Matthew Reeves
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813049441
- eISBN:
- 9780813050195
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813049441.003.0010
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Military camps represent staging areas for troops, the places where they rested from previous campaigns and lay in readiness for the next campaign to begin. This study offers a view into one of the ...
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Military camps represent staging areas for troops, the places where they rested from previous campaigns and lay in readiness for the next campaign to begin. This study offers a view into one of the largest intact set of Civil War camp complexes in Virginia. Over the past six years, the Montpelier Foundation Archaeology Department has conducted pedestrian and metal detector surveys of wooded areas on the 2,700 acres of the Montpelier property. During these surveys, archaeologists have identified and mapped close to 25 sites related to the Confederate Army's occupation of the property during the winter of 1863–1864. Identified sites include seven regimental camps; five company camps; cavalry camps that occupy former slave quarters; specialized activity areas related to the encampments; and non-military sites that likely featured prominently during the military occupation. This paper will discuss the methodology used in identifying these sites, the rationale for their remarkable preservation, and the analysis of site function and patterned military use of terrain.Less
Military camps represent staging areas for troops, the places where they rested from previous campaigns and lay in readiness for the next campaign to begin. This study offers a view into one of the largest intact set of Civil War camp complexes in Virginia. Over the past six years, the Montpelier Foundation Archaeology Department has conducted pedestrian and metal detector surveys of wooded areas on the 2,700 acres of the Montpelier property. During these surveys, archaeologists have identified and mapped close to 25 sites related to the Confederate Army's occupation of the property during the winter of 1863–1864. Identified sites include seven regimental camps; five company camps; cavalry camps that occupy former slave quarters; specialized activity areas related to the encampments; and non-military sites that likely featured prominently during the military occupation. This paper will discuss the methodology used in identifying these sites, the rationale for their remarkable preservation, and the analysis of site function and patterned military use of terrain.
