An Archaeological Survey of the Site of the Lattimer Massacre, Lattimer, PA

Abstract

The Lattimer Massacre occurred in September of 1897 in the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania. It has been described as the bloodiest massacre of the nineteenth century. In this event, a company-sponsored sheriff and a posse of local businessmen shot into a crowd of striking Eastern European mine laborers, resulting in the deaths of at least nineteen. A survey was initiated by the Department of Anthropology of the University of Maryland as part of a broader research program examining labor and immigration heritage of the Anthracite Region of Northeast Pennsylvania. The site was surveyed on three dates in the fall of 2010, November 13 and 14 and December 4, 2010. Members of BRAVO conducted systematic and random metal detecting surveys of three areas. At the conclusion of the survey and subsequent analysis some of the initial goals for the project were satisfactorily completed, while others remain elusive. No cartridges dating to the massacre were found. The location of the initial engagement was identified by a cluster of three bullets from the period of the massacre or earlier. A fourth bullet was identified roughly where the right side of the line of deputies was situated.