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By Jason Beck, Mirror Reporter
The Mirror (Maumee, OH)
06-17-95
The silence of a barren field along Jerome Road was pierced this week by the buzz of metal detectors, screaming across the landscape like the whirr of musket fire two centuries ago.
In the center of the field, a small crowd gathered around a man frantically digging into the ground. Scooping a hole 16 inches deep, his hands revealed the cause of a slight glimmer of metal. The peal of distant traffic was then drowned out by laughter as the researcher pulled out a soda can, rather than the Indian tomahawk he had hoped for.
The discovery of the can was one of few failures for archaeologists on Monday, compared with over 80 successes in their search for artifacts from the Battle of Fallen Timbers. Using the findings as clues, they hope to prove that part of the battle took place there, possibly more than at the site of the Fallen Timbers National Monument dedicated last year.
The victory of American forces in the 1794 battle led in the following year to the Treaty of Greenville, which later resulted in the addition of the Northwest Territories -- and eventually five new states -- to the Union.
The investigation is being administered by the Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor, which has lobbied city governments in Maumee and Toledo to help fund the effort for the past year and a half. The funding was finally approved this spring, with additional assistance coming from Toledo Metroparks and the National Park Service.
One of those who has waited is Dr. G. Michael Pratt, Heidelberg College professor and a primary authority on the battle. Dr. Pratt is directing the study on the 166-acre plot, located on higher ground north of the monument. He also directed a similar study 10 years ago on land near the supposed site of Fort Miami.
"We used eyewitness accounts from the American Army and the British in the area," he said, "and even a couple of accounts from people that were with the Indians. We used about 20 eyewitness accounts and put them together to try to get a picture of what was happening and where things were happening.
"All of the evidence pointed to the battle, or at least part of it, taking place in this field."
After the land was cleared earlier this spring by Maumee and Metropark crews, then surveyed by the City of Toledo, archaeologists broke ground on the study early Saturday morning. They found their first artifact -- a musket ball -- 20 minutes later.
Of the 180 artifacts found in the first three days, 80 were musket balls fired in battle, some of them incredibly well-preserved.
Another common ammunition found is lead shot, suggesting the use of 'buck and ball' load muskets used by American troops during that time. The muskets fired three leadshots for every ball, conserving more valuable ammunition. Other artifacts include buttons from U.S. Army coats, each bearing the insignia of an eagle with arrows and an olive branch, an insignia the Army still uses today.
Among the group are Larry Hamilton and Rich Green of Historic Archaeological Research, a firm which specializes in utilizing metal detectors for historic studies. Many of the volunteers on the site are using the detectors to scan for artifacts, since a large number were metallic.
Approval of the long-awaited study and the large number of volunteers was a pleasant surprise for Hamilton. "I've worked in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio," he said, "and it seems like people here are more conscientious about their historic background. They really are proud of their heritage, and we get a lot of cooperation out of them."
The historical work is the duty of Dr. Pratt as well as National Park Service archaeologists from Hopewell Culture Park in Chillicothe. By dividing the field into grids and marking where each artifact is found, they can determine where soldiers on either side were concentrated. Even satellite tracking is being used to map artifact locations for future reference.
Volunteer archaeologists, many of whom are taking vacation time for this project, help fill the gap between manpower and technology. They are not fair-weather researchers, as proven during last weekend's rains.
"People put ponchos on and covered their metal detectors with plastic bags and kept right on working," Pratt said. "We've worked out here rain or shine because we have a limited time to get this done, and this may be the only chance we ever get to get in here."
The rush results from the City of Toledo's intent to sell nearby land to developers George and Zac Issac. However, both Dr. Pratt and Maumee Mayor Steve Pauken, who helped push the $19,000 study, stress that the possibly historic land is not the future site of a multi-million dollar mall. It is not part of the 480 acres that the Issacs agreed to buy last week, all west of Jerome Road.
Though the Issacs could exercise an option to buy the historic land as well, they presently have no plans for it, pending the results of the study.
Once the study concludes June 25, the "academic work begins for Dr. Pratt, who will make a report to the Maumee Valley Historical Corridor, which in turn will report to both city governments.
The memorial site is already recognized as a National Historic Site, so any findings that expand the battle site could be seen as equally important, according to Pratt.
Yet all involved are cautious to avoid speculation on how the results would affect any development. "Realistically, it's not likely that the National Park Service will be buying any land anywhere," Pauken said. "But the results will aid immensely in helping us to find other ways to develop the property."
So far the results, which have already exceeded many archaeologists' expectations, certainly are helping. The only problem is one of security: several trespassers have been wandering onto the land trying to find artifacts to keep, though Metroparks and Maumee officers have kept a close watch. Not only does this trespassing take artifacts away from archaeologists, it also affects distribution maps that could reveal new information about the battle.
"It's possible that one regiment may been issued a particular caliber ball," National Park Service archaeologist Brett Ruby said. "By marking the distribution of the caliber ball, we might be able to figure out where that regiment was. This kind of information was never recorded."
It is for this rewriting of history that volunteers gather in this barren field, with the traffic of I-475 in the backdrop. As Hamilton said, "we're defining the battlefield right now as we speak."
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