"Ecology, Commerce, Conflict and Transportation along the Anacostia River", Part IV, Conflict

This paper was co-authored by Mike Roller and Julie Schablitsky and presented at the 2010 Conference for the Society for Historical Archaeology. It is based upon their work in Bladensburg. Here is part IV:

After the river silted in and rendered the port unnavigable, Bladensburg’s economy suffered. However it continued to serve an auxiliary role as a way station for travelers. In the 19th century its location at the intersection of major roads to Annapolis, Baltimore, Georgetown, Upper Marlboro, Alexandria and Washington D.C. made it a major stopping point for travelers. The bridge over the Anacostia River also served to make it a strategic spot during the War of 1812 when the British confronted limited American resistance in their march to burn Washington in August of 1814. At our workshops and public events many people ask if we have found anything from the battle. For the town this singular event and its historical context is the most significant to Bladensburg’s heritage. As enthusiasm has been growing in anticipation of the bicentennial, tour groups from all over the country have visited Bladensburg and the rest of the DC area tracing the path of the British.

In fact, the battle itself took place to the west of town, but it is likely that many of the buildings in town, including the Magruder house, served as field hospitals for British troops. While excavating at the house, SHA archaeologists recovered a British 1774 King George halfpenny like the one pictured. For the public and the press, the coin was a palpable connection to the period of time just before the American Revolution and the subsequent tension that led up to the forgotten and fascinating event that made the town famous again, the Battle of Bladensburg. We cannot be certain where the coin came from, whether it was dropped by a wounded British soldier or was simply amongst the pocket change of Mr. Henderson, the occupant of the house at the time. A variety of foreign currency was used in the American colonies, as were valuable commodities such as tobacco and sugar. However, it serves to remind us, and the community, of the political ties that connected Bladensburg and the rest of the fledgling nation with England in its first century. These ties, broken by revolution in 1776, came back to Bladensburg in a conflict in which it would serve a pivotal role. Many residents of the town hope that event, with the upcoming bicentennial in 2012, will bring attention back to the town.

“Ecology, Commerce, Conflict and Transportation Along the Anacostia River”, Part I, Public Outreach

This paper, co-authored by Mike Roller and Julie Schablitsky, was presented at the annual Society for Historical Archaeology conference in January of this year. Here is Part I of the paper:

The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) and the Center for Heritage Resource Studies (CHRS) at the University of Maryland designed the Bladensburg Archaeology Project as a collaborative partnership to investigate the historic resources of the town of Bladensburg, Maryland in anticipation of the upcoming War of 1812 Bicentennial. Bladensburg, a seemingly ordinary suburban community located approximately two miles to the northeast of the Washington, D.C. border, has a rich history that stretches back to the Colonial period. Since that time, Bladensburg has rapidly changed as a result of broad regional and national changes in ecology, economy, political geography, and demography. Today, the historic landscape is invisible behind the dense fabric of transportation corridors, commercial development and industrial spaces. Through archaeology and community outreach, this modern veil has parted to reveal a complex history that spans from the prehistoric period to the mid 20th century.

The project incorporated a civic engagement component that directly involved the community in discovering its past. In engaging the public through addressing their questions about our work and our finds, sharing in their enthusiastic reactions and joining in their civic functions, we were better able to share the experience of our work, and its findings in a way that was meaningful and relevant to the community. Additionally, in demystifying the process of doing archaeology we helped the public understand how it works, why it is important, and how it can be useful to them in their community today.

Since the initiation of the project in the spring of 2009 archaeologists and historians investigated three archaeological sites, conducted documentary and deed research, and compiled architectural inventories in the town. The outreach component of the project began a few weeks before excavations commenced. An initial public history workshop presented the plans and goals of the project to the community. The workshop included a talk by local historians followed by a community discussion in which attendants were encouraged to provide feedback and communicate their interests in the project.

The Maryland State Highway Administration began excavations at the Magruder house, a ca. 1746 stone house built for William Hilleary, in May of 2009. Public site tours, a press conference, and news releases accompanied this work. Throughout the process, staff maintained a project blog with daily updates collected from each member of the field crew. Through the blog, researchers answered questions from the community and from a wider public audience. In June of 2009 CHRS joined the State Highway archaeologists to investigate the grounds of the Market Master's house. Like the Magruder house, open site tours, electronic documentation and public presentations accompanied the archaeology work. Upon completion of the excavation, a second workshop allowed members of the community to provide feedback, view artifacts, and discuss local history. In order to engage and initiate dialogue from the community, project staff also attended numerous community events, celebrations, and meetings where they presented artifacts and released preliminary interpretations from the work. Although insufficient time had passed to reveal results from the excavations, these opportunities to publicly demonstrate the process of archaeology was key to project goals.

Day Three - Hard Work in the Rain Pays Off!

Another great day in the field! We were dodging rain storms all day, but still got quite a bit done. Some of the mysteries from yesterday are becoming clearer, and some new mysteries appeared. Some finds today included 18th and 19th century ceramics, fragments from Native American-toolmaking, a Chinese coin, button pieces, a spoon. And a mystery coin.... Here is a narrative from one of our fieldstaff, Kristen:

"The Magruder House is a really exciting project because it is a piece of history nestled in the busy urban bustle of modern Bladensburg, Md. Today I’m working with Mike on TU 4, which is located on the east side of the house. Today we’ve uncovered two features- probably a modern walkway comprised of two parallel lines of smallish quartzite stones that appear to form a sort of walkway, with smoothed gravels as the footpath, and a large, dark stain in the southeast corner of the unit. Only nails, both wire and square, and some window glass is being found in the stain. We have found some really exciting historic artifacts outside of the stain, including a pipe bowl and stem, and a silver (copper?) coin about the size of a quarter. The coin features a woman sitting, with some letters around the outside, “ORGIVS.” The coin, and those found in other units today, are going to be taken to a conservator who will hopefully be able to clean them and preserve them to the point that we can identify them as diagnostic artifacts."

And some pictures from the day: Julie and Nichole digging test units, a spoon from Test Unit 3, the crew huddled under the shelter in a rain storm, Susan troweling out Unit 3.

This weekend we'll post some bios of our crew and some old and new images of the Magruder House.