2019-07-13_Archaeology_Magazine

18 ARCHAEOLOGY • July/August 2019

R

emnants of the foundation of a former cotton mill that

later served as the main barracks for a Confederate

prison in Salisbury, North Carolina, were unearthed

during a recent excavation. The prison, which opened in late

1861 , was known as a relatively pleasant spot in its early years,

with recreational activities including baseball games that may

have matched prisoners against guards. By late 1864 , however,

its prisoner population had swelled to 10 , 000 —four times

the number the entire complex was designed to hold. Many

prisoners took up residence in the yard, where they dug sleeping

holes and, in some cases, escape tunnels. Thousands died of

disease or were gunned down by guards in response to uprisings.

The prison was abandoned near the end of the Civil War, and

Union troops destroyed its buildings, whose bricks were later

harvested, sold, and used to construct many of the structures

that now line Salisbury’s Main Street.

In an empty lot owned by the Historic Salisbury Foundation,

archaeologists led by Timothy Roberts, project director for Cul-

tural Resource Analysts, found bits of rubble, mortar, and brick

left behind by these harvesters. “We’re see-

ing almost the ghost of the building,” says

Roberts. Nevertheless, he was still able to

trace the outline of its foundation. The

team found a range of artifacts, mostly

dating to after the war,

including glass medicine

bottles from a local drug-

store known as Kluttz’s,

and glass liquor bottles.

One item that may have

belonged to a prisoner

is a piece of bone with a

copper pin in it. Roberts

believes it was part of

the case of the type

of folding knife

prisoners used to

dig their sleeping

holes and escape

tunnels.

—danieL

weiSS

FROM THE TRENCHES

COTTON MILL, PRISON, MAIN STREET

19th-century

lithograph showing

a baseball game,

Confederate prison,

Salisbury, North

Carolina

Glass liniment bottle Glass medicine bottle Glass whiskey bottle