For Kevin Chapman, the importance of finding the Camp Lawton Civil War prison site hit him when he came upon a small clay pipe during excavations.
    A graduate archeology student at Georgia Southern and leader of the university’s dig effort, Chapman said he made a personal connection with a ghost from the historical past.
    “There was a soldier here who had a need – he liked to smoke,” Chapman said. “So he melted down musket balls, minie balls, bullets from guns of the day and he cast a bowl to replace the bowl that had been lost. And he used that pipe so much he actually wore grooves into that white clay pipe. We’ll never know this man. He’s been lost in history. At least his name has. But his story hasn’t. Because when you see that pipe you can really feel that man.”
    Wednesday, Chapman and representatives from Georgia Southern, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources gathered inside Magnolia Springs State Park to announce the discovery of historic Civil War artifacts at the Camp Lawton site.
   
Significant find
    “What we did find is one of the most significant archeological finds in the history of the state,” said Chris Clark, Commissioner of Georgia DNR. “We all knew Camp Lawton was here. But we thought the camp was only in operation about six weeks so there really wouldn’t be a lot to find.”
    Teams and individuals from Georgia Southern had been coming to the site for many years, with the last big push in 2005 to locate the stockade part of Lawton, where the prisoners would have lived. That effort was unsuccessful and it wasn’t until late last year that Clark spoke with Georgia Southern anthropology professor Dr. Sue Moore about putting together another team to look for the stockade.
    “It sounded like a good idea,” Moore said. “I remember thinking to myself that this would not be a difficult project as I did not expect we would find a lot in the way of artifacts.”
    At that time, Chapman, a 36-year-old full time bail bondsman, told Moore he was looking for a project for his Masters thesis. Moore thought of Camp Lawton immediately.
   
Lawton’s history
    Lawton was built in 1864 to receive prisoners from the overcrowded facility at Andersonville, Ga. It was constructed over 42 acres to hold 40,000 men. The prison was located at the site north of Millen due to the readily available spring water and the close proximity – one mile – of the Augusta Railroad.
    At its height, the prison housed about 10,000 prisoners. It was only open for about six weeks before it was abandoned as Sherman’s army approached in December 1864.
    Dr. John Derden, a professor emeritus of history at East Georgia College who also has written a book about the prison camp, added some historical perspective.
    “Why is the story of Camp Lawton important? Its significance lies in the fact that it is an illustrative microcosm of much of the macro event that was the Civil War,” he said.” “Although Camp Lawton was indeed short lived, the context of its creation, existence and closing form an essential component of the history of Civil War military prisons.”
   
Discovery
    Chapman said before he started the physical part of the project he conducted intensive research about Lawton in December 2009. He first took a team of GSU students with him to the site in January to start digging and in February, he found something exciting.
    “We found some nails and Union soldier buttons, but when I found a coin – an 1834 U.S. Large Cent to be exact, I knew the site was undisturbed, because anyone with a metal detector would have found that pretty easily,” he said.
    The discovery of many artifacts soon followed, including bullets, eating utensils and a pocket knife. Another item particularly intrigued Chapman.
    “I found a tourniquet buckle,” he said. “And … as I looked at it I realized that this tourniquet during its lifetime, during its service, was wrapped around the arms and legs of many servicemen as they lost a limb. That spoke to me. (Not) so much to the horror of the conflict as it (did) to the resiliency and ingenuity of the men who served and were a part of this encampment.”
   
 GSU Museum exhibit
    Due to its fragile nature, the site will remain closed to the public. Officials said archaeological excavations and research will continue at the site for years and must be undisturbed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service installed a security fence and other measures to protect the site and the artifacts.
    DNR Commissioner Clark said the state agency and Georgia Southern recently signed a memorandum to collaborate resources at the site as the dig continues. Moore said the university hopes to open an exhibit at the Georgia Southern Museum showcasing the artifacts and history of Camp Lawton in October, so the public can share more in the discovery.
    Clark said he also hopes the site will help bring more people to Jenkins County, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in Georgia.
    “We have an incredible opportunity for heritage tourism in this community,” he said. “To bring people from all over the country if not over the world to understand the unique history that this site represents.”
   
The future
    Chapman said he plans to be part of the Camp Lawton dig well into the foreseeable future. He is excited about what they will find in the years ahead, but, for him, the meaning of the camp is best exemplified by the pipe and its owner.
    “You can reach back 150 years and see him here at Camp Lawton next to small fire with a few scraps of wood he has managed to pull together,” Chapman said. “He sat next to the fire with a little bit of tobacco that he had borrowed from the guards or bought from the guards or bartered from another inmate. He packed a bowl in his pipe and he lit it from his small fire and he enjoyed it and maybe he thought of home. Of sitting around a fireplace from wherever he was from and his family. I don’t know where he was from. I don’t know if he survived the war. I like to think that he did. That he made it home. That he had a long life and many children. And thanks to finding (his pipe) we can tell his story if not his name.”