Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

INTENT.

The Phase One proposal represents only a partial step towards the reinterpretation of the Magazine and Guard House. It treats specifically the problems and situations which can be solved with our current resources. Much in a successful reinterpretation of the complex, however, deals with material which will be developed under Phases Two and Three of this proposal. Phase One represents a stop gap measure, allowing progress in the interpretive plan to begin while interpretive information is being developed.

The Phase One plan is based on methods proven to be effective in interpreting the complex and which we believe will provide a strong foundation for the implementation of new research material. The seasonal approach to interpretation, which is presented in Phase One, is a major step in accomplishing the objectives set out in the Charter Document.

THE PHYSICAL PROPERTY.

The Magazine during the 18th century was a military warehouse. Traditionally, however, it has been utilized interpretively as a museum display of military weapons anti accouterments. It is. the proposal of the Planning Team that this site be returned to its original warehouse appearance. The furnishing of the Magazine would be based on inventories to give a representation of the building between the period 1764 and 1775. The Guard House would be furnished in the appearance of the French and Indian Bar period when civilian guards were employed to protect the Magazine.

RESEARCH.

There is a body of literature currently available which deals with the Magazine and its operation during the 18th-century. This information will need to be reviewed and formed into a usable document prior to the implementation of the interpretive plan. The areas to be addressed are:

• (1)Biographical information on individuals associated with the Magazine's operation. These individuals include the Armorers, Keepers, and Guards.
• (2)Documentation which identifies the items listed in various inventories as well as information currently accessible on their manner of storage, types of storage containers, their markings and method of storage in Magazines and armories during the period.

COLLECTIONS.

Several modifications can be made to the collections of the Magazine and Guard House in the near future to work towards the more accurate appearance of the site. The following alterations are suggested:

ARMORER'S SHOP.

• (1)Replacement of non 18th-century style tools.
• (2)Replace the shelving with tool racks similar to those shown in the Johan Zoffany portrait of John Cuff (an enlargement of the painting is in the "Patron-Tradesman" exhibit at the Gallery).
• (3)Remove the iron barrier from the room to allow better access to the space.
• (4)Reorganize items stored in the room so that they look more like storage than display.

POWDER ROOM.

• (1)Remove all non-powder related items.

SECOND FLOOR.

• (1)Sand several of the musket boxes so that they appear new.
• (2)Acquire a half dozen new barrels of various sizes from the coopers.
• (3)Fabricate a dozen or so wooden boxes of various sizes similar to those in and in front of Greenhow store.
• (4)Investigate ways in which the weapons collection can be displayed so as not to be the primary focus of the room. This will include the shifting of the collection away from the head of the staircase.
• (5)Group more of the musket boxes together and with the addition of new containers, use them to protect original material.
• (6)The arrangement of all items on the second floor should aid the visitor in focusing on the interpreter in the area.
• (7)The acquisition of reproductions to supplement the collections. Additions should include blankets, textiles, 4 cartridge boxes, blankets, uniform parts, canteens, and tools.
• (8)Have a location with reproduction writing equipment and paper as if someone is working in the storeroom noting quantities of goods, condition, etc.
• (9)Investigate and implement improvements in current lighting system.

THIRD FLOOR.

• (1)Remove all original arms currently stored there. Remove the lantern.
• (2)Purchase boxes and barrels to install around the stairway.

GUARD HOUSE.

• (1)Replace iron utensils with reproductions.
• (2)Acquire some additional cooking utensils.
• (3)Set the table as if it were being used (pipes, tobacco box, cards, paper and quills, eating utensils, pewter).
• (4)Use more clothing hanging around the room.
• (5)Obtain reproduction map which depicts Virginia as well as the western country.

THE YARD.

• (1)Replace current fencing with Chevaux-de-frise documented for the enclosure of the area. (Note: Fencing is essential to the control of visitors and interpretation of the complex.)
• (2)A large tent or marquee for interpretation with benches for seating.
• (3)Acquisition of wagons, limbers and other transportation vehicles for use and display.

SITE DESIGNATION.

• The naming of the site should be altered to "Public Magazine." This alteration in the designation of the site will clearly identify the Magazine as a public building with interpretive ties to other public buildings within the community.

System of Operation:

The Magazine's front yard entrance will be closed during the winter operation. The only entrance/exit into the Magazine yard will be at the Guard House.

Individual visitors will have their tickets or passes checked at the Guard House where they will wait, seated inside for the tour to begin. Operation will consist of either 2 or 3 tours per hour (depending on visitor demand) beginning at 20 or 30 minute intervals respectively.

One staff interpreter will conduct the entire tour from start to finish.

Sequence.

Guard House Interpretation. (7 minutes)

Late arrivals will be admitted at the Guard House until either capacity is reached or the group departs for the Magazine. When operating 3 tours per hour the visitor's wait for the next tour will be 10 minutes or less.

