Archaeological Mitigation of a Portion ofSite 9ME1040 for Fort Benning Military Reservation, Muscogee County, Georgia

Under a continuing services contract with the U.S. Army Infantry Center, Directorate of Public Works, Environmental Division, Fort Benning Military Reservation, Panamerican Consultants, Inc. (PCI) conducted a Phase III archaeological mitigation at 9ME 1040 within the reservation. Proposed construction in support of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) will destroy a portion of the site. Fort Benning Military Reservation proposes to construct a 19 D/K One Station Unit Training Area for the training of armor soldiers in association with the re-stationing of the Armor School from Fort Knox, Kentucky to Fort Benning, Alabama and Georgia. A portion of 9ME1040, a National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligible archaeological site, is expected to be adversely effected by the proposed construction of a road for the 19 D/K One Station Unit Training Area. This project was designed to address the site in a general manner and provide mitigative data recovery for the portion of the site to be impacted, described herein as the Area of Potential Effects (APE). All work was conducted in compliance with Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, with regulations implementing this legislation (36 CRF Part 800: Protection of Historic Properties), specific National Register Bulletin guidelines (e.g., Guidelines for Evaluating and Registering Cemeteries and Burial Places), the Secretary of Interior's Guidelines for Evaluation and Documentation, and with standards set by the Georgia Historic Preservation Division, Department of Natural Resources. Site 9ME1040 was previously recorded as a historic homestead site that also contained a minor prehistoric Indian lithic scatter component. Site 9ME 1040 is primarily a late nineteenth to early twentieth century historic home site, likely occupied by tenants, located on property once known as the JohnsonSnellings homestead or "Snellings Place." Family history places the original Johnson-Snellings homestead at Site 9ME657, which is located a short distance north of 9ME1040. However, Site 9ME1040 was part of their farm and may have been slave quarters prior to Emancipation. Previous investigations and background research resulting from the current investigation indicate that the site was occupied in the mid-nineteenth century, possibly by slaves owned by John Johnson and passed on to his heirs, including his daughter, Lenorah (Johnson) Snellings. There is evidence, in the from of census records, to indicate that former slaves named in Johnson's 1864 will stayed on with the Snellings and may have been the first tenants residing at 9ME 1040. The site contains two distinct razed structure debris piles and a scatter of artifacts. The Phase III data recovery investigation resulted in the recordation of a wealth of data on the people who owned the property and those who may have lived on Site 9ME1040. However, excavations were confined to the APE and did little to define the complete nature of the site or increase our knowledge of historic archaeology at Fort Benning. Thirty-seven m? were excavated, consisting of 2-x-2 m (n=7) and 1-x-2 m (n=5) excavation units placed within the APE adjacent to 2nd Armored Division Road. However, no clearly defined historic nineteenth or early twentieth century features were encountered in the excavation units, despite the fact that several were placed on "anomalies" indicated by a resistance survey of the APE. Historic artifacts were recovered, but generally from the upper 30 to 50 cm of the site area investigated. PCI suspects that the razed structure debris pile may contain intact structural elements, such as chimney foundations or other features, but it appears that nothing of the sort is present in the APE. In addition to the historic materials, a low-density prehistoric lithic debitage scatter was documented on site, particularly in the northern portion of the site. A large portion of the site remains unexcavated, but the results of the current investigations indicate that within the APE, Site 9ME1040 has been negatively impacted by modern pine silviculture practices (furrowed row planted pine). The resulting debris piles may hold the key to understanding the site, but they are located outside of the APE and were not investigated other than through surface observation. If the APE is to be expanded, additional excavation will be required. Construction activities should also take into account the possibility of unearthing human remains, although this is not expected for either the prehistoric or the historic component.