Date of Award

Summer 8-2025

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Historical Archaeology

First Advisor

David B. Landon

Second Advisor

Nedra K. Lee

Third Advisor

John M. Steinberg

Abstract

This thesis uses faunal remains from a midden at Sherwood Forest Plantation, Stafford County, Virginia to discuss the diet and provisioning of Union soldiers. Sherwood Forest was among Virginia’s wealthiest plantations in the Antebellum Period. During winter 1862-1863, the Army of the Potomac occupied the site, treating it as an ad hoc supply depot, pastureland and field hospital. After the war, the plantation owner and his heirs repeatedly sought repayment through the court system, generating documents detailing his confiscated and damaged property. The assemblage is compared to three zooarchaeological approaches about food supply: barreled meat, 19th century military supply, and plantation food supply. The assemblage does not fit any single pattern but elements of each one. These patterns, combined with the legal documents, reveal the faunal remains are primarily locally sourced, a typical way for the Union Army to save money and avoid the spoiled or unappetizing food often issued.

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