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The Advertiser-Tribune (Tiffin, OH)
06-23-95
The discovery and recovery of more than 450 bullets, buttons and other artifacts confirm without doubt the exact location of the Battle of Fallen Timbers, according to a Heidelberg College professor who has studied the topic for a decade.
Dr. G. Michael Pratt, professor of anthropology, and a legion of some 150 volunteers, state and national historians, archaeologists armed with high-tech equipment, and crews from the Toledo Metroparks and the city of Maumee, are nearing the completion of a two-week field project -- the Fallen Timbers Archaeological Project -- that unearthed more than 450 artifacts on the actual battlefield.
"This project was designed to determine if the Battle of Fallen Timbers occurred here. The answer is yes," said an obviously delighted Pratt. "We found many more artifacts than I expected."
Remote sensing specialists from Historic Archaeological Research are using a Global Positioning System (GPS) with satellites, metal detectors and computers to track and map the battle site.
Amid a throng of local and area media, Pratt on Thursday unveiled some of the findings, which included a socket bayonet.
The other artifacts are primarily bullets, musket balls and uniform buttons. He also outlined the likely boundaries and identified the lines of fire in the 1794 battle between a group of American Indians and federal troops led by Gen. Anthony Wayne. The battle is believed to have opened the territory that is now Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Workers spent 12-hour days sweeping the field with metal detectors, excavating the artifacts, most of which were located about 6-9 inches under the surface.
Most of the buttons were found in a 10- to 15-yard strip, leading Pratt to surmise that Wayne's army -- wearing uniforms with 40 or more buttons each -- fled from a dense woods onto a flat plane, encountering thicket and thorn bushes near the skirmish line and causing their loose buttons to fall free.
"The line of buttons may mark the leading edge where Fallen Timbers is," Pratt said.
While the artifacts represent a historically and archaeologically significant find, Pratt believes many more remain in that area and in neighboring parcels based on a quick calculation of the number of soldiers and the number of rounds of ammunition fired during the battle.
For Pratt, the results of the project represent the conclusion of a decade of work and confirmation of his theories surrounding the Battle of Fallen Timbers. For the last 10 years, he has studied eyewitness accounts and a variety of perspectives, trying to determine the actual battle site. Two years ago, the National Park Service became involved, and preliminary work began this spring, he said.
About 100 of the artifacts are being brought back to Heidelberg's archaeology lab for cleaning and identification.
Pratt said the battle ground has been relatively unsurveyed because most people assume the location is at the Fallen Timbers Monument, about one-half mile away.
Now, soybeans sprout where the battle was fought; some of the area remains densely wooded. A concentration of orange and yellow flags mark the location where artifacts were found in the field, which is located on a parcel of land -- the actual project area encompasses about 180 acres -- between I-475 and Jerome Road, adjacent to US 24.
Pratt's project represents part of an ongoing, long-range project in which local groups are trying to have the area designated as a historical site, said Ted Ligibel, president of the Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor Inc.
The implications of Pratt's work could be wide-ranging for these groups, who are involved in another battle -- this one political.
The city of Toledo owns the land and Maumee is responsible for its zoning. Recent talk of development of the area has complicated the issue. But all parties agreed the first step was to determine what parcels of the land should be labeled historically significant.
Pratt wasn't alone in his delight about the unexpected success of the project. Maumee Mayor Steve Pauken, on hand Thursday along with numerous other local politicians, shared his enthusiasm for the potential for the site.
"Six months ago, Mike (Pratt) told us, 'I'm going to be delighted, and you all are going to be disappointed,' " Pauken said. "Well, none of us is disappointed.
"I don't think even the most pessimistic member of Congress could look at what we've uncovered here and say this isn't worth something."
Pauken and others have lobbied Congress for funding for further studies of the area and possibly to have the area designated a national park.
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