Stirring Up a Hornet's Nest: - UGA Laboratory of Archaeology ...

ullets that struck organic targets that left the battlefield, this leaves 12,344 bullets on the battlefield. Using
this estimate, the present survey again recovered about one-half of one percent of the bullets fired in the
battle.
If we use Colonel Dooly’s estimate of 200 guns fired by the opposing Loyalists at a rate of twice a minute
for one hour, then this would have generated 24,000 bullets. If one figures that the firing rate during the
other two hours of battle was one third of that, then the Loyalists may have fired as many as 39,840 bullets.
And if one uses the same rate of hourly fire for the Patriots, then this would have generated another 7,920
bullets, or a total of 47,760 bullets. Even if Dooly’s estimates were inflated by two thirds, that still leaves
15,761 bullets. Compared to Dooly’s estimate of 47,760, the other estimates ranging between about 13,000
and 54,000 bullets are probably not too far off the mark. An average of the two extremes provides us with
an estimate of 36,588 bullets fired in battle, then deduct the 10 percent removed from the battlefield by the
participants (n=3,293) and that leaves 32,929 bullets on the battlefield. The recovered sample of 65 bullets
is just under one-fifth of one percent (0.19%) of the bullets fired.
Reenactor data provided by Brett Osborne suggests a lower estimate for the number of bullets fired is more
realistic. Osborne noted that rifles are more prone to misfires and require more frequent cleaning of the
barrel during use than do smoothbore weapons. The shooter also must allow time for the heated rifle barrel
to cool after repeated firings. Osborne suggests that a sequence of 10-12 rifle firings is a reasonable
estimate before the weapon required tending. The cleaning and cooling of the barrel would have taken
several minutes for each weapon. The combination of slower firing repetions and “time out” for tending to
the weapon would have substantially reduced the total number of bullets fired on the battlefield (Brett
Osborne personal communication February 15, 2009).
Of course an armchair exercise, such as this, for estimating the number of bullets expended on the Kettle
Creek battlefield is wildly inaccurate. It relies on too many tenuous assumptions. It was presented here to
emphasis the relatively minute size of the recovered ammunition sample found by the present survey. An
overwhelming majority of the bullets fired on February 14, 1779 were not recovered. An unknown
percentage of these have been collected over generations by visitors to the battlefield. Another unknown
percentage likely lie deeply buried beneath a meter or more of Kettle Creek floodplain soils. With all this
said, however, the bullets that were recovered by this project speak volumes about the events of that day.
Lead shot and balls from the study were classified by caliber, weight (in grams), and by their condition
(impacted verses dropped or non-impacted). The lead shot used by both sides during the battle of Kettle
Creek are visibly indistinguishable. They are round balls of various smaller calibers, which were fired from
a variety of non-military issue weapons. The sample of lead balls from the Kettle Creek battlefield is too
small for any detailed statistical analyses.
Caliber measurements were obtainable for 29 of the 61 lead balls in the survey collection. These ranged
from .33 to .64 calibers. Twelve of these were greater than .50 caliber and 17 were .50 caliber or smaller.
The sample of 61 lead balls weighed an average of 10.28 g per ball. They ranged in size from 1.8 g to 17.5
g. Lead ball weights were sorted by Loci and the average weight per ball was noted.
Thirteen balls from Locus B averaged 6.2 g. They ranged from 7.4 to 13.2 g. Two measured specimens
were .33 and 34 caliber balls. The spatial distribution of bullets in Locus B was scattered across the hillside.
That pattern suggests a general, unfocused firing, probably by the advancing Patriots under Colonel
Pickens command.
Eighteen balls from Locus D averaged 11 g and ranged from 3.8 to 17.1 g. Eleven measured specimens
ranged from .34 to .60 calibers. Seven examples were between .50 and .54 caliber. One ball was .34 caliber,
one was .47 caliber, one was .54 caliber, and one was .60 caliber. The spatial distribution of bullets in
Locus D is more concentrated, which may indicate a firing pattern generated by only a few shooters firing
at a compact, stationary target.
Locus F yielded the largest sample of lead balls from any of the battlefield loci. Twenty-five balls from
Locus F averaged 9.3 g and ranged from 3.3 g to 17.2 g. Twelve measured specimens ranged from .35 to
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