Armorer's Room Interpretation (7 to 10 minutes)

Due to limited space, when a group exceeds 24 persons the interpretation of the Armorer's room will not be attempted.

Second Floor Interpretation (7 to 10 minutes)

The group will pass through the Gunpowder Room continuing up the stairs to the Second Floor for the interpretation.

Musket Demonstration (5 minutes - optional)

A musket demonstrations makes an effective ending for the tour and if conducted near the exit, will assist in clearing the yard at the completion of the tour. The staff's ability to support this portion of the interpretive program will depend on the funding of staff levels for the winter season.

Total Tour Length: 30 minutes (including walking time)

35 minutes if the Musket Demonstration is included.

Requirements for Implementation.

(Note: These benches will be utilized in the yard during the summer season.)

Hours of Operation: January 2 - March 15, q: 00 a. m. to 4:00 p. m. March 16 to March 31, 9:00 a. m. to 5:00 p. m.

Special Programming: January 2 to March 14 Weapons Demonstrations mill be presented in the Magazine yard at 4:15 p. m. 3 or 4 days per week.

Interpretive Objectives.

To show the function of the Magazine in supplying arms, equipment and gunpowder for the defense of the Colony during the French and Indian Bar.

To emphasize Virginia's role in breaking the French stronghold on western territories, opening them for occupation and expansion of the British Empire.

To consider the military and political significance of the French and Indian War in preparing. Colonial attitudes and institutions for the War of Independence.

Interpretive Topics.

Guard House.

• Construction of the Guard House.
• Establishment of a Magazine guard and the men who constituted that guard.
• Brief synopsis of the French and Indian War emphasizing Virginia's role.
• Washington and Braddock.
• Capture of Quebeck.
• Surrender of Montreal.

Armorer's Shop.

• Role and function of the Magazine's armorers and keepers.
• The men who held these positions.
• "Civil service" jobs.

Second Floor.

Information on the Magazine.

• Construction, purpose, location, architecture.
• History of the Magazine up to and including the F & I war period.
• Systems of supply.
• Contents of the building and their relationship to military supply.
• British and Virginia military systems.

Musket Demonstrations.

• Weapons, uniforms and equipment of the soldier.
• Technology of the weapon.
• Tactics of the weapon.

January 1 to March 31; French and Indian War Period 1754-65

System of Operation.

The Magazine will run "open" with free flowing visitor traffic in the early morning and late afternoon hours. Interpreters will rotate on the half hour through a series of stations in the Magazine. Several other interpreters will work in much the same manner in the Magazine yard.

During the busier portions of the day (10:30 a. m. to 3:30 P.m.) formal interpretations will be conducted on a 15 minute cycle of 4 tours per hour. The maximum number of guests per tour will be 65, meaning a capacity of 260 visitors per hour. Should visitation exceed this capacity operations will be modified to an open flow situation.

Due to the large numbers of visitors the Guard House will not be open but may be viewed from the windows. In addition weapons demonstrations will take place in the Magazine yard daily except Sunday on the hour f roan 10: 00 a. m. to 4: 01) p. m.

Sequence.

Five interpreters will rotate through a series of stations in the Magazine. These stations include the Magazine gate, Armorer's Shop and the Second Floor.

In addition 2 or more interpreters will be stationed in the Magazine yard to interpret the Guard House and conduct hourly weapons demonstrations. During periods of heavy visitation these employees will relieve pressure on the Magazine by conducting interpretations for escorted groups outside in the Magazine yard. A marquee or tent structure capable of seating and protecting 75 people from the elements should be considered. The 18 benches used in the Guard House during the winter would be used to provide seating. This area would provide an option for escorted groups who could receive the Magazine interpretation at this site without waiting to be admitted to the second floor of the building.

The visitor aide will be located at the front entrance sentry boxes to monitor tickets/passes and escorted groups. Once through the entrance visitors will approach the Magazine gate and will be directed to the Armorer's Shop at the rear of the Magazine. As visitors filter through the Armorer's Shop and complete a circle of the building, a line is formed at the front (Powder Room) door. From this point, groups of up to 65 guests (260 per hour) will be sent upstairs to the Second Floor for a 7 to 10 minute interpretive presentation and a short question and answer period. The remaining 5 to 8 minutes is required for transit up and down the stairs. The group exits into the Magazine yard.

Requirements for Implementation.

Interpretive Objectives.

To investigate the events leading Virginia through the transition from a loyal British Colony to a "revolutionary" state.

To show the function of the Magazine in the initial stages of mobilization (supplying arms, equipment, and gunpowder) of the developing Virginia military organization.

Interpretive Topics.

Armorer' s Shop.

• Role and function of the Magazine's armorers and keepers.
• The teen who held these positions.
• "Civil service" jobs.

Second Floor.

• Information on the Magazine.

Construction, purpose, location, architecture.

