Archaeology at Johnson’s Island
Two complete glass bottles recovered from latrines in the prison. 
Redware face pipe, featuring “Rough & Ready”, a nickname for President Zachary Taylor. 
Whiteware gravy boat uncovered from a prison latrine. 
Rat skull uncovered in archaeological excavations. Men sometimes hunted rats, which were pervasive in the prison, to supplement their meager diets during the worst conditions at Johnson’s Island.
Between 1988 and 2017, David R. Bush, PhD, led archaeological excavations on the site of the Johnson’s Island prison. Initially conducted as a cultural resource management project in conjunction with site development, this work was later managed by Bush in collaboration with Heidelberg University through its Center for Historic and Military Archaeology and the Friends and Descendants (organized in 2001). Thousands of Ohio school children visited the former prison site as part of the Experiential Learning Program, in which they participated in a real archaeological dig and uncovered original artifacts. In the summer, archaeological field schools for college students and workshops for professional teachers furthered excavations, some of which were highlighted in the Archaeological Institute of America’s Interactive Digs.
Initial excavations identified the site of the prison by locating evidence for its walls and ditches, examined the remains of the waterfront dock, and the powder magazine of Fort Hill (destroyed due to quarrying and land development). Over the next thirty years, excavations uncovered evidence of the prisoner barracks (referred to as numbered blocks), the prison hospital, latrines, structural features, and uncovered hundreds of thousands of artifacts that revealed surprising new details about prison life from 1862-1865. The latrines, for example, were in use for short, sequential periods, allowing for a fine-grained analysis of how life in the prison and the material culture of the prisoners changed over the course of the war. The discovery of hundreds of fragments and complete examples of craft work—especially jewelry made from a substance known as hard rubber—showed the artistry and commerce of prisoners.
These archaeological finds are complemented by an exceptionally rich pool of documentary evidence, including governmental records, letters and diaries written by prisoners and Union guards, prisoner-created drawings and maps, and photographs. These multiple sources and years of study have made Johnson’s Island one of the richest Civil War archaeological sites in the country.
Some of the results of the excavations have been published in Historical Archaeology, American Archaeology, and in David R. Bush’s 2011 book, I Fear I Shall Never Leave This Island: Life in a Civil War Prison (available in our Sutler Shop) as well as made publicly accessible through tours, talks, programs, and exhibitions.
The Friends and Descendants is always excited to communicate with educators, scholars, and members of the public about this work. For more information about the archaeological study of Johnson’s Island and specific artifacts, please contact us.