‘Big dig’ held at school site

By Uriah A. Kiser

Published: April 17, 2008

STAFFORD — Before Stafford County can build the school system’s sixth high school it must clear out some leftover artifacts from a bygone era.

The 172 arces of land allocated to build the school sits on Leeland Road, and on what used to be a Civil War base camp to house infantrymen. In order to the get the proper permits for the construction of the school, the site has to be excavated by mandate of the state’s historic commission, according to Jeff Lamberson, director of construction for Stafford County Public Schools.

“We’re losing opportunities like this every day to look at a large undeveloped site dating back to the Civil War. It’s pretty neat the stuff we have found out here,” said Lamberson.

The schools system brought in Cultural Resources, Inc., a Richmond-based firm that specializes in archeological digs throughout the Commonwealth. The items found, which include buttons, bottles, animal bones and bullets, have been categorized and registered with the Historical Resources Department in Richmond. The artifacts will then go on display inside county schools.

“You can see a major difference between items uncovered from the outskirts of camp where the soldiers lived; there you find mostly animal bones and buttons from uniforms,” said Lamberson. “Once you get closer into the center of camp the knives and forks tell the story of how the officers lived, in their winter huts.”
This past weekend wrapped up two full weeks of the dig, which saw 25 people canvassing the area at its busiest time.

Archeology students from Stafford High School, and students from The University of Mary Washington participated in the excavation, according to Lamberson.
According to a research report from CRI, the Northern Army of the Potomac occupied this particular camp, and sites throughout Stafford County.

The soldiers took up residence in 1862 near present-day Falmouth, and bunkered in for the winter in tents that included chimneystacks and wooden floors.
The soldiers remained there until the spring of 1863, when they were deployed to fight the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, Pa., according to the report.

There is one more excavation scheduled at the site before the operation is complete later this month.

The planned high school had a tentative opening date of 2010, but it has been pushed back repeatedly, according to Lamberson.