Memorialization, Reconstruction, Erosion, and Sham Battles: Multiple Ways of Remembering the Battle of Fort Mercer, New Jersey

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Revisiting Revolutionary America" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The battle of Fort Mercer, or Red Bank, was fought in October 1777. An important American victory in the Philadelphia Campaign, the site was one of early and continuous monumentation and commemoration. Tourists and visitors came frequently from Philadelphia throughout the nineteenth century. Remnants of the fort’s earthen walls are extant and were “reconstructed” in the 1930s. Sham battles and reenactments have been “fought” at the site for decades, leaving an interesting artifact residue not associated with the original battle but instead linked to the “remembered” battle. Recent investigations funded by the American Battlefield Protection Program and supported by the Gloucester County government present new insights into the battle, its aftermath, the fort itself, and the various efforts at commemoration of the event.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Revisiting Revolutionary America   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology