History and Anthropology students had a great time helping a crew from St. Louis on 11 September 2015. The archaeological survey was coordinated by Dr. Douglas Scott, Tom Thiessen, and archaeologist Dr. Steve Dasovich of Missouri’s Civil War Heritage Foundation.
The goal of the survey is to see if any surviving artifacts can be linked to the Battle of Kirksville (1862) and Truman students Steve Emmons, Sarah Lamkin, Mike McCoy, Andrew Milhous, and Mara Stewart assisted in Memorial Park where the Union army camped.
The use of metal detectors helped uncover a number of small pieces including fragments of lamps, a wagon, and a sterling silver thimble (pictured below). Though these pieces cannot be tied to the Civil War battle, excavating them was fun anyway.
Thanks for Professor Amber Johnson (Society and Environment) and Professor Jeff Gall (History) for helping coordinate participation of Truman students in this event.
