Revolutionary War shovel, recovered at Williamsburg, VA

This shovel head measures approximately 16 inches in overall length and weighs 2.6 pounds. The blade measures approximately 7-3/8 x 11-1/2 inches. Constructed of iron, both front and rear have holes where the handle post meets the blade and the blade itself has edge wear. It was recovered from a Revolutionary War site in Williamsburg, VA.

Williamsburg was the capital of the Virginia colony from 1699 until 1779. Plotted on land first used by Virginia Indians, it was settled by the English during and just after the Second Anglo-Powhatan War (1622–1632) and called Middle Plantation, for its location equidistant between the York and James rivers. In subsequent years, wealth and political prestige gradually shifted upriver from the first seat of English government, at Jamestown, and talk of moving the capital gained momentum during Bacon’s Rebellion (1676–1677), when rebels burned the statehouse.

During the American Revolution (1775–1783), Virginia’s royal governor dissolved the General Assembly and fled the city. After British troops invaded Virginia in 1779, Governor Thomas Jefferson moved the capital to Richmond.

The upper and lower handle posts are partially present. Remarkably, the shovel head is very solid, even in the areas of wear. During the Revolutionary War, shovels and tools such as this were just as important as muskets. There are examples of this type of shovel in “Collector’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution”, by Neumann and Kravic, as well as the Fort Ticonderoga Museum (see pictures).