Savannah Under Fire, 1779: Identifying Savannah's Revolutionary War Battlefield.

Archeologists with Coastal Heritage Society received a National Park Service, American Battlefield Protection Program Grant in July 2007 for a one year study. The purpose of the project was to locate, identify, and determine the level of preservation of as many archeological sites as possible in the City of Savannah that are related to the October 9, 1779 Battle of Savannah. To achieve these goals archeologists conducted extensive primary document research at repositories in Georgia, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. This research examined text and map documents. The gathered map data was entered into a GIS computer program and then overlaid on a recent digital map of the city. Archeologists used the location of their recent (2005) discovery of the Spring Hill Redoubt as one of the points of alignment between the historic maps and the modern map. Archeologists then analyzed the GIS data to determine which battlefield components appear to fall into modern green spaces owned by the city, such as town squares. Archeologists selected as many of these locations to ground-truth as time and budget allowed. They used a combination of ground penetrating radar, shovel test survey, metal detector survey, and test unit excavation. Areas examined included Madison Square, Lafayette Square, Emmet Park, Colonial Park Cemetery, Cuyler Park, Dixon Park, and Myers Park. The project was extremely successful. Archeologists located a defensive ditch (almost two meters deep) dug by the British in 1779, defended during the battle, and in-filled by the Americans in 1782. The ditch lies in what is now Madison Square. Brick fragments/rubble in the ditch was part of the brick from the barracks razed by the British less than two weeks before the battle. The brick was used in the defenses around the Central redoubts and was pushed into the British trenches following the British evacuation of the city in 1782. In nearby Lafayette Square, archeologists discovered artifacts that were likely discarded by British soldiers occupying the defensive lines near and in the Central Redoubts, and by civilians associated with the soldiers. Enmmet Park revealed a deep (3.5 ft.) feature that may have been constructed as part of the river battery associated with nearby Fort Prevost. Not only did archeologists discover evidence of numerous unmarked graves in Colonial Park Cemetery, but also an anomaly that appears to be one of the ditches running toward a redoubt. Archeologists found no evidence of Revolutionary War activity in Cuyler, Dixon, and Myers parks. These locations were the most tenuous of the GIS data, since they were the farthest from the control points that were used to align the maps. This negative evidence will help reduce the search area for these sites during future investigations. The Savannah Under Fire project greatly expanded the battlefield resources, from one discovered in 2005 to four additional ones this year in areas that few people expected to contain Revolutionary War content. The project not only located and identified these resources, but revealed that they are in an excellent state of preservation. Additionally, the project served to share this exciting information with the public at large, including local residents, tourists, and city, county, and state officials. Numerous partners were involved in the project, with the most extensive in-kind and financial support provided by The LAMAR Institute of Savannah, Georgia. In addition to the promised in-kind match, The LAMAR Institute provided a $4,000 grant to extend fieldwork after the discovery of the extensive deposits in Madison Square.