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Defining a Civil War battlefield: recent archaeological investigations at the Pickett's Mill State Historic Site, Paulding County, Georgia.

Article Excerpt
ABSTRACT

Recent investigations at the Pickett's Mill State Historic Site have yielded new insights into the Civil War battle that occurred in May 1864. Military and historical sources have documented that the major battle took place in a ravine, but that skirmishes also occurred in adjacent areas, including a large, open wheat field. Some reports have suggested that Confederate soldiers had forced Union troops out of the ravine into this field where they became exposed. In the summer of 2006 a variety of different archaeological techniques were employed to determine what role the wheat field played in the battle. This paper describes the archaeological techniques that were used and their effectiveness in identifying and recovering military items associated with the battle. Among them, metal detectors proved to be the most effective tool with hundreds of artifacts being recovered from the site.

Key Words: Civil War, battlefield, Pickett's Mill, archaeological survey, metal detecting.

INTRODUCTION

In 2006, archaeologists and student assistants from Kennesaw State University (KSU) conducted a Phase I archaeological survey of portions of the 765 acre Pickett's Mill State Historic Site, located in Paulding County, Georgia (Figure 1). Pickett's Mill State Historic Site was established in 1990, and has been expanded by acquisition of adjacent properties to its present size. Pickett's Mill State Historic Site is owned and operated by the Department of Natural Resources. The State Historic Site contains the remains of two grist mills (Pickett's and Leverett's), Confederate and Union earthworks, several historic house sites, Civil War era roads, a Union field hospital, military grave sites, and one prehistoric lithic scatter (occupation date unknown) (Figure 2).

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To date, very limited archaeological investigations have been conducted at Pickett's Mill (1-3). Given the nearly complete lack of information about the cultural resources inside the park, the site manager, Charles Wincester, has determined that some or all of them need to be investigated to better interpret and manage the resources as well as enhance visitor experience. He requires information about the mill sites, the historic house sites, and the cultural features associated with the battlefield (e.g., Confederate and Union earthworks and artillery emplacements) within the park boundary. In 2005, the senior author was invited by the State Archaeologist, Dr. David Crass, to conduct archaeological investigations at the park.

The Battle of Pickett's Mill

Paulding County was the site of several battles during the Civil War. Union General William Sherman and Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's troops fought each other three times in Paulding County in the spring of 1864 (New Hope Church, Dallas, and Pickett's Mill). In May 1864, Union General William T. Sherman moved one hundred thousand soldiers through Paulding County during his Atlanta Campaign. In opposition to him were Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston and his sixty thousand soldiers. For nearly two weeks, these two armies opposed one another along ten miles of parallel lines in Paulding County. During this time, three bloody battles were fought: New Hope Church, May 25th; Pickett's Mill, May 27th; and Dallas, May 28th. Although the battle of Pickett's...

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