"Remember Paoli!" The Intersection Between Memory and Public Archaeology

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Military Sites" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In September of 1777, the British and Continental Army engaged in a series of battles, known as the Philadelphia Campaign.  Although not the largest battle of the Revolution or the Philadelphia Campaign, the Battle of Paoli rose to iconic stature among the soldiers and the citizens of Southeastern Pennsylvania.  Then as word spread throughout the Colonies about the incident, the Patriots highlighted the importance of the incident by using the battle cry, "Remember Paoli!" which resounded throughout the remainder of the American Revolution.  Moreover, the site of the battle became a sanctified landscape with the erection of a war memorial, the second-oldest in the United States.  In the summer of 2015, a public archaeology program explored the memory associated with the battle.  This paper examines the intersection between public archaeology and memory.  Specifically, it details how public archaeology itself is an act of remembrance and memory creation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2019   •
• Military Sites

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 327