• History of the Magazine up to and including 1776.
• Systems of supply.
• Contents of the building and their relationship to military supply.
• British and Virginia military systems.
• Prelude to Independence and Independence day.
• Virginia in the early Revolution.

Andrew Lewis raising the Virginia Continental troops.

• Local battles within the time frame.
• Norfolk, Great Bridge, Gwynn's Island, D. Morgan and Va.
• Troops in Quebeck, Trenton 177b.

Musket Demonstrations.

• Weapons, uniforms and equipment of the soldier.
• Technology of the weapon.
• Tactics of the weapon.

April 1 to July 4; Early Revolutionary War Years 1774-1776

System of Operation

The Magazine will run "open" with free flowing visitor traffic through-out the day. Interpreters assigned to the Magazine will rotate through a series of stations including the Magazine gate, Armorer's Room and the Second Floor.

Three or more interpreters will be assigned to interpret at a lean-to where continuous interpretation, military music and weapons demonstrations will be presented from 10:00 a. m. to 4:00 p. m. Weapons demonstrations will be performed on the half hour, except Sundays.

This system has proven to accommodate as many as 948 visitors per hour (5,031 visitors per day/26,000 visitors per week).

A small military camp will be set up to use for occasional demonstrations to provide a setting for discussion of the Virginia State Garrison Regiment and the camp life of the regular soldier.

The Guard House will be kept closed, and exhibited through the windows.

Sequence.

As stated in the system of operation, three interpreters are assigned to the various stations in the Magazine. In addition 3 or more interpreters pro-vide continuo-us interpretation at the large lean-to located between the -Magazine and Guard House. The visitor aide will be at the sentry boxes.

To preclude the necessity of every guest visiting the second floor of the Magazine, the lean-to interpretation will provide an interpretation which gives a broad overview. Interpretations will include 1st person characterizations, fife and drum music, military life, the establishment of the Virginia State Garrison Regiment as well as more complete information about the Magazine.

Requirements for Implementation

Interpretive Objectives.

To provide the visitor with a myriad of Revolutionary War experiences including weapons demonstration, field music interpretations and 1st person characterizations.

To interpret the growing difficulties encountered by the Magazine in supplying arms, equipment, and gunpowder for the defense of the State of Virginia during the late war years.

To interpret how the experience of the war informed attitudes about the role of the military in a republican state.

Interpretive Topics.

Armorer' s Shop.

• Role and function of the Magazine's armorers and keepers.
• The men who held these positions. "Civil service" jobs.

Second Floor.

• Information on the Magazine.
• Construction, purpose, location, architecture.
• History of the Magazine up to and including 1781.
• Systems of supply.
• Contents of the building and their relationship to military supply.
• Formation of the Public & store and construction of the "new" magazine.
• British and Virginia military systems.
• Moving of the capitol to Richmond.

Magazine Yard.

• Military encampments.
• Weapons demonstrations.
• Field music.

Interpretations of military life and crafts.

• 1st Person characterizations.
• French entrance into the Revolutionary War.
• Raising of the Virginia State Garrison Regiment.
• Important battles within the time frame.
• Germantown, Charlestown, Campden, Yorktown.

July 5 to September 30; Mid to Late Revolutionary War Years 1777-1781

System of Operation.

The Magazine will run "open" with free flowing visitor traffic in the early morning and late afternoon hours. Interpreters will rotate on the half hour through a series of stations in the Magazine. Several other interpreters will work in much the sane manner in the Magazine yard.

During the busier portions of the day (10:30 a. m. to 3:30 P.m.) formal interpretations will be conducted on a 15 minute cycle of 4 tours per hour. The maximum number of guests per tour will be 65, meaning a capacity of 260 visitors per hour. Should visitation exceed this capacity operations will be modified to an open flow situation.

Due to the large numbers of visitors the Guard House will not be open but may be viewed from the windows. In addition weapons demonstrations will take place in the Magazine yard daily except Sunday on the hour from 10:00 a. m. to 4:00 p. m.

Sequence.

Five interpreters will rotate through a series of stations in the Magazine. These stations include the Magazine gate, Armorer's Shop and the Second Floor.

In addition 2 or more interpreters will be stationed in the Magazine yard to interpret the Guard House and conduct hourly weapons demonstrations. During periods of heavy visitation these employees will relieve pressure on the Magazine by conducting interpretations for escorted groups outside in the Magazine yard. A marquee or tent structure capable of seating and protecting 75 people from the elements should be considered. The 18 benches used in the Guard House during the winter would be used to provide seating. This area would provide an option for escorted groups who could receive the Magazine interpretation at this site without waiting to be admitted to the second floor of the building.

