The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs is proud to announce that Julia King, professor of anthropology, was recently awarded a two-year grant through the American Battlefield Protection Program of the National Park Service. The American Battlefield Protection Program awarded 1.1 million dollars to 14 projects charged with preserving and protecting historic battles fought on American soil. With her award, Professor King will examine the role of Virginia’s indigenous nations in Bacon’s Rebellion, which took place in 1676, through a focus on Dragon Swamp in the Virginia Tidewater. Bacon’s Rebellion is considered by historians as an important watershed moment in Chesapeake history, with insurrectionist Nathaniel Bacon seizing control of Jamestown and shocking royal authorities in London. Surprisingly, little attention has been focused on Bacon’s efforts to destroy Virginia’s indigenous people. As Bacon’s forces drew close, the colony’s indigenous communities fled into Dragon Swamp, where they successfully out-maneuvered and evaded Bacon and his troops. Through collaborations with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe, the Friends of Dragon Run, and Tufts University historian James D. Rice, Professor King along with Project Archaeologist Megan D. Postemski will collect archival material, conduct landscape modeling, and complete fieldwork and archaeological surveys to prepare a detailed indigenous history of the battle in Dragon Swamp. This information will assist community partners with developing preservation strategies for this region as well as provide additional historical documentation about indigenous perspectives during the transformative periods in early American colonization. Visit this link to read more about this exciting project!
For additional information or for assistance with identifying, securing, and managing externally funded research, contact the ORSP office.
