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16 addressingthemyths Recent Civil War Studies at the Blountville, Tennessee, and Resaca, Georgia, Battlefields Christopher T. Espenshade There can be little doubt that the Civil War is wrapped in layers and layers of myth. The same can be said of the archaeological study of the conflict. In this chapter, two recent projects are used as examples to illustrate how archaeologists must deal with myth, local lore, and common knowledge. In the first case, the Battle of Blountville, Tennessee,ispresentedasanexampleofhowmisinformationbecomesentrenchedin the local oral history, that is, how interested parties can come to know “exactly what happened.”Tothenonlocalarchaeologist,achallengedevelopswhen oneattemptsto correct received wisdom and present a more accurate account of the battle. On another level, myths can be perpetuated by the archaeologists themselves. Before the research discussed here was conducted on the Resaca Battlefield in Georgia, the second example project of this chapter, common knowledge held that the site would prove to have been “hunted out,” because the well-documented battlefield was easilyaccessedbyrelichunterswhoremovedthesignificantmilitaryartifacts.Indeed, portions of the battlefield covered by our research backed up to Interstate 75, and oral history recounted instances of relic hunters being surreptitiously dropped off on the shoulder of the highway, metal-detecting all day long, and then being picked up at the end of the day. Naturally, our investigations were expected to recover very few artifacts from the battle. In actuality, the battlefield yielded a significant collection of military artifacts, and the resultant data allowed refinement of battle narratives. With hindsight, we can now see why the “hunted-out site” is very often a myth. The Battle of Blountville, Tennessee In 2010, New South Associates completed a cultural resource baseline inventory of the Blountville Battlefield in eastern Tennessee. The work was completed for Sullivan Christopher T. Espenshade 248 County, under a grant from the American Battlefield Preservation Program (ABPP). The project included archival research, architectural inventory of surviving wartime buildings, KOCOA military terrain analysis, limited metal detector survey, and collector interviews (Espenshade et al. 2010). The Battle of Blountville occurred over three days in September 1863. Briefly, the battle unfolded as follows: the Confederates established artillery locations east of the town of Blountville and put out dismounted skirmishers among the buildings of the town core. Union cavalry and artillery approached from the west-southwest, coming under small arms and artillery fire west of town. The Federals took shelter behind small knolls west of town and deployed their artillery, thereby driving back the Confederate skirmishers. The Union also installed sharpshooters, who eventually succeeded in reaching perches in the downtown buildings. After the artillery and small arms battle continued for several hours, three Union cavalry columns attacked. The Union cavalry struck suddenly, probably overrunning at least one of the Confederate artillery locations. The Confederate line swung clockwise in response and began a covered retreat to the southeast. The Union troops only minimally harassed the Confederates once the last of the southern troops departed the town. Union soldiers occupied Blountville for two days before pursuing the Confederates, who had by then established a strong position with artillery and camps on Hamilton Hill (east of Beaver Creek) and were able to repel the Union advance. The battle was a part of the larger struggle, late in the war, for control of upper East Tennessee, an area of the state that contained transportation and communication lines, as well as other resources vital to the Confederate war effort. Confederate forces had successfully controlled the area for much of the war despite the pro-Union sentiment shared by most of its residents. The threat of Union attack increased dramatically after Gen. Ambrose Burnside occupied Knoxville early in September 1863. Burnside rapidly dispatched troops north to engage the Confederates and destroy railroad lines and bridges. Under Gen. James Shackelford, who had been detached from Burnside’s command, Col. John W. Foster marched his forces toward Zollicoffer , Tennessee (now called Bluff City), to engage the Confederates stationed there under the command of Col. James Carter. After skirmishing on September 21 near the Shipley’s Ferry crossing of the Watauga River, the Federals were reinforced and turned north to Blountville, where the Confederates had established a battery. Foster arrayed his artillery on Cemetery Hill on the west end of town, with Blountville itself caught directly in what would become a deadly crossfire. The Union’s overwhelming numbers and firepower led to a Confederate defeat and, after the heavy shelling, the destruction of many of Blountville’s homes and businesses. The events and flow of the battle are...

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