Archaeological Insights Into The Custer Battle

Download or read book Archaeological Insights Into the Custer Battle written by Douglas D. Scott and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 1987 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In August, 1983, a grassfire raged up Deep Ravine and across the dry, grass-covered battlefield where, in 1876, men of the Seventh U.S. Cavalry under George Armstrong Custer had fought and died at the hands of a Sioux and Cheyenne force led by Sitting Bull. The removal of the normally dense ground cover revealed enough evidence to suggest that an archaeological survey would be fruitful and perhaps could address some unanswered questions about the battle. Describing archaeological investigations during the first year (1984) of a two-year survey, this book offers a detailed analysis of the physical evidence remaining after the battle. Precise information regarding the locations of artifacts and painstaking analyses of the artifacts themselves have uncovered much new information about the guns used in the battle by the victorious Indian warriors. Not only have the types of guns been identified, but through the use of archaeological and criminal-investigative techniques the actual numbers of firearms can now be estimated. This analysis of the battlefield, which represents a significant advance in methodology, shows that the two forces left artifacts in what can be defined as "combatant patterns." What did happen after Custer’s trumpeter, John Martin-dispatched with an order for Captain Benteen to "be quick"-turned and saw the doomed battalion for the last time? Written to satisfy both professional and layman, this book is a vital complement to the historical record.

Download or read book Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn written by Richard A. Fox and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2000-09-01 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on the archaeological evidence presented in this book, we know more about the weapons used against the Custer and the Cavalry, where many of the men fought, how they died, what happened to their bodies, how the troopers were deployed, and what kind of clothing they wore.

Download or read book Archaeology, History, and Custer's Last Battle written by Richard A. Fox and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2015-02-16 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the afternoon of June 25, 1867, an overwhelming force of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians quickly mounted a savage onslaught against General George Armstrong Custer’s battalion, driving the doomed troopers of the U.S. Seventh Cavalry to a small hill overlooking the Little Bighorn River, where Custer and his men bravely erected their heroic last stand. So goes the myth of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, a myth perpetuated and reinforced for over 100 years. In truth, however, "Custer’s Last Stand" was neither the last of the fighting nor a stand. Using innovative and standard archaeological techniques, combined with historical documents and Indian eyewitness accounts, Richard Allan Fox, Jr. vividly replays this battle in astonishing detail. Through bullets, spent cartridges, and other material data, Fox identifies combat positions and tracks soldiers and Indians across the Battlefield. Guided by the history beneath our feet, and listening to the previously ignored Indian testimonies, Fox reveals scenes of panic and collapse and, ultimately, a story of the Custer battle quite different from the fatalistic versions of history. According to the author, the five companies of the Seventh Cavalry entered the fray in good order, following planned strategies and displaying tactical stability. It was the sudden disintegration of this cohesion that caused the troopers’ defeat. The end came quickly, unexpectedly, and largely amid terror and disarray. Archaeological evidences show that there was no determined fighting and little firearm resistance. The last soldiers to be killed had rushed from Custer Hill.

Download or read book Archaeological Perspectives on the American Civil War written by Clarence R. Geier and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "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.

Download or read book Uncovering History written by Douglas D. Scott and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2013-03-13 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Almost as soon as the last shot was fired in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the battlefield became an archaeological site. For many years afterward, as fascination with the famed 1876 fight intensified, visitors to the area scavenged the many relics left behind. It took decades, however, before researchers began to tease information from the battle’s debris—and the new field of battlefield archaeology began to emerge. In Uncovering History, renowned archaeologist Douglas D. Scott offers a comprehensive account of investigations at the Little Bighorn, from the earliest collecting efforts to early-twentieth-century findings. Artifacts found on a field of battle and removed without context or care are just relics, curiosities that arouse romantic imagination. When investigators recover these artifacts in a systematic manner, though, these items become a valuable source of clues for reconstructing battle events. Here Scott describes how detailed analysis of specific detritus at the Little Bighorn—such as cartridge cases, fragments of camping equipment and clothing, and skeletal remains—have allowed researchers to reconstruct and reinterpret the history of the conflict. In the process, he demonstrates how major advances in technology, such as metal detection and GPS, have expanded the capabilities of battlefield archaeologists to uncover new evidence and analyze it with greater accuracy. Through his broad survey of Little Bighorn archaeology across a span of 130 years, Scott expands our understanding of the battle, its protagonists, and the enduring legacy of the battlefield as a national memorial.

Download or read book Little Bighorn Remembered written by Herman J. Viola and published by Crown. This book was released on 1999 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the morning of June 25, 1876, soldiers of the elite U.S. Seventh Cavalry led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer attacked a large Indian encampment on the banks of the Little Bighorn River. By day's end, Custer and more than two hundred of his men lay dead. It was a shocking defeat--or magnificent victory, depending on your point of view--and more than a century later it is still the object of controversy, debate, and fascination. What really happened on that fateful day? Now, thanks to the work of Herman J. Viola, Curator Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution, we are much closer to answering that question. Dr. Viola, a leader in the preservation of Native American culture and history, has collected here dozens of dramatic, never-before-published accounts by Indians who participated in the battle--accounts that have been handed down to the present day, often secretly and accompanied by oaths of silence, from one generation to the next. These remarkable eyewitness recollections provide a direct link to that day's events; together they constitute an unprecedented oral history of the battle from the Native American point of view and the most comprehensive eyewitness description of Little Bighorn we have ever had. Here are the dramatic stories of the Cheyenne and Lakota warriors who rode into battle against Custer, the yellow-haired Son of the Morning Star, an adversary whose valor they admired--but who became a mortal enemy after breaking his peace-pipe oath, a scene described vividly in these pages. Here in their own words are the stories of the Crow scouts, allies of Custer, who advised against attacking Sitting Bull's village on the Little Bighorn. Hereare tales of valor told by the Arikara scouts who fought side by side with Custer's men against the Lakota and Cheyenne; although the Great Father in Washington rewarded their heroism with silence, it is celebrated to this day in tribal stories and songs that come to us from beyond the grave with hair-raising immediacy and power. Lavishly illustrated with more than two hundred maps, photographs, reproductions, and drawings, this remarkable book also includes: An account of the battle, including startling descriptions of Custer's conduct, collected from the Crow scouts by the famed photographer Edward S. Curtis in 1908. Curtis never published this report--President Theodore Roosevelt advised him not to--and it remained a secret until his ninety-year-old son recently gave the material to the Smithsonian. New archaeological evidence from the battlefield that casts fresh light on the Seventh Cavalry's movements, along with discoveries from the site of Sitting Bull's village--including the complete skeleton of a cavalry horse with its rider's well- preserved saddlebags and personal items. A series of illustrations made soon after the battle by Red Horse, a remarkable tableau that is reproduced here in its entirety for the first time. Three letters written by Lieutenant William Van Wyck Reily just days before he died at Little Bighorn that provide key and potentially controversial insights into the conduct of the cavalry under Custer's command. In short, this landmark book takes us much closer to knowing what really happened on that June day in 1876 when Custer died and a legend was born.

Download or read book They Died With Custer written by Douglas D. Scott and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2013-07-10 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dead men tell no tales, and the soldiers who rode and died with George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn have been silent statistics for more than a hundred years. By blending historical sources, archaeological evidence, and painstaking analysis of the skeletal remains, Douglas D. Scott, P. Willey, and Melissa A. Connor reconstruct biographies of many of the individual soldiers, identifying age, height, possible race, state of health, and the specific way each died. They also link reactions to the battle over the years to shifts in American views regarding the appropriate treatment of the dead.