The visitor aide will be located at the front entrance sentry boxes to monitor tickets/passes and escorted groups. Once through the entrance visitors will approach the Magazine gate and will be directed to the Armorer's Shop at the rear of the Magazine. As visitors filter through the Armorer's Shop and complete a circle of the building, a line is formed at the front (Powder Room) door. From this point, groups of up to 65 guests (260 per hour) will be sent upstairs to the Second Floor for a 7 to 10 minute interpretive presentation and a short question and answer period. The remaining 5 to 8 minutes is required for transit up and down the stairs. The group exits into the Magazine yard.

Requirements for Implementation.

Interpretive Objectives

To interpret the role of the Magazine during peacetime. The storage of arms and supplies and keeping the in a state of readiness was the ideal. The deficiency of this system however frequently caused decay of military stores kept in the Magazine.

To show the function of the Magazine in supplying arms, equipment, and gunpowder to the Virginia militia for police functions and the defense of the Western borders.

To interpret the role of the Magazine as an extension of the British military establishment.

Interpretive Topics.

Armorer's Shop.

• Role and function of the Magazine's armorers and keepers.
• The men who held these positions.
• "Civil service" jobs.

Second Floor.

• Information on the Magazine.
• Construction, purpose, location, architecture.
• History of the Magazine up to and including 1774.
• Systems of supply.
• Contents of the building and their relationship to military supply.
• 20
• British and Virginia military systems.
• Peacetime condition of supplies stored in the Magazine.
• Disposing of F & I War supplies and disbanding of the Magazine guard.
• Dunmore's War.

Musket Demonstrations.

• Weapons, uniforms and equipment of the soldier.
• Technology of the weapon.
• Tactics of the weapon.

October 1 to December 31; Peacetime 1763 to 1774

PHASE ONE COST ESTIMATE.

The cost of fencing for the Magazine yard has not yet been determined.

PHASE ONE TIME SCHEDULE.

Time required to develop phase one research and collections: 6 months.

Training and refitting for the Magazine: 1 creek. (Note that during this period the Magazine and Guard House would close to the public.)

It is our opinion that the Phase One interpretive program should open to the public no later than January 1, 1987.

PROGRAM EVALUATION.

The evaluation of the interpretive program is essential. As implementation of the interpretive plan proceeds the planning team in consultation with Connie Graft will develop methods and questions for the evaluation. The first evaluation should take place prior to any change in the interpretive program. Evaluations should then be taken at each seasonal change.

The points to be tested in the evaluation will be the broad interpretive objectives. Of major interest in the evaluation will be visitor understanding of the role of the Magazine in the defense of Virginia and its place in the Colony's/State's government.

Archaeology.

Archaeological investigation of the Magazine/Guard House complex would attempt to determine the use of this area during the 18th century. Several additional buildings are identified on period maps or have been discovered by earlier investigation of the site. No attempt has been made, however, to determine whether these buildings were connected to the function of the Magazine. It is also hoped that investigation of the area would lead us to a better understanding of how space was used, and for what purposes it was used. This information should be sought for the Magazine itself, as well as any other building which can be identified and the yard itself.

The first step in this process would involve the testing of the area to see whether enough information exists in the ground to make the exhibition of the area viable. There is the possibility that grading of the area during the 1930' s and 1940' s may have destroyed archaeological evidence. A phase one testing would be used to determine this. The process would involve the excavation of seven 2.5 foot square test areas. Cost for the phase one testing are estimated at $971.00.

Should phase one testing indicate intact layers and structural remains a phase two testing would be proposed designed to answer specific questions concerning the Magazine property at an approximate cost of $35,000. At this juncture it would be advisable to evaluate 25 the archaeological project to determine what additional excavation would be advisable.

Architecture.

It is the suggestion of architectural research that specific documentation of the Magazine and Guard House be reviewed. Though it is unlikely that new discoveries would be major the re-evaluation of the material in light of current architectural research is needed. In addition documentation and physical evidence for analogous buildings in the English speaking world would be investigated. The results of these investigations would be recommendations from Architecture as to possible changes to the current restoration, furnishings and interpretations. This portion of the research project would be handled by current staffing and resources.

Collections.

Collections would need to coordinate their research closely with Architectural research in determining by what means military weapons and accouterments were stored during the period. In addition extensive research will be required to establish the types of containers which will need to be reproduced and the identification of military stores to be reproduced for use in the Magazine/Guard House complex.

Research Department.

Document research will be conducted centering around several broad issues. A comprehensive investigation concerning military supply in Virginia during the last half of the 18th century should be addressed which would need to include the relationships between the Magazine and community, government and "empire." The development of this theme is essential to see how Virginians laid the basis for an "American" military establishment. This research with the necessary Collections research detailed above could be effected by the hiring of a full time researcher for a period of 2 years at an approximate salary of $30,000 per year (including employee related expenses). Funding should also include approximately $2,000 per year for travel and materials so that available information at other institutions may be investigated.

Research Coordination.

