"The enemy are in full march for Washington": The Search for the 1812 British Encampment at Nottingham

Summary

On the night of August 21st, 1814, British troops under the command of General Robert Ross camped at Nottingham in Prince George’s County, Maryland, while on their march to burn Washington, D.C. Nearly 200 years later in 2010, The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission began a multi-year survey at Nottingham with the goals of finding evidence of the encampment and of the nearby colonial town, established in 1706. Using a map drawn by a British engineer travelling with the troops, we determined its probable location within an agricultural field. Based on the ephemeral nature of a temporary encampment and the likely presence of metal uniform parts, a metal detector survey was conducted at the proposed site of the encampment during the winter of 2010-2011. This paper will discuss the methodology and results of the survey.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• "Maryland, My Maryland": Current Archaeology in the State   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 764