SW068 Using Conflict Archaeology, GARI Shows Fort King Road as Key 2SW Transport Enabler

 

We return to discuss what archaeologists have discovered after conducting a survey of the Fort King Road. Sean Norman, acting director of GARI, Gulf Archaeological Research Institute, returns this week to brief us on GARI's survey findings on the length and breadth of the Fort King Road. GARI explored post returns [such as this one above from Fort Brooke] for the various forts on the road and they employed a KOKOA approach to assess how the road enabled hostile contact at various vulnerable spots.

Sean Norman explains what data and records and existing terrain can say about its terrain and its road workmanship; how baggage trains' vulnerability led to the need for military outposts and forts for security; and how it can be used to extrapolate general Seminole, Soldier, and Settler pathways to skirmishes, battles, and campaigns. 

 

 

(Above) The third part of GARI's survey included spot-check stops at eight locations along the Fort King Road.

(Below) Post returns, such as this one, when categorized with those from other posts, tell a story of Army life in the 1830s and how that life moved along the Fort King Road.

 

 

Post returns included various statistical data that documents personnel, supplies, movement, and the health of the force. GARI sorted the data into comparative categories to gain knowledge on the Army's composition and activities. 

 

Post returns included various statistical data that documents personnel, supplies, movement, and the health of the force. 

Host Patrick Swan is a board member with the Seminole Wars Foundation. He is a combat veteran and of the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Kosovo, and at the Pentagon after 9/11. A military historian, he holds masters degrees in Public History, Communication, and Homeland Security, and is a graduate of the US Army War College with an advanced degree in strategic studies. This podcast is recorded at the homestead of the Seminole Wars Foundation in Bushnell, Florida. 

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