Archaeology and Created Memory

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxii

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2. Introduction Harpers Ferry: A Place in Time

   1. Introduction Harpers Ferry: A Place in Time

      Pages 1-15

3. Occupied Harpers Ferry During the Civil War

   1. All about Us Was the Wreckage of the Fighting

      Pages 17-33

   2. A Village of Paupers

      Pages 35-52

4. Rebuilding Harpers Ferry after the War

   1. The Place never Will Be Anything Again

      Pages 53-73

   2. The Handsomest House in Two Towns

      Pages 75-98

   3. The Natural Limits of Human Endurance

      Pages 99-113

   4. A Miserable Mockery of a Home

      Pages 115-147

   5. The Assassination of Plurality

      Pages 149-172

5. Back Matter

   Pages 173-192

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Archaeology can either bolster memory and tradition, or contradict the status quo and provide an alternative view of the past. An archaeology of Harpers Ferry's wartime and Victorian eras confronts time-honored historical interpretations of the past (created and perpetuated by such interest groups as historians and the National Park Service) and in so doing allows us to be more inclusive of the town's forgotten histories and provides alternative voices to a past.

• Harpers Ferry
• Harpers Ferry's wartime
• National Park
• Victorian era
• created memory
• public history
• urban development

`Anyone with an interest in the Civil War and how it has been retold will find this book of interest; a background in archaeology is unnecessary. The volume is well illustrated, and a thorough references section provides additional sources of information.'
Choice, May 2001
`...Archaeology and Created Memory is full of archaeolgical data recovered from a samll industrial community and therefore inherently appeals to industrial archaeologists, especially those interested in military history and postmodern data applications. ...presents the reader with historical background and archaeological data from three different areas...that challenge the traditionally presented history of Harpers Ferry, especially by the NPS. ...the reader can gain nice insights into alternative interpretations of the past through the use of archaeology.'
Industrial Archaeology, 27:2 (2001)

• University of Maryland, College Park

  Paul A. Shackel

Policies and ethics