Time Travel

I’ve been sitting at this desk, off and on, for the past week, pulling all nighters and writing what seems to be an endless procession of archaeological reports. But half the time I’m not really here. I’m actually on a hillside in New Jersey, in the winter of 1778-1779. It’s the middle of the American Revolution, and General Henry Knox and his artillery have stripped the hillside above the little village of Pluckemin and created a small city. They’ve cut down the trees to build barracks, an academy, warehouses, a laboratory for munitions, and workshops for gunsmiths, blacksmiths, carpenters, tinsmiths, and other craftsmen.

What blows my mind is that they built all of this in only two months! How did they do it? What were they thinking? What was life like for these people, men, women, and children?

A South West Perspective View of the Artillery Barracks, Pluckemin N. Jersey 1779 – by Capt. John Lillie
(Courtesy of Morristown National Historical Park)

In my schizoid, time traveling world, I’m also flitting back to the 1980s, when I led a team of archaeologists and historians in uncovering the archaeological remains of Knox’s military city. We mapped stone mounds that held the remnants of fireplaces and chimneys, as well as lines of stone where walls once stood. We plotted artifacts, such as nails, refuse, and gun parts that showed us what went on inside the buildings. Initially, we were simply trying to save this forested slope and its historical remains from residential development. But the project quickly grew into a major mystery story.

• Why was so little known about this winter, which was overshadowed by the previous winter at Valley Forge? Crack open any history of the war, and you’ll find no more than a passing mention of the winter of 1778-1779.

• Why did the soldiers seem so well-supplied and well-fed? The perpetual image is of shivering starving soldiers, huddled in make-shift cabins. But in the Pluckemin barracks we found plenty of bone, shell, and the latest ceramics from England, so they weren’t eating their shoes.

• How is that officers were drinking tea from Chinese export porcelain and inviting the local ladies to visit, a dozen or more at a time? Hundreds of pieces of porcelain were found in a dump behind their barracks, along with broken wine bottles. It sure looks like they were having a good time! They also held a ball, with dancing and fireworks…a real disconnect with our images of bloody footprints in the snow.

• How is it that these men built timber-framed barracks, one of them more than 450 feet long, rather than the crude log cabins that we usually hear about? A guy named John Lillie, a captain there, drew a picture of the barracks; it matched perfectly with what we saw in the field, and we found nails, pane glass and plenty of other evidence of sophisticated construction.

Pluckemin refuse dump with oyster shell, bone, and porcelain

Chinese porcelain – tea cup fragment

Nails – framing, flooring, finishing

Valley Forge

Something wasn’t right…this wasn’t what we expected.

During a decade of excavations at the site, the picture that emerged was of an army that got its act together, an army doing a great job of emulating its British cousin, the most potent military force in the world. At Pluckemin, Knox and Washington built an academy (the nation’s first – sorry, West Point!) and trained officers. The workshops repaired arms, and the Continental Army was resupplied out of the Pluckemin warehouses. It’s a great story, a success story that we don’t often hear. But it certainly explains our eventual victory more convincingly than resorting to “divine providence” (and of course the French had a small hand in it, too!).

Uniform button

In 1989, I left the area and took a job at the University of Maryland (tenure track positions for archaeologists were hard to find then, too). Unfortunately, the amazing collection of artifacts we amassed over the 1980s sat in limbo. Nobody wanted them to leave New Jersey, but there was no-one there to pursue the work.

Fast forward to 2008. Knowing that the archaeological collection still has much to tell us, we formed a partnership to rejuvenate the project. Working on the analysis of this amazing collection are Washington College, Monmouth University, and a Trenton-based cultural resource management company, Hunter Research. Coordinating the effort is the Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House, in Bedminster, New Jersey. That’s the house that Knox lived in for the winter, with his family. The first phase of the work was funded by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission. We’ve been chipping away at the artifact collection, building a database, creating a modern GIS, and Washington College students have created a first-generation, three-dimensional model of the camp based on the archaeology.

I’m tasked with writing up what we’ve learned so far. And time traveling.

