When
one thinks about archaeology and artifacts, usually the concept that comes to
mind revolves around discovering objects from ancient history. It is easy to
forget that items from the recent past can be as equally obscured from the
passage of time. In reality, there are still many unfound artifacts from the
Civil War. In Chicago , students and volunteers
from Pershing East Magnet School Chicago 's
South Side Bronzeville neighborhood, which was once a part of the 60-acre Camp Douglas
I
found this of particular interest due to our class’ recent emphasis on the
importance of capturing the opposing army’s soldiers. It was not always the
most important thing to kill or ward away an enemy, but it was a significant
gain to capture as many soldiers as possible. For instance, the most prevalent
example of this given in class was Grant’s siege of Vicksburg Union …” (McCurry, 315)). Capturing men took the strength away
from the Confederacy and gave the Union more bargaining power. With the
capturing of soldiers being important to understanding military operations
during the Civil War (and, by extension, making prison camps important), it is interesting
if we will learn more with Chicago ’s excavation
of Camp Douglas
