Name/Title
Crooked Creek North: 46LG211, Archaeological SiteEntry/Object ID
CCN1.46LG211.06Description
Twenty-nine (29) artifacts from Crooked Creek North site CCN1. Nine (9) .45 ACP casings, two (2) spent bullets, one (1) shotgun shell, and five (5) other casings are represented. There are three small groupings from other dates represented, before and after the main survey, which include two US pennies from the battle era and one .45 ACP bullet.
This collection also contains Item #7,a chunk of unidentified wood - similar pieces are found in other sites, presumably because metal detection suggests a bullet is lodged inside. #64 is a similar piece, the embedded bullet is visible and appears to be a .45 ACP round.Context
Crooked Creek North 1 (CCN1) is a large site with multiple surveys, on a slope facing the Crooked Creek Area. A rock outcropping holds most of the artifacts. 57 casings in .45 ACP caliber suggest the presence of a Thompson Submachine Gun, in one of the first instances of a "Tommy Gun" used in battle.
"This site is located north-north-west of Crooked Creek Gap, in a saddle at the head of one of the tributaries of Craddock Fork. It is about 400 meters long and 40 meters wide. A new gas access road runs down the long axis of the site and has bisected it destroying perhaps 80% of the original site area. Several artifacts including two battle-period pennies were found on the other side of the gas road from the main concentrations.
The other 20% is intact and quite rich with artifacts. A total of 119 artifacts were recorded from the intact areas Interestingly, none of the long-range calibers are represented except for one .22 High Power casing. the .30-40, which has an accurate range of about 150 meters, is represented by 13 casings.
Other than these two calibers, the remaining casings represent short-range weapons, mostly with a range of 50 meters or less. A large number (54) of .45 casings were recorded. These may be pistol-fired, but may also be from a Thompson sub-machine gun. Neither has a range of more than 50 meters. Groupings of up to eight of these .45 casings were documented, perhaps from the same weapon. The .45 is not well represented at any other site except for 46LG209, where they are not nearly as large a constituent of the total documented artifacts.
Another unusual factor for this site is the relatively large number (27) of spent bullets, indicating incoming fire. In fact, the total of spent bullets for the entire 14-site sample is only 41. Combined with the preponderance of short to medium range weapons indicated by the casings, one might reach the interpretation that fighting from this site might have been relatively close in. If that were the case, it is possible the attackers (assuming they generated the incoming fire) were near to breaking through the ridge line, or had done so. Another nearby site, 46LG208, indicates fire in the direction of 46LG211 which may have been directed at those who broke through. In addition 46LG215 and especially 46LG209 could also have gotten into the action, given the apparent direction of fire toward 46LG211 and its approach from the east."
(Ayers team, 2006)Collection
Blair Mountain ArchaeologyMaterial
Brass, Lead, WoodRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Blair Mountain Archaeology GroupRelated Places
Place
Location
Crooked Creek: NorthRegion
Blair Mountain Battlefield, Southeast, Crooked Creek AreaContinent
North AmericaProvenance
Provenance Detail
Archaeological FindNotes
5/13 - 5/21/2006
