The Archaeology of French and Indian War Frontier Forts

324 Pages·2013·4.87 MB·English

by  Lawrence E. Babits

The Archaeology of French and Indian War Frontier Forts
University Press of Florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola
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The Archaeology of
French and Indian War Frontier Forts
Edited by Lawrence E. Babits
and Stephanie Gandulla
University Press of Florida
Gainesville · Tallahassee · Tampa · Boca Raton
Pensacola · Orlando · Miami · Jacksonville · Ft. Myers · Sarasota
Copyright 2014 by Lawrence E. Babits and Stephanie Gandulla
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America. This book is printed on Glatfelter Natures Book,
a paper certified under the standards of the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC). It is a
recycled stock that contains 30 percent post-consumer waste and is acid free.
This book may be available in an electronic edition.
19 18 17 16 15 14 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The archaeology of French and Indian War frontier forts / edited by Lawrence E. Babits
and Stephanie Gandulla.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8130-4906-9 (alk. paper)
1. United States—History—French and Indian War, 1754–1763. 2. Fortification—United
States—History. 3. Excavations (Archaeology)—United States. 4. Historic sites—United
States. I. Babits, Lawrence Edward. II. Gandulla, Stephanie.
E199.A73 2014
973.2’6—dc23
2013024206
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University
System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University,
Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University,
New College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of
North Florida, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://www.upf.com
This book is dedicated to J. C. Harrington, Jacob Grimm,
Gilbert Hagerty, and Charles Fisher
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Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xiii
Preface xv
French and Indian War Chronology, 1750–1765 xvii
Introduction 1
Lawrence E. Babits
1. Clash of Empires 9
R. Scott Stephenson
2. Forts on the Frontier: Adapting European Military Engineering to
North America 17
James L. Hart
3. Fort Prince George, South Carolina 52
Marshall W. Williams
4. Fort Loudoun, Tennessee : Defensive Features and Artifactual
Remains 69
Carl Kuttruff
5. Fort Dobbs, North Carolina: How Documents and Artifacts Led to
Rebuilding the Fort 84
Lawrence E. Babits
6. Fort Loudoun, Virginia: A French and Indian War Period Fortification
Constructed by George Washington 102
Robert L. Jolley
7. The Second Fort Vause: A Crucial French and Indian War Fort in the
Roanoke Valley of Virginia 122
Kim A. McBride
8. “To Preserve the Forts, and the Families Gathered into Them”:
Archaeology of Edwards’s Fort, Capon Bridge, West Virginia 139
W. Stephen McBride
9. Fort Loudoun: A Provincial Fort on the Mid-Eighteenth-Century
Pennsylvania Frontier 158
Stephen G. Warfel
10. Style Wars in the Wilderness: The Colonial Forts at Crown Point 174
Charles L. Fisher and Paul R. Huey
11. Fort Frontenac, Kingston, Ontario, Canada 191
Susan M. Bazely
12. Michilimackinac, a Civilian Fort 216
Lynn L. M. Evans
13. War and the Colonial Frontier: Fort de Chartres in the Illinois
Country 229
David J. Keene
Conclusion 241
Lawrence E. Babits
Glossary 255
References Cited 261
List of Contributors 287
Index 291
Figures
2.1. Representation of “antiquated fortifications” 23
2.2. Le Blond’s illustration of the weakness of medieval square and round
towers 24
2.3. Plate employed by Le Blond to illustrate “the first system of M. de
Vauban” 26
2.4. Table employed by Le Blond to provide the appropriate dimensions of
various parts of a fortification 27
2.5. Close-up of the front of fortification BC 29
2.6. Plan of an irregular fortification 30
2.7a and b. Two tables provided by Le Blond to allow the designer to
approximate the results of a regular fortification in the ground plan
of an irregular fortification 31
2.8. Two illustrations of defense in depth 39
2.9. Franquet’s plan of Fort St. Frédéric 42
2.10. Franquet’s plan of Fort Chambly 44
2.11. Franquet’s schematic plan of the fortifications at Montréal 46
3.1a and b. Location of Fort Prince George in Pickens County, South
Carolina 53
3.2. Configuration of the gun platform in the northwest bastion 60
3.3. Composite map of the excavations at Fort Prince George 62
3.4. Hand-drawn conception of Fort Prince George based on excavation
data 64
4.1. Plan of excavation, Fort Loudoun, Tennessee 71
4.2. Artifact distribution maps 75
4.3. FAP Kitchen Group percentages 77