Throughout the course of the research project we feel that a forum group should be created which would include the principle researchers in each area and a representative group of trainers managers and interpreters. The purpose of this group would be to explore information as it becomes available, share it among researchers 26 and discuss the interpretive applications of that information. An additional function of this group would be to formalize all research into a source book, to include information, photographs, bibliography and maps for the future training of interpreters.

The role of the Magazine Interpretive Planning Team during this phase will be to monitor the progress of the research and to seek ways of implementing new interpretive information into the existing interpretive program.

SMITH'S ROOM:

• 1.As soon as possible remove twentieth- and late nineteenth-century tools. If they are needed for repairs or cleaning, keep them in the toolbox or bench, but they should be out of visitors' sight.
• 2.Investigate the possibility of borrowing more appropriate tools from the Craft Shops Department until our research is complete and we can either purchase or make correct tools.
• 3.Replace shelving with tool racks similar to those shown in the Johan Zoffany portrait of John Cuff (an enlargement of this painting is in the "Patron-Tradesman" exhibit at the Gallery).
• 4.Reorganize items stored on the west side of the room so that they look more like storage than display.
• 5.Remove inventories from central wall.

ENTRANCE ROOM (POWDER ROOM):

• 1.Remove all non-powder related items.
• 2.Restack powder barrels and boxes of cartridges so that they appear stored rather than displayed.

SECOND FLOOR:

• 1.Sand several of the musket boxes so that they appear new.
• 2.Acquire a half dozen new barrels of various sizes from the coopers.
• 3.Fabricate a dozen or so wooden boxes of various sizes similar to those in and in front of Greenhow Store.
• 4.Determine what markings would be appropriate for containers of military supplies (I question markings currently on some of the boxes about the place) and apply them to the barrels and boxes.
• 5.Group more of the musket boxes together and use groups of new containers, as well as the musket boxes, to protect the original material. Possibly in this way the current barrier effect of the boxes will be relieved.
• 6.Move as many of these storage containers back against the walls as possible, and stack them deep enough that they provide protection for the original arms. If several tents are available, stack them on top of a couple of boxes or barrels side-by-side. Check with Linda Baumgarten to see if we have reproduction blankets or textiles (which could be wrapped around boards or boxes to appear to be bolts) that she feels would be appropriate. If we do, then stack them also, possibly on one of the shelves on the northwest wall.
• 7.Remove the British flag and fill the shelves with reproduction cartridge boxes, blankets, uniform parts, or storage boxes.
• 8.Group the tools and canteens on the northwest wall so that they are stored rather than displayed.
• 9.Remove the muskets from the third floor, and if a location can be set aside that is well protected by boxes or barrels in front of it and an interpreter stationed nearby, pack a layer of them (very carefully) onto a false bottom in a storage box.
• 10.See what can be scrounged in the way of old shoes, hats, shirts, and so forth from the Costume Department and stack these on upper shelves.
• 11.Have a location set up with (decent) reproduction writing equipment and paper as if someone is working in the armory noting quantities of goods, condition, and so forth.
• 12.If safety regulations will allow, stack some box-s around the stairway so that visitors feel they are walking amid stored items.
• 13.Investigate improvements in current lighting system.

THIRD FLOOR:

• 1.Remove all original arms currently stored there. Remove lantern.
• 2.Install "new" boxes and barrels around stairway, possibly with their tops stacked with goods--which in that light do not have to be of the standard of the goods exhibited on the floor below.

GUARD HOUSE:

• 1.Remove all modern pieces.
• 2.Replace iron utensils with reproductions currently being sold by historic area stores. (The iron pieces presently in the Guard House are, for the most part, really, really bad.)
• 3.Acquire some additional cooking utensils; we might be able to supply some from Collections providing they will be given proper care.
• 4.Set the table as if it were being used--pipes, tobacco box, cards, paper and quills, eating utensils, pewter.
• 5.Install more clothing. Again, see what the Costume Department can supply you with. It seems that at least some of the clothing could legitimately be civilian.
• 6.Can you come up with an appropriate musical instrument or two? What about a fiddle?
• 7.What is the historical basis for the awning currently being constructed?
• 8.Hang out same laundry behind the Guard House.

GROUNDS

• 1.Replace canvas covering artillery tubes.
• 2.Are regular outside cooking activities legitimate? (Does the fact that the Magazine is in the middle of town bear upon grounds us-age?)
• 3.There seems to be an excess of fencing and barrier ropes. Can some of it be removed without decreasing visitor control and safety?
• 4.Is a wagon or cart available?

Structure E

This structure, according to the archaeological map, was located near the existing ground surface. A date for its construction was given as the "colonial" period on the basis of the workmanship, shell mortar and Flemish bonding of the foundation. The structure measured 62'8" EW by 22'9" NS, with walls 1'1" in thickness and averaging four courses in depth. There were no photographs of the excavation of this structure, but most likely it was located through trenching. In this event, the builder's trenches for the building would probably be destroyed by the trenching, virtually eliminating any chance of dating the building's construction. Chances are good however, given the past experience of this department, that stratigraphic layers of fill are still present within the interior of the structure, and these may furnish some clues about dating the building's construction and demolition. Generally, after archaeological excavations were completed, structural foundations were re-covered with soil unless the building was going to be reconstructed. Therefore, it is highly likely that the foundations far Structure E are still in place.

