"Led Into The Fire Of The Whole Body Of The Enemy": Archaeological Survey Of The Stone Arabia Battlefield 19 October 1780

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "The World Turned Upside Down: Revisiting the Archaeology of the American Revolution" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

On 19 October 1780, a force of Native American, Loyalist, British and German soldiers met and overwhelmed an American formation composed of Massachusetts Levies and New York militiamen in an engagement known as the Battle of Stone Arabia. The Patriot defeat allowed the Crown Forces to lay waste to the Palatine German community, burning farms, barns, and outbuildings, destroying crops and livestock. Situated on high ground north of the Mohawk River, the area of the battlefield has generally been known. In the ensuing two centuries, recollection, tradition, and memory (and an inscribed commemorative boulder) have served to solidify the battlefield’s location. However, recent intensive metal detection has resulted in the discovery of additional battle spaces, forcing a reinterpretation of the engagement. The archaeological data is quite robust and includes ammunition, regimental buttons, and personal items. Combined with the historical record the artifacts provide the physical evidence of a brutal engagement.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The World Turned Upside Down: Revisiting the Archaeology of the American Revolution   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology