America Loses a Star and a Stripe: The Revolutionary War Battle of Brier Creek (9SN254), Screven County, Georgia

The Brier Creek Battlefield is a rare resource in the State of Georgia. It offers a unique opportunity to study a major military engagement from the War for American Independence in a setting that appears only partially impacted by tree farming and recreational activities. The site has the potential to provide insight into the first true land battle of the British Southern Campaign during a critical organizational period for the Southern American Army. The battlefield is located in northeastern Screven County near the confluence of Brier Creek with the Savannah River on land owned by the State of Georgia and managed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as part of the Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area (WMA). The location is 16.75km northeast of the City of Sylvania adjacent to Brannens Bridge Road. For the current study, the City of Sylvania received an enhancement grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to locate the battlefield. Specifically, the City required that the current study define the limits of the Brier Creek Battlefield and attempt to locate the associated grave sites of at least 150 Revolutionary War soldiers. If possible, the City also desired to define the remnants of the Augusta-Savannah River Road and the Old Miller Bridge area near the location of Cannon Lake.

In order to meet the City’s requests, Cypress Cultural Consultants utilized extensive background research into primary and secondary sources, metal detection survey, and an examination of a portion of the battlefield by cadaver dogs. Before these could be accomplished, an extensive clearing campaign of underbrush was coordinated with the Tuckahoe Wildlife staff who aided the project by burning some of the heavy shrub that would have severely inhibited the study. In addition to the burning, two tractors were rented by Cypress Cultural Consultants and armed with bush hogs were employed to clear areas identified during random metal detecting reconnaissance and historic research as critical search areas. Under a permit from the Georgia DNR, approximately 200 ha of Tuckahoe WMA were reconnoitered for evidence of the battlefield. In addition to random reconnaissance, focused reconnaissance was performed across a wide range of the project area using transects that were adapted to the underbrush and the inconsistent tree rows within the WMA. A total of 8.1ha were also searched with systematic metal detecting in closely spaced transects within portions of eight blocks scattered (block surveys) across the battlefield. Thirty-six shovel tests were excavated at a house site that appears on a historic military map and would have been utilized before, during, and after the battle. Although the duration of the fieldwork was unexpectedly truncated by the Georgia DNR, approximately 733 artifacts were collected, including a large sample of musketballs that have aided in a detailed analysis of the battle. These artifacts were collected in several areas of the site including portions of an American military campsite, ammunition manufacturing area, main battlefield portion and some additional identified historic resources. Four above ground features were also identified in the survey with two possibly related to the battle. In addition, five locations were identified as dog alerts and possibly correspond to the burial locations of the soldiers who were believed placed in mass graves on the battlefield.