Sixty Years of Encampment Archaeology at Valley Forge

Summary

From Lexington and Concord to Yorktown, fighting for the newfound independence of the American colonies occupied soldiers for only a fraction of the eight years spent engaged in conflict. The archaeology of the American Revolution goes well beyond the battlefield locations that dot the American landscape. With soldiers spending up to six months of the year in encampments, places like Valley Forge offer researchers the opportunity to understand the time spent outside the fighting season. This discussion will examine how the use of archaeological research has furthered our understanding of the execution of the encampment itself, as well as the lives of the officers and troops we now venerate today. This paper will explore the 1777-78 Revolutionary War winter encampment at Valley Forge as it has been illuminated by nearly sixty years of archaeological research. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015   •
• Boundaries and Defenses: Current Archaeological Perspectives on Areas of Conflict

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 470