"The Best Ever Occupied...": Archaeological Investigations of a Civil War Encampment on Folly Island, South Carolina

James B. Legg, University of South Carolina - Columbia
Steven D. Smith, University of South Carolina - Columbia

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In USC online Library catalog at: http://www.sc.edu/library/

Abstract

In May of 1987, the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology was informed that human remains were being unearthed by road construction in a private residential development on Folly Island, South Carolina. This information led to a two year investigation of the 1863 winter camp of the Federal Army, used during its siege of Charleston. During the investigations a black military cemetery was salvaged (site 38CH920), and three areas of the Federal camp were examined as part of a data recovery project, and a later research effort (sites 38CH964, 38CH965, 38CH966). All of the sites were recommended as eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. This report presents the results of all archaeological and historical investigations of the winter camp conducted from May 1987 to May 1989. The cemetery contained the remains of at least 19 black soldiers, most likely from the 55th Massachusetts, 1st North Carolina Colored Infantry, and the 2nd U.S. Colored Infantry. The material culture from the camp sites represented refuse of several possible Federal military units, deposited in latrines, wells, and trash pits. In addition to the archaeological analysis, a detailed historical overview is presented.