Excavating the Sutlers’ House

Artifacts of the British Armies in Fort Edward and Lake George

David R. Starbuck

David Starbuck and his colleagues have been excavating British military sites in Fort Edward and Lake George, New York, for two decades. This region housed the largest British forts and encampments of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), with as many as 16,000 soldiers and officers garrisoned there. In 1996, on the east bank of the Hudson River, Starbuck’s team unearthed the remarkable remains of a sutlers’ (or merchants’) house which had supplied goods to the British armies throughout the late 1750s. Because no eighteenth-century sutling house had ever before been professionally excavated, this site offered an amazing opportunity for research and discovery. This beautifully illustrated volume focuses on the rich and varied material culture brought to this region by the British armies and their suppliers, including representative artifacts found at Rogers Island, Fort Edward, Fort William Henry, and the Lake George Battlefield Park. Organized around material themes such as weaponry and ammunition, food and foodways, and tools and equipment, Excavating the Sutlers’ House provides a fascinating overview of artifacts from the French and Indian War to the American Revolution.

Paper: $24.95

ISBN-13: 9781584658184

Pages: 132 | Size: 7 in. x 10 in.

Date Published: May 11, 2010

Imprint:

University Press of New England

History

Reviews

Anthropologist David Starbuck looks at the North Country's role in the French and Indian War through the relics left behind. Excavating the Sutlers' House: Artifacts of the British Armies in Fort Edward and Lake George (University Press of New England, 2010) catalogs his findings over two decades of digging, including the remains of a sutlers' house, the rarely unearthed mid-18th-century version of convenience store and corner bar.

Adirondack Life

About the Author

David R. Starbuck

David R. Starbuck was a historical and industrial archeologist specializing in America’s forts and battlefields, utopian societies (such as the Shakers), and medieval and post-medieval sites in Scotland. Dr. Starbuck authored or edited nearly 20 books; published more than 130 journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews; and presented well over 500 papers and talks at local, regional, and national conferences and meetings. He was president of the Adirondack Chapter of the New York …

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