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The Mirror (Maumee, OH)
08-02-96
Last summer, Dr. G. Michael Pratt and volunteers identified where the pivotal 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers occurred - in a soybean field along U.S. 24 near the Maumee river.
This spring, Pratt, Heidelberg College professor of anthropology, and a handful of volunteers proved where the battle did not happen - on or below the nearby river bluffs, where legend had suggested.
Working in wooded areas and carefully manicured lawns, Pratt's group surveyed eight privately owned properties along Fallen Timbers Lane, adjacent plots that encompass all of the land from the top to the bottom of the Maumee river bluff directly across from the identified battle site.
Using the same techniques, the same equipment and even some of the same volunteers as in the original archaeological survey, the group braved cold temperatures and rain April 13-14 to examine the bluff. Their efforts yielded about a half dozen musket balls, widely scattered throughout the 15 acres under study.
The artifacts were cataloged, cleaned, examined and interpreted at Heidelberg, leading to Pratt's conclusion recently that the conflict took place almost entirely above the bluff.
"The artifact density is just a fraction of that found north of Route 24," he said.
"This suggests that no major fighting took place there, possibly due to the difficulty of movement on that terrain."
Pratt's investigation of the properties was spurred by comments made last summer by Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner that Pratt's original investigation might not have been entirely correct, and that the landowners would not allow investigators to dig on their property.
A U.S. News & World Report article (Aug. 7, 1995) reported, "Finkbeiner is calling for 'a thorough, comprehensive, independent study of the whole area.' He has his own candidate for the true battle site: a bluff overlooking the Maumee river that is outside both cities. 'But there are lots of expensive homes there,' he says with a chuckle, 'and I bet those people don't want to see their gardens dug up.'"
"Clearly, (Finkbeiner) was wrong in his assessment of the battle and of the interest of the property owner in unraveling the story of the Battle of Fallen Timbers," Pratt said. "The landowners were enthusiastic in granting permission to find out if their property was historically significant."
Volunteer workers and metal-detector operators included Heidelberg College students and members of the Toledo Area Aboriginal Research Society. Employees of Historic Archaeological Research provided global positioning system assistance to accurately plot the artifact location. This data will be added to information generated from the earlier study to give a greater understanding of the entire battle, according to Pratt.
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