The Greater Atlanta Chapter (GAAS) of the SGA will meet next on Tuesday, April 9th, 2013, at 6:30 pm at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. The speaker will be Jim D’Angelo, who will discuss recently discovered information in the National Archives on the roles of Fort Peachtree and Fort Daniel in the Creek Indian War of 1813-1815.
Jim writes:
Dozens of recently discovered documents at the National Archives are shedding new light on an old story, the roles of Fort Peachtree and Fort Daniel in the Creek Indian War of 1813-1815. Did you know that the first 18 of approximately 42 miles of the original Peachtree Road from Fort Daniel to Standing Peachtree, all of which was in Creek Territory, already existed when work was started on it in January of 1814!?
You might be surprised to know that the flatboat that was to bring supplies from Standing Peachtree to Fort Mitchell, to supply General Floyd’s and General Jackson’s troops in Mississippi Territory (Alabama Lands), was constructed at Vann’s Ferry along with a Skiff, which was used to scout the river prior to sending the supply boat. You probably do know that the military name for the garrison station at Standing Peachtree was Floydsville, but did you know that the station was part of an Express Mail Route that connected the military in Georgia with General Andrew Jackson?
These documents also confirm that James Montgomery’s recollection of where he built the fort was correct all along, despite the conclusions of some twentieth-century historians. Some have speculated that “Peachtree Road” is a later name given to “Peachtree Trail,” but the 1818 and 1821 Gwinnett and Henry County District surveyor notes and their plats know it as “Peachtree Road” all the way to Fort Daniel.
And the “Peachtree” vs. “Pitchtree” debate? Based on documentary and archaeological evidence we can say with confidence, it is “Peachtree.”
Dr. James J. D’Angelo has over 40 years of experience as an archaeologist and as a college and university teacher. With degrees in Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Archaeology, his academic and work experience includes teaching at several colleges and universities in New Jersey, California, and Reno Nevada. At the University of Nevada-Reno he was Director of the Program for Adult College Education (PACE), and Assistant Professor of Philosophy.
At the same time Dr. D’Angelo ran his own consulting firm doing prehistoric and historic archaeology in New Jersey and in the Great Basin (Nevada and surrounding states). He came to Georgia in 2000 and worked for TRC Environmental for 9 years as a staff archaeologist doing projects mostly in the Southeastern, USA. Between 1974 and 1980 he was on the staff of the Joint Expedition to Caesaria Maritima in Israel, and from 1981 to the present has been on the staff of the Joint Expedition to Khirbet Iskander in Jordan, where his efforts have focused on Early Bronze Age cemeteries and cultic installations.
Dr. D’Angelo is now retired and doing independent research in association with the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society, a Chapter of the SGA, and the Fort Daniel Foundation, Inc. In addition to being President and CEO of the Fort Daniel Foundation, Inc., he is Secretary-Treasurer of the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists. His book on the history and archaeology of Fort Daniel entitled, “Rediscovering Fort Daniel,” is due to be out in time for the Bicentennial of Fort Daniel’s construction in the fall of 1813.
The GAAS meeting is free and open to the public.
Read more stories on this website about Fort Daniel here.
Where to find it
Click above to go to a larger Google interactive map of the area.
Posted online on Tuesday, March 26th, 2013
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