America Loses a Star and Stripe. The First Full-Scale Battle of the Southern Winter Campaign of 1778-1779, the Battle of Brier Creek, Georgia.

Summary

One of America's bloodiest Revolutionary War Battlefields remained lost and poorly understood until recently. The use of LiDAR mapping and terrain analysis, metal detection, and cadaver dogs, characteristics of a complicated battlefield environ revealed themselves. The Battle of Brier Creek, Screven County, Georgia was the first open land engagement of the British Southern Winter Campaign of 1778-1779. It was also the first Patriot offensive in the South against an overwhelming British force invading Georgia on four fronts that resulted in a return of Georgia to a British Colony. The Continental Army had to build a strategy in the South in a rapid response. Clear leadership and military organization were a mess; the struggle to obtain effective arms for a growing army remained a critical need. This study in Conflict Archaeological has revealed weapon distributions, ammunition manufacture, battleline deployments, a house fort, encampments, and defensive posturing of an American Army.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions) 2016   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 152