritage sites, the phenomenon of atomic tourism, and the struggles of America's atomic veterans. As the Cold War retreats into the annals of history, and its monuments fade away, so too do the opportunities to gain deeper insight into the successes--and the failures--of the era. Hanson suggests topics for future archaeological research and reflects on the implications of failing to study or preserve North America's Cold War heritage. A volume in the series the American Experience in Archaeological Perspective, edited by Michael S. Nassaney

The American Civil War soldier, confined much of the time to his camp, suffered from boredom and sickness. Encampment was not only tedious but detrimental to his health; far more soldiers died of diseases from sharing close quarters with their comrades than from wounds on the battlefield. Until now, archaeologists have concentrated their study on the battle sites and overlooked the importance of the camps. This edited collection is the first dedicated to the archaeology of Civil War encampments. The authors contend that intensive study to interpret and preserve these sites will help to ensure their protection as well as expand our understanding of the 19th-century soldier's life. Whether they mobilized tens of thousands of men for training or taught maneuvers to smaller groups, encampments are significant in several ways: as "cultural landscapes" characterized by architectural features, as socially and politically organized "mobile communities," and as infrastructures created to support soldiers' needs. The authors' techniques can be applied to camps not only of the Civil War but the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Indian campaign.

This is the first summary of archaeological contributions to our understanding of the War of 1812 by examining recent excavations and field surveys on fortifications, encampments, landscapes, shipwrecks, and battles in the different regions of the United States and Canada.

Although scholars have long recognized the mythic status of bears in Indigenous North American societies of the past, this is the first volume to synthesize the vast amount of archaeological and historical research on the topic. Bears charts the special relationship between the American black bear and humans in eastern Native American cultures across thousands of years. These essays draw on zooarchaeological, ethnohistorical, and ethnographic evidence from nearly 300 archaeological sites from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico. Contributors explore the ways bears have been treated as something akin to another kind of human—in the words of anthropologist Irving Hallowell, “other than human persons”—in Algonquian, Cherokee, Iroquois, Meskwaki, Creek, and many other Native cultures. Case studies focus on bear imagery in Native art and artifacts; the religious and economic significance of bears and bear products such as meat, fat, oil, and pelts; bears in Native worldviews, kinship systems, and cosmologies; and the use of bears as commodities in transatlantic trade. The case studies in Bears demonstrate that bears were not only a source of food, but were also religious, economic, and political icons within Indigenous cultures. This volume convincingly portrays the black bear as one of the most socially significant species in Native eastern North America. A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series

From the early colonial period to the close of World War II, life in North America was predominantly agrarian and rural. Archaeological exploration of farmsteads unveils a surprising quantity of data about rural life, consumption patterns, and migrations across the continent. Mark Groover offers both case studies and an overview of current trends in farmstead archaeology in this exciting new work. He also proposes a research design and makes numerous suggestions for evaluating (and re-evaluating) the significance of farmsteads as an archaeological resource. His chronological survey of farmstead sites throughout numerous regions of North America provides fascinating insights to students, cultural resource management professionals, or general readers interested in learning more about what material culture remains can teach us about the American past. Farmstead archaeology is a rapidly expanding component of historical archaeology. This book offers important lessons and information as more sites become victims of ever-accelerating development and urbanization.

Archaeologists, ethnohistorians, osteologists, and cultural anthropologists have only recently begun to address seriously the issue of Native American war and peace in the eastern United States. New methods for identifying prehistoric cooperation and conflict in the archaeological record are now helping to advance our knowledge of their existence and importance. Focusing on four major issues in prehistoric warfare studies--settlement patterns, skeletal trauma, weaponry, and iconography--David H. Dye presents a new interpretation of ancient war and peace east of the Mississippi. He considers evidence for raiding and more organized forms of warfare, accounts of native warfare witnessed by sixteenth-century Europeans, and the various causes of warfare, such as revenge, competition for resources, and ideology. War Paths, Peace Paths offers an innovative analysis of cooperation and conflict in the prehistoric eastern United States.