Memory and Power at L'Hermitage Plantation

Uncovering evidence of slavery and controlin the spatial landscapes of a Maryland plantationIn this book,Megan Bailey uses archaeological data and historical records to document thetreatment of enslaved people at LHermitage Plantation in Maryland from 1794 to1827. Bailey uses the concept of the nervous landscapea space where power isnot absolute and where resistance is possibleto show how the Vincendirefamilys fear of losing control of their workforce drove their brutality. Baileyshows how the Vincendires strategies to maintain their power were inscribedin the plantations landscapes through the design of the enslaved peoplesvillage, which maximized surveillance and control while suppressingindividuality. Despite thefamilys behavior, enslaved people found ways to exercise agency, including throughuse of yard space, forming relationships with localresidents, and running away. Considering fear and anxiety as a fundamentalelement of the colonial experience, Bailey argues that emotion should beconsidered in archaeological analyses of the past.Today,LHermitage Plantation is a part of the Monocacy National Battlefield operatedby the National Park Service. Bailey discusses the public interpretation of thesite and how excavations of the plantation highlighted a more complicated narrative than the prevailing story ofCivil War conflict and heroism. Memory and Power at LHermitage Plantation uses archaeology toconnect the Vincendires to the present-day landscape in a complex, layerednarrative of precarity and control.Avolume in the series Cultural Heritage Studies, edited by Paul A. ShackelPublication of this work made possible by aSustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant from theNational Endowment for the Humanities.