FORT BRANCH, HAMILTON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: RESEARCH DESIGN AND SITE MANAGEMENT PLAN

The purpose of this thesis is to produce a research design and a site management\r\nplan for Fort Branch, a National Register-listed Confederate earthwork on Rainbow Bend\r\nin Martin County, North Carolina. The thesis discusses the history of Fort Branch,\r\nstarting with a history of the Civil War in eastern North Carolina, to provide a context for\r\nthe fort’s construction. A specific history of the fort discusses the defenses of Rainbow\r\nBend and their eventual evolution into what is now Fort Branch. The research design\r\nuses the historical and archaeological background to formulate site-specific\r\narchaeological questions and uses case studies of Civil War archaeology to ensure that\r\nresearch at Fort Branch is placed within the context of Civil War archaeology. Previous\r\narchaeology, the archaeology of fort construction, an archaeological survey of the site,\r\nthe archaeology of skirmishes, the archaeology of encampment, landscape studies, and\r\nthe historic cemetery are discussed in this thesis. This research is important because it\r\nwill provide the Fort Branch Battlefield Commission with ways to better interpret the\r\nbattlefield, enhance its mission of preservation and restoration, and provide ways that the\r\nsite can be protected for future generations