New South Associates, Inc., conducted a systematic, intensive metal detector survey of multiple trail alignments at the Kettle Creek Battlefield in Wilkes County, Georgia. This survey satisfies the federal and state standards for a Phase I/II Archaeological Survey as outlined in the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists' updated Standards for Archaeological Survey and was conducted with pre-qualified National Park Service registered staff. Principal Investigator and Senior Archaeologist Shawn Patch, of New South Associates, Inc., supervised the survey and prepared the Phase I/II Archaeological Survey report. All work complies with State of Georgia and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Standards for field recordation, lab analysis, and reporting of archaeological projects.
The study was conducted on behalf of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners and the Kettle Creek Battlefield Association, Inc. (KCBA). The Archaeological Survey Phase I/II is intended to satisfy environmental commitments prior to construction of the "War Hill Trail - 1779 Battle of Kettle Creek." Wilkes County received a 2014 Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Recreational Trails Grant for trail construction to build a pedestrian-use walking, jogging, and interpretive trail. The primary goal was to locate and identify battle-related artifacts and features within the proposed trail corridors.
Archaeological investigations yielded a small number of battle-related artifacts. No features archaeological were identified. The frequency and types of artifacts resemble those collected during prior investigation of the site by the LAMAR Institute (Elliott 2008). The results and interpretations of the present survey also conform well with the findings of LAMAR Institute. In particular, there is strong evidence for fighting around War Hill.
New South recommends that no additional archaeological work be undertaken for the trail locations as currently proposed. The recovery of battle-related artifacts and corresponding data during the current archaeological and metal detector survey has mitigated any potential adverse effects from trail construction. However, if new discoveries are made that may indicate significant archaeological resources are present, they should be considered during future planning.
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