Nineteenth-Century Tidewater Resistance Communities: The Forgotten Social History of the Great Dismal Swamp

FAIN: RZ-51219-10

American University (Washington, DC 20016-8200)
Daniel Sayers (Project Director: November 2009 to January 2015)

Archaeological and historical research on the Great Dismal Swamp, located on the border of Virginia and North Carolina, leading to scholarly articles and presentations, a website, and a documentary film. (36 months)

From 1700 to 1860, thousands of maroons, or escapees from slavery, settled in the Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina and Virginia. The Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study (2002-2009), an archaeology-centered program, demonstrated that maroons formed communities during this period, mostly in the swamp interior. After 1800, social and economic transformations occurred in interior maroon communities, likely instigated by the rise of corporate interests in the swamp. However, we do not fully grasp the precise natures of these community transformations and what their impacts were on community life. This collaborative 3-year, multidisciplinary expansion (7/2010-6/2013) of the Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study will explore these maroon community transformations to determine their natures and impacts. The results of this research will be important to several humanities disciplines including, history, African American studies, cultural geography, anthropology, and historical archaeology.

Associated Products

American Refugees (Article)
Title: American Refugees
Author: Marion Blackburn
Abstract: Personalized essay on author's visit to our American University Great Dismal Swamp Archaeology Field School in the the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, VA and NC. The field school is supported through the NEH grant and the author discusses some of the findings, the ideas behind our work, and provides several photos of the work and swamp.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: http://www.archaeology.org/1109/letter/great_dismal_swamp_slavery_maroons.html
Format: Magazine
Periodical Title: Archaeology Magazine
Publisher: American Institute of America

Southern Swamp Holds Clues About Runaway Slaves (Article)
Title: Southern Swamp Holds Clues About Runaway Slaves
Author: Tom Breen
Abstract: Associated Press reporter's discussion of maroons and Great Dismal Swamp based on his visit to the American University Great Dismal Swamp Archaeology Field School in summer of 2011. Published July 4th, the article was carried by over 250 reputable media outlets and is available still at many sites online.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=13993180
Format: Newspaper
Format: Other
Periodical Title: Associated Press
Publisher: Associated Press

The State of Things (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The State of Things
Producer: National Public Radio
Abstract: Dr. Daniel O. Sayers was interviewed about his archaeological work in the Great Dismal Swamp on maroon communities for NPR station in North Carolina (Raleigh) in July 2011; ca. 20 minutes of air time.
Date: 7/15/2011
Format: Radio

North Carolina Now (program name) (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: North Carolina Now (program name)
Writer: Jeff Davis (tv interviewer)
Producer: UNC-TV (Raleigh, NC), PBS
Abstract: 7-8 minute television spot on PBS series that focused on our 2011 American University Archaeology Field School in the Great Dismal Swamp of NC and VA. Film includes interviews with Dr. Daniel O. Sayers, US Fish and Wildlife Service management, and American University students.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: http://video.unctv.org/video/2019487098
Format: Web
Format: Other

The Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study (Web Resource)
Title: The Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study
Author: Daniel Sayers
Abstract: "Dedicated to exploring the human and social history of the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina, the GDSLS is now in the early years of its second decade and there is much to tell you about. In exploring the various areas of this site, you will come to know many dimensions of the social history of one of the North America's most distinctive but poorly understood places."
Year: 2014
Primary URL: http://www.gdsls.com/
Primary URL Description: Project web site.

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