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Fort Toulouse, unlike most frontier settlements, played a
dual role of being both a military post and a diplomatic post.
By establishing friendly trade with the Indians, the French
kept the rival British at a distance and never had to fire
a cannon in defense. Though the French military dominated
life at the Alabama post, there was also a blend of civilian
colonist who settled around the fort. It is estimated that
by 1763, when the French gave up their territory east of the
Mississippi River, nearly one hundred and ninety people, including
the soldiers, lived in the area. The monthly garrison list
provides record of the occupants, but information is sparse
about the insights of the colonial settlement.
Until recent years, little was known about the first French
Outpost on the Coosa River. In 1984, an excavation team from
the University of Alabama investigated a narrow strip of land
along the river and discovered part of a moat and footing
trenches of what has been referred to as Fort Toulouse I.
And this past summer, twenty years later, another investigation
was carried out by a team of students and adults participating
in the UA Museum Expedition. Eighty-one participants from
all over the US and as far away as England helped to uncover
the remaining unexplored area of the fort interior.
The broken and discarded material possessions of the Alabama
post inhabitants offer more information about the daily life
than the official reports that were written for the colonial
minister in France. Buttons, buckles, and broken bottles are
among many of the artifacts discovered by members of the Expedition
team who took part in the excavation this summer. Lead by
archaeologists Craig Sheldon of Auburn University Montgomery,
and Ned Jenkins of the Alabama Historical Commission, participants
uncovered trade items such as glass beads, musket balls, and
gun flints, as well as things used in the daily life of the
colonists like ceramic dishes, pieces of pottery, and clay
smoking pipes.
Working in teams of two to three people, portions of the fort
were excavated in square, one-meter “units”. Picks,
shovels, and trowels were used to remove the dirt and expose
“profiles” within the soil. The contents of each
unit were placed in a wheelbarrow, labeled and then taken
to a water screen where all the dirt was washed away. Everything
remaining in the screen became an artifact – whether
it was rock, pottery or some other man made object.
However, it doesn’t take the entire procedure to find
a unique artifact. One can imagine the excitement of 16-year
old Sara Masterson of Grady, Alabama when she uncovered a
brass figurine in the unit where she was working. “I
was digging with my trowel, and suddenly it just appeared,”
Sarah said. “When I realized what it was, I yelled to
everyone, ‘Hey, I found Jesus.”
Approximately three inches in length, the object appeared
to be a corpus of Christ that may have been part of a crucifix.
Craig Sheldon calls the artifact a “cover piece”;
something that will probably be featured on the cover of a
book. Dr. Sheldon said that Capuchin and Jesuit missions were
located at the post, but priest were stationed there infrequently.
Unfortunately, all the church records were lost. He also said
that it was possible that the crucifix may have belonged to
a military officer assigned to the fort.
The artifacts, though significant to the research, didn’t
seem to be of most interest to the archaeologists. They focused
more on the dark-brown soil that was about a foot in width
and cut through the orange clay. The markings revealed what
may have been a trench used to create the walls of the fort
or a building inside. “We have more questions than we
have answers,” Dr. Sheldon stated as he looked over
the site. “We seem to be creating more mysteries than
we’re solving.”
Dr. Sheldon said that due to the climate found in Alabama,
the French constantly had to renovate the fort. Log posts
would rot after about five years. Also, the fort was built
close to the edge of the riverbank, which the Coosa steadily
eroded away. Sheldon said that he suspects that the French
continued to add to the fort as they retreated from the river.
Ned Jenkins agreed with Sheldon that the excavation revealed
the first fort, but he also said, “There are several
different first forts.”
Although the Museum Expedition has concluded its work at Fort
Toulouse, archaeologist will continue to excavate the site
with the hope of solving some of the mysteries.
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