Articles

The 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States on July 4, 2026, invites reflection through Maryland’s archaeological record, which reveals stories of revolution, resilience, and innovation across diverse communities and time periods. Maryland Archeology Month 2026 commemorates this milestone by highlighting Maryland’s roles before, during, and after the Revolutionary War, exploring investigations of military campsites, uncovering everyday life in revolutionary Mar

In 2024, Governor Wes Moore issued an Executive Order establishing the Maryland 250 Commission, which was tasked with promoting Maryland’s contributions to American history. This commission also offered various grant programs to support local, regional, and municipal efforts in commemorating America’s 250th. The Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) received one of these grants for the project “Revolutionary Maryland: Freedom of the Press Then and Now.” A portion of this grant is f

I was born June 15th, 1789, in Charles County, Maryland, on a farm belonging to Mr. Francis Newman, about a mile from Port Tobacco. Born into enslavement in Maryland at the nation’s founding, Reverend Josiah Henson embodied the opposition between American ideals of liberty and the lived reality of those enslaved. Rooted in economic gains for those in control, slavery was a foundational element of post-colonial America, and it would take almost 90 years and another war to form

Preface The following is a retelling of just a small piece of the family history of Rico Newman, an elder of the Choptico Band of the Piscataway-Conoy tribe. While it is a story passed down from generation to generation in his family, it had only been shared with archaeologists a little over a decade ago. When archaeologists from St. Mary’s College of Maryland worked with tribal partners and collaborators on a Maryland Historical Trust-funded Piscataway Landscapes survey proj

When people think about the archaeology of the American Revolution, their minds often go straight to battlefields. Often outnumbered with little supplies, colonial militia fought hard against enormous odds to gain independence from British rule, and well-preserved battlefields help relay these stories to the public. While these do indeed deserve attention, much more information about the lives of soldiers and the logistics of battle can be learned from cultural resources that

On March 31st of 1781, in the midst of the American Revolution, British soldiers from two ships named the Monk and the Hope came up the West River, South of Annapolis, with the intent of destroying Stephen Steward’s Shipyard. The Maryland Gazette reports the burning a few days later, noting that British troops “... gloriously completed the destruction of everything valuable to Mr. Steward.....The loss is not yet to be estimated; every hour they discover their [Steward’s] loss

July 14, 1776, and the months that followed were undoubtedly unforgettable for the people of St. Mary’s County, Maryland. On this day in mid-July Lord Dunmore and his fleet of over 70 vessels were first observed “lying off between St. Mary’s River and Point Look Out” by Alexander Somerville in his report to the Council of Safety. They continued up the St. Mary’s River, covering roughly 8 nautical miles before reaching St. George Island. The following months saw the British fo

Since 2024, the Baltimore Community Archaeology Lab (BCAL) at Towson University has been conducting investigations at three archaeological sites in North Point State Park (Figure 1). This ongoing project demonstrates the variety of meanings a place can have for different people, and the importance of understanding the significance of places through hearing many voices. Figure 1: Towson University student Maggie Fahey and a volunteer excavate a unit in a shell midden in site 1

Since the early 1930s, the state of Maryland has installed over 800 historical markers along state roads (Figure 1). The popularity of the automobile, along with a renewed interest in history during the early 20th century, stimulated state agencies to form partnerships to fund a historical marker program. In 1932, the first major marker effort was undertaken in conjunction with the Daughters of the American Revolution to commemorate the bicentennial of George Washington’s bir