Blood-Residue Analysis of Musket Balls from Sackets Harbor Battlefield of the War of 1812: Results and Implications

Summary

In the early morning of May 29, 1813, British and Canadian provincial troops launched an amphibious assault on the American shipbuilding facility and fortifications at Sackets Harbor on Lake Ontario in northern New York. An ABPP grant sponsored a wide-scale metal-detecting survey of the battelfield and detailed artifact analysis of the resulting assemblage. Besides shedding new light on the battle’s controversial narrative, the study also subjected musket balls to blood-residue analysis to assist with site interpretation. This presentation reviews the results of that analysis and explores how it might change the discussion of relic collecting, site preservation and commemoration of historic battlefields. It will also explore other emerging technologies and their implications for the study of fields of conflict. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Digging With The National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program - New Battlefield Research To Start The Next 100 Years   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 167