Archaeological Perspectives on the World of George Washington

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Documents
  • "He Himself Will Share in the Hardship, and Partake of Every Inconvenience": Finding George Washington at Valley Forge (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Joe Blondino.

    Recent excavations at General Washington’s Headquarters at Valley Forge have provided a somewhat rare glimpse of the Continental Army’s Commander in Chief. The house occupied by the General during his six month stay at the Valley Forge encampment served as both Washington’s residence and fulfilled the role of headquarters of the entire rebel army during that period. Excavations at the site yielded a great deal of information about everyday life at headquarters, as well providing insight into how...

  • "Old Fortunes, New Fortunes, Lost Fortunes" Utilizing a Forgotten Assemblage to Help Reconstruct Betty Washington and Fielding Lewis’s Dining Room (and So Much More) (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Mara Kaktins.

    Decades worth of artifacts excavated from Kenmore, the house of Betty Washington Lewis (George’s sister) and her husband Fielding Lewis, have recently been reanalyzed by George Washington Foundation archaeologists with the intent of shedding light upon what equipage would have graced the Lewis’s dining room table.  Re-examination of this collection proved both informative and surprising, yielding clues as to what life was like for this family during and immediately following the Revolution, as...

  • Re-envisioning Mount Vernon: a digital reconstruction of George Washington’s Estate. (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Luke Pecoraro.

    The role of the estate as providing support to the hinterland community during the Washington family’s ownership (c. 1675-1858) and prominence beginning with the MVLA’s acquisition of the property have defined community development, both past and present. Though much of the 20th century suburban growth has erased some of the traces of Mount Vernon’s landscape, features remain, from old roadways to 20th century worker’s cottages. The transformation from single-owner plantation, to small farms,...

  • Two Meals for Two Tables: Comparing the Diets of Free and Enslaved Washingtons (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Philip Levy. David Muraca.

    This paper compares faunal assemblages from two 1740s cellars located in the heart of the home lot of Ferry Farm—the childhood home of George Washington. Excavation of these cellars yielded rich assemblages of faunal material containing a wide array of animals and offering detailed perspectives on diet. What makes these cellars of special interest though is that they came respectively from the homes of the free Washingtons and the enslaved Washingtons. This means that these two contemporary...