Structure G

The 1934 excavations also revealed the brick foundations of a large (60' NS by 40' EW) structure to the northeast of the Magazine. About half of the brick foundation was still intact, with the western portion of the building discernible as a concentration of brickbats. Examination of the brickwork revealed that neither the bonding nor the mortar used were of "colonial character" (Campbell 1934a). Since no local residents had a recollection of this structure and a fully grown tree was growing over the north wall the archaeologists and architects concluded that the structure was built early in the 19th century. This was originally city property and in 1934 it was felt that this structure most likely represented a public building of some kind.

Structure H

Structure H represents the fragmentary foundations of a building interpreted as belonging to the "colonial period" (Campbell 1934a). The brick foundations of this structure were located at a depth below grade similar to that of the Magazine. The complete size of the structure could not be ascertained due to previous damage to the brick foundations. It was approximated that the structure measured 28'10" EW by 19'3" NS. Located in the general area shown to contain a building on the Frenchman's Map, the foundations were interpreted as the guardhouse.

The interior of the Magazine was also excavated during the 1934 work. In order to conduct these excavations, the cement floor, which had been installed by the APVA, was removed. The interior of an inner brick octagon was completely removed, but other areas inside were only excavated down to a brick paving. Also, three feet of fill along the south, west, and east walls of the Magazine were never disturbed. After these excavations were completed, a new concrete slab floor was installed (Moorehead 1946).

In 1948, Archaeological Area C was cross-trenched in a northeast to southwest direction. This cross-trenching located the foundations of another building, similar in form to the structure located in the 1934 excavations and identified as a guardhouse. The structure uncovered in 1948 was located east of the Powder Magazine, and south of the 1934 structure. Traces of another building, congruent with the Frenchman's Map were also uncovered in 1948. These are described below and can be seen on Figure 7.

Structure F

The 1948 excavations on Block 12 revealed the remains of a structure located slightly southeast of the Magazine. This is the building which has currently been reconstructed as the Magazine guardhouse. The structure had been partially robbed of its brick foundations, but it appeared that the building had been constructed in two stages, each during the "colonial" period (Knight 1948). Only the first period of construction has been reconstructed as the guardhouse.

Structure I

These probable structural remains were composed of an east-west running line of brick bats and shell mortar. Located approximately 1' below grade, they are seen in Figure 7 as located in an area shown to contain a structure on the Frenchman's Map. As with all the other structures located through archaeological excavation, there are no records of any artifacts provenienced to specific structures to aid in their dating.

Landscaping in connection with the construction of the guardhouse took place in 1948. This included grading, installation of gravel paths, removing an existing culvert and building a new culvert, and removal of a brick path (Jones 1948).

Colonial Parkway Tunnel Prior to the tunnel construction, money was appropriated for archaeological excavation along the tunnel corridor. Records suggest that the only area which was examined during this period was on the Skillman and Miller property on Block 28. There is no indication that any archaeological work was conducted on Block 12 in the vicinity of the Powder Magazine.

No archaeological work has been undertaken north, northwest, west, or southwest of the Magazine.

Figure 9. 1850 Baptist Church

Figure 10. Bell Hospital

Figure 11. Tunnel Construction 1940/41

Figure 12
Area Disturbed by the Construction of the NPS Tunnel

Archaeological Potential

Figure 13 shows probable archaeological potential for Block 12, based on the background research covered in this report. Archaeological Area 12B was apparently only excavated in areas where the architects felt they would locate information on structural elements. Therefore, some substantial areas within B do not appear to have been disturbed at all, for example, the interior of the Magazine yard. Also, the outlines for the cannonball cache were not recorded in 1933, and there is a possibility that there may be a structure associated with this feature. These areas are marked in Figure 13 as having good archaeological potential for yielding information on activities around the Magazine.

Area 12C was cross-trenched and the coverage appears to have been fairly good, so no more brick foundations should be expected in this area. Archaeological cross-trenching consisted of placing 1' wide trenches spaced 5' to 6' apart at a 45 degree angle to the property and street lines. This insured that all structures with brick foundations would be located. Cross-trenching does not, however, destroy all valuable archaeological information. Subsequent archaeological investigations in this area could be used to locate traces left by impermanent types of structures, patterns of postholes associated with fence lines and refuse deposits on the property.

We can anticipate the remains of the huge 1850 Baptist Church in the northeast corner of the Magazine lot, and also the remains of the Bell Hospital in the area just north of the Magazine. Figure 14 shows both these structures, along with a number of other buildings west of the Magazine, which should have left archaeological traces and may have destroyed archaeological remains. The areas where the basements of the church and the hospital are expected have no archaeological potential, but the remainder of the structures on the lot are estimated to have left little or no damage to archaeological remains.

