Abstract:
Fort Hoskins is located near Kings Valley, approximately 16 miles from
Corvallis. The Fort, built after the Rogue Wars of the 1850s, was intended to safeguard
the newly created Indian reserves. During its' ten-years of existence, U.S. Army
Regulars manned the Fort from 1856-1861 while volunteers from California,
Washington, and Oregon were present from 1861-1865. Life at Fort Hoskins was
similar to other peacetime forts, regimented and void of battle heroics.
The research problem concerns determining military status and authority as
revealed in the archaeological record. The data used was the archaeological material
from the excavated site of Fort Hoskins. Artifacts were categorized into a functional
classification scheme. Assemblages for the artifact categories produced proportional
frequencies providing a method in which to compare differences or similarities between
the officers and enlisted men. Fort Hoskins artifacts reveal greater status differences in
the Personal and Domestic categories between the two groups. The Military Defense
category reveals limited differences to substantiate authority.
