Only one map of the encampment exists, and of 13,000 soldiers there, diaries were written by probably very few. One enlisted man, who later became a sergeant, wrote a memoir when he was in his 70's which mentions Jockey Hollow. Arnold's Tavern is long gone, as are most of the other 18th Century village houses, leaving only gravestones in church cemeteries. Archeology and historical interpretation follow trends. The tendency to contemplate great men and events gives way to deliberating social fabric and common lifestyles.
Archeology is like reading a page in a book, ripping it out and throwing it away.
New techniques come along that can make sense of things that meant nothing before. To investigate lifestyle, we're interested not only in artifacts, but mounds of stone, mold lines from rotted wood, packed down soil, bones of animals in garbage heaps. You find only the big stuff notated in documents and diaries. As Washington wrote, the Revolution was a war of posts. The most prescient battles were waged in hearts and minds.