There is moderate archaeological potential for most of the structures which were investigated during the prior excavations. Excavation usually only uncovered the foundations of the buildings, and left interior fill virtually untouched. Therefore, reopening of these structures could furnish information on the function and dating of these buildings.

Figure 13. Block 12 Archaeological Potential

The artifact collection from the previous excavations is apparently provenienced only to two very large areas. Data collected in this manner cannot be used to answer current research questions, so the artifact assemblage is of little use. However, we can probably assume that the over 300 cannonballs all came from the sealed cache and have some research value.

Appendix B is a proposal for a testing plan at the Powder Magazine. The testing is proposed in two parts, the first being an preliminary survey to see if landscaping on the property has removed all the 18th century cultural fill. The Phase II testing plan is designed to answer specific questions about the property which could aid in the interpretation of the Magazine.

Figure 14. Block 12 Aerial View (1927)

Illustrations

Lossing, Benson J.

1860

The Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution. New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, Volume 2. p. 264.

Granston
Illustration of Magazine circa 1861-63.

Photographs

Listed by negative numbers and available at Research Library.

Phase I Testing

Purpose: To determine the amount of grading which took place around the Magazine in 1933/34 and 1948 and see what impact this has had on soil stratigraphy and previously located structural remains.

Needed: Test units at predetermined locations around the Magazine (Show map with these locations pinpointed). This would be the equivalent of 7 2.5' square units.

This would call for two field technicians for a total of 7 days. The work accomplished in this time period would be the establishment of baselines from which the units could be plotted, the excavation, screening, and recording of the units. This also includes time for backfilling and interpretation to visitors.

Phase II Testing

Purpose: If Phase I testing shows intact layers and structural remains on the property, a Phase II testing would be recommended. The purpose of this excavation would be to determine answers to questions posed by the Interpretive Planning Team. Following is a list of specific research questions with a testing strategy designed to provide answers to research questions.

BUDGET FOR PHASE II TESTING

These are the types of questions which I though might be of importance to the Magazine Interpretive Planning Team. If there are any more questions that you think archaeology might play a part in answering, please let me know, and I will be glad to work up a testing plan and budget for them.

Questions Concerning Magazine Personnel

There exist a number of unanswered questions about who was actually involved with the Magazine. The guards assigned there during the French and Indian War protested their poverty, but were they in fact poor? If so, did they remain so? What was the status of the Keeper and Armourer of the Magazine? How did they fit within the colonial political order on the eve of the Revolution? These questions touch on the importance of the Magazine as a civic institution and on developing civilian attitudes toward the military. Information to answer many of these biographical questions has been collected already and can be found in the York County master files. They can be supplemented by data in the house histories, John Lowers training manual, and other Research Department files. The social order of eighteenth-century Williamsburg is being developed now by the phase two period of the York County Project and can provide a context in which to place the individual Magazine personnel. To answer all these questions requires first a series of tightly framed research queries. Once they are established it should take a full-time researcher three to six months to pull together the evidence, assess it, and write up the findings. However,much of this research could be accomplished by Magazine staff members working under the direction of a member of the Research Department. In that case the time necessary to complete the project would probably be six to twelve months.

Specific Questions About the Magazine as a Warehouse

Curatorial and architectural research on other eighteenth-century magazines and military warehouses should prove extremely useful in understanding how rooms in the Magazine were used and appeared with goods stored in them. However, it is unlikely that any new documentary evidence about this magazine as a storehouse will ever be uncovered. In fact, most of what can be known about what was stored there and how those goods were acquired and distributed 2 is being used in the interpretation of the Magazine now. The major exception to this understanding is the Magazine's supply role in Virginia's Revolutionary War efforts. What is needed concerning these research questions is not more time spent searching for new manuscript sources, but an essay that draws on existing evidence and that directly addresses this issue. Such a tightly focused research report would probably require three to six months to write. Again, this could best be accomplished by a Magazine staff member who is already familiar with the topic, assisted by an historian in the Research Department.

Specific Questions Concerning the Routine Daily Activities at the Magazine

Questions about routine activities such as whether the Magazine was open during specific hours of the day, who actually off-loaded supplies, and did the guards have additional duties cannot be answered because relevant evidence to answer such questions is rarely found. Most eighteenth-century individuals did not consider such routine events important enough to record. If such information is ever found, it will be by accident, or by architectural historians as they uncover evidence about other eighteenth-century magazines.

