An Archaeological Survey of the Site of the Lattimer Massacre, Lattimer, PA
An Archaeological Survey of the Site of the Lattimer Massacre, Lattimer, PA
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Date
2010
Authors
Roller, Michael
Shackel, Paul A.
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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.