A Story of Soldiers and Surgeons: Excavating the Remains of Four Individuals and Three Amputated Limbs Interred at the Williamsburg Powder Magazine

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Individuals Known and Unknown: Case Studies from Two Burial Contexts at Colonial Williamsburg" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

During recent archaeological excavations at the Colonial Williamsburg Powder Magazine, human remains were unexpectedly encountered and subsequently excavated to mitigate potential impacts from ongoing restoration work at the site. The excavation uncovered a mass grave containing three individuals, a single grave containing one individual, and a surgeon’s pit containing three amputated limbs. All were identified as casualties of the Battle of Williamsburg in May of 1862. Archaeological and osteological analyses of these remains have provided rare insight into the lives, deaths, and medical practices of soldiers and surgeons during the American Civil War. Physical evidence uncovered during this excavation also directly contradicts many written accounts of the conflict and its aftermath, challenging researchers to rethink, reimagine, and reinterpret this complex chapter of Williamsburg’s history. ***DISCLAIMER: Images of human remains will appear in this presentation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Individuals Known and Unknown: Case Studies from Two Burial Contexts at Colonial Williamsburg   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39513.0