Stay tuned as we continue this project and post our reports on line. You can learn more, and fly over the reconstructed sites, via the following web sites:

J. Vanderveer House
A short history of the site
A teaser for the 3-D project
A fly-over of the camp as we've reconstructed it
A short demo on how the barracks were built in the computer
WC Archaeology Lab
WC GIS Lab

Dr. John L. Seidel is the Director of the Center for Environment & Society. When he’s not time traveling, he teaches at Washington College and works with Center staff, students, faculty and the community on the sustainability issues of the present.

Salazar Designates Chester River as Component of John Smith Trail

New Designation Gives Chester River National Historic Trail Status
Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, has formally designated the Chester River as a connecting component of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Secretary Salazar's designation was made in response to a 2011 request by Sultana Projects, Inc. and the Chesapeake Conservancy, and supported by research conducted by the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College. The Chester River was one of four rivers (or river portions) in five states that the Secretary, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, and Director of the National Park Service Jonathan B. Jarvis, announced as new connecting components of the John Smith Trail in an event in Annapolis on May 16.
"These river trails, totaling 841 miles in length, are closely associated with Captain John Smith's exploration of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries from 1607 to 1609 and especially with the American Indian towns and cultures of the 17th century Chesapeake that he encountered," said Secretary Salazar. "In addition to recognizing historical points of interest, incorporation of these river segments into the National Historic Trail will provide important recreation and tourism opportunities and increased public access. The new connectors will enrich exploration of the water routes in the entire Chesapeake watershed."
"Today, thanks to the leadership of President Obama and Secretary Salazar, we are blazing a new trail for America's Great Outdoors," said Governor O'Malley. "By linking our extraordinary landscapes and waterways to our country's history, the Captain John Smith National Historic trail will support jobs and local economies across the region while providing unique opportunities for visitors to explore our cultural heritage while enjoying our natural resources."
Because John Smith did not extensively explore the Chester River in 1608, the river had not previously been included as part of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and thus was ineligible to receive the benefits and protection afforded National Historic Trails. With the announcement of Secretary Salazar's designation, the National Park Service is now authorized to work with state and local agencies and partner organizations like Sultana Projects, to provide technical and financial assistance to protect and enhance access to the River.
"The Chester's new designation is an important accomplishment that will bring more resources to bear in the ongoing effort to protect the river," said Sultana Projects' President Drew McMullen. "In the short run this could mean something as simple as creating a new public landing on the Chester, and in the long run something as important as helping establish a major new park or wildlife preserve." Sultana Projects has been designated by the National Park Service as the manager for the new Chester River Water Trail.
"The Chester River connecting trail extends the framework of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail to the headwaters of the Chester and will provide great opportunities to create more public access and to conserve the river's history, special places, and ecologically valuable lands," said Joel Dunn, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Conservancy, the National Park Service's principal partner for developing the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.
The legislation that established the original Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, which traces Smith's 1608-1609 voyages of exploration up the Bay, allowed the network to be expanded via connector trails on other important rivers. The National Park Service identified three major criteria that would have to be met before a river could be considered eligible as a connector: 1) association with John Smith’s voyages; 2) association with 17th-century Indians; and 3) association with the natural history of the 17th-century Chesapeake. Washington College's Center for Environment & Society was uniquely positioned to assess the Chester. Archaeologists, historians, and environmental scientists at the Center have conducted many years of research on the river, and in 2009 CES was contracted to prepare a feasibility study assessing the Chester's significance and eligibility. This report (PDF) formed the basis for the designation announced this week. "We are very pleased that we were able to help pave the way for this important designation," said John L. Seidel, Director of the Center. "This brings national recognition to what those of us who live here know so well: the natural beauty of the Chester River, as well as its critical importance to native peoples, who had a long history here, and to the early history of our country. The Trail also will help stimulate heritage and ecotourism, which are increasingly important to the financial health of our region. It is a wonderful achievement for the Chester."

Professor Bill Schindler in the Chronicle of Higher Education

Professor Bill Schindler in the Chronicle of Higher Education: The Cutting Edge of Prehistoric Technology

Professor Bill Schindler on NPR's Weekend Edition

Listen to Professor Bill Schindler, one of the professors of the Chesapeake Semester, speak on foraging for Thanksgiving with Bonny Wolf, NPR Weekend Edition Food Commentator.

Foraging for Your Thanksgiving Meal