Questions Concerning the Military Supply Establishment of Late Eighteenth-Century Virginia

These questions go to the heart of the "Becoming Americans" storyline that is to be interpreted at this site. However, the history that would address these issues has not been written yet. In the absence of this history, much of the specific site interpretation at the Magazine will tend to float unconnected to larger issues. Furthermore, many statements made during any interim interpretive plan will have to be tentative and remain speculative until the necessary research on this topic is done. Writing an adequate military history of late colonial Virginia will be a major undertaking. From a quick glance at the records it does seem that a fair amount of evidence about Virginia's mobilization efforts during two wars (1754-65, 1775-83) does exist although the quality of the data is certainly open to question. For the Revolution, the Public Store Records, surviving correspondence between the governor and other state and continental officials as well as official state papers should make it possible to shed some light on the process of procurement and disbursement of military goods, on the relationship between the Public Armourer, the Keeper of the Magazine, and other supply officials, and on the general level of success of the state's mobilization effort. Evidence for similar questions about military supply during the French and Indian War may be found in British sources. Questions concerning military life--who the soldiers were, how they lived in the field--will probably prove time consuming to answer. For example, gathering material on the background of Virginia's provincial soldiers during the French and Indian War will require identifying soldiers on Muster Rolls whose home county records have survived and then searching through them for such scraps of biographical information that exist. Fortunately, the political history, which provides the proper context for the military history of late colonial Virginia has been treated in Richard Morton's older work, Colonial Virginia and is the main focus of John Selby's recent manuscript on Virginia during the Revolution.

In addition to providing the necessary background material to appropriately interpret the Magazine, a major study of Virginia's mobilization effort, especially during the Revolution, would make an important scholarly contribution. To date only a few studies have focused on the administrative aspect of colonial wars. Two recent works that demonstrate what could be done are Richard Buel's Dear Liberty, a case study of how the demands of the Revolutionary War wore down Connecticut's citizens and wrecked their economy, and E. Wayne Carp's To Starve the Army at Pleasure, which describes all the difficulties the Continental Congress had in supplying its army with food, clothing, and equipment. It is very likely that a research study of the scope proposed would require no less than two years to complete and would require the full-time services of an experienced military historian. Undoubtedly, outside funding will be needed to hire such an historian. A necessary first step to secure funding is to write a research grant proposal. Once given the go ahead it should be possible for you, John Hill, and I to draft one in three months time.

Finally, for planning purposes, the salary of a full-time historian, depending on background and experience, would be approximately $25,000 to $30,000 a year plus 19% for benefits.

Your memo of May 31, 1985 concerning the removal of the Virginia rail fence at the Magazine and its replacement with chevaux-de-frise was relayed to me by Ed Chappell some time ago. I apologize for my lack of promptitude.

The attached drawing for chevaux-de-frise is a product of a new interpretive scheme developed for the Magazine in 1962-3. A small collection of illustrations and definitions, also attached, indicates that the drawing should be modified to express the protrusion of cross pieces from all sides of the horizontal member. Though no information about preferred wood types and preparation has been discovered, the suggestions appearing on the drawing are both historically and functionally reasonable.¹

Though chevaux-de-frise represent a far more accurate and durable alternative than the present Virginia rail fence for enclosing the Magazine site, I must admit to a few reservations. Current research indicates that the activities which now take place in the immediate vicinity of the Magazine should be removed to an encampment situation elsewhere in town and fencing thus would not be needed.² As this may not be currently possible, the existing interpretive pattern might be effectively served by rope barriers like those customarily used on Market Square. Such a frankly anachronistic means of enclosure should be considered with reference to the chevaux-de-frise option. The surrounding of the Magazine with chevaux-de-frise was the result of extraordinary circumstances, not the usual eighteenth-century treatment of the site.³ In the interest of safety, the crosspiece ends of the reconstructed chevaux remain blunt rather than pointed, a necessity which somewhat dilutes the structure's credibility.

Such are my thoughts about the chevaux-de-frise. No one will be more pleased than I to see the removal of the Virginia rail fence from the Magazine.

NOTES

O. E. D.: Cheval de frise; usually p1. Chevaux de frise [Fr. lit. "horse of Friseland"(Netherlands) first used by cavalry-poor Frisians in struggle for freedom, second half of the seventeenth century].

• 1.A defensive appliance of war, employed chiefly to check cavalry charges, and stop breaches.
• 2.A line of spikes or nails similarly fixed along the top of a railing, paling or wall.

DICTIONARIUM ANGLO-BRITTANNICUM OR A GENERAL ENGLISH DICTIONARY. John Kersey, 1708 (in O.E.D.): "Chevaux de Frise are large Joists, or pieces of Timber, Ten or Twelve Foot in length, with Six Sides into which are driven a great Number of wooden Pins above Six foot long, crossing one another, and having their Ends armed with Iron Points."

KNIGHT'S AMERICAN MECHANICAL DICTIONARY. New York: 1874, vol. I: cheval-de-frise: "A bar traversed by rows of pointed stakes, and used to barricade an approach or close a breach. Called a Friseland horse because first used at the siege of Groningen, in that province, in 1658."