A few years ago Lyle Browning and I were excavating three confederate huts on
the site of what is now Pamplin Park south of Petersburg, VA. The encampment
was overrun by the Union Army one morning in 1865. A few days later RE Lee
surrendered at Appomattox. We were both struck by the paucity of artifacts at
the site. But both moved by what we found in one hut. In front of the
fireplace we found the soldier's last meal- an almost intact bottle and his tin
cup. And next two his bed, neatly lined up and ready to put on in the morning,
we found his boots. I don't know what happened to that soldier, but that he
left his boots behind, attests to the suprise and ferocity of the Union attack.
James H. Brothers IV, RPA