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By Mark Reiter
The Blade (Toledo, OH)
06-11-95
One day into a two-week search of the Fallen Timbers battlefield, G. Michael Pratt couldn't have been happier.
"I had no idea we would recover this many artifacts in this short a time," Dr. Pratt said yesterday as the first day of the hunt drew to a close.
Dr. Pratt, a professor of anthropology at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, is leading the archaeological study to trace the fighting in 1794 between the federal troops of Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne and a coalition of American Indian tribes involved in the pivotal Battle of Fallen Timbers.
Using sensitive metal detectors, computers, and a satellite tracking system, volunteers scoured a soy bean field, looking for anything that could be linked to the battle. The field, near Jerome and Russell roads in Maumee is part of 180 acres of farmland and woods believed to be the site of the bloody battle.
By late afternoon, the army of searchers had unearthed a cache of military remains. Among their findings were about 30 musket balls, four uniform buttons, a couple of arrowheads, and a gun flint.
"We got the Battle of Fallen Timbers right here. There is no doubt about that. This field has a lot more battle artifacts than I anticipated," Dr. Pratt said.
The area under scrutiny is owned by the city of Toledo and being considered by land developers for a proposed regional mall.
The cities of Maumee and Toledo are splitting the costs of the $19,000 investigation, which will end June 25.
Judging from the number of unearthed musket balls, Dr. Pratt speculated the field, just west of the U.S. 24/I-475 interchange and north of U.S. 24, was the scene of the battle's most fierce fighting.
"I would guess that we are in the hot part," he said. "The bullet pattern is a lot more dense than what we thought it would be."
Dr. Pratt said the sizes of musket balls were consistent with the ammunition used at the time of the battle. Despite being farmed for years, he said the artifacts taken from the field were in relatively good condition.
For several years, Dr. Pratt has maintained that the actual battle was considerably inland and up to a half-mile east from the location of the Fallen Timbers Memorial on the bluff overlooking the Maumee River floodplain.
Approximately 30 people were out in the field when the survey started in the morning.
Ernie Humberger, of Jerusalem Township, was one of the volunteers using metal detectors to scan the dusty field. Because the land had been farmed for years and was close to an urban area, he was surprised at the number of artifacts.
"It turned out a lot better than what I thought," said Mr. Humberger, a diesel truck mechanic who always has been interested in archaeology and battle artifacts.
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