Forgotten Heroes of the Republic

WILLIAMSON COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM
The Forgotten Heroes of the Republic


     
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Dr. Clark Wernecke, Gault Project Director, spoke on the “Forgotten Heroes of the Republic: an Archeological Study of the Mass Grave from the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, May 9, 1846.”

In 1967, construction work exposed a mass grave of Mexican soldiers from the second battle of the Mexican War, Resaca de la Palma. Through ongoing research, archeologists are attempting to discover the identities of these soldiers, what their life had been like and what that final day was like. The Mexican War has been overshadowed in our histories by the Civil War, and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma has often been addressed in an offhand way. In fact, this lesser known battle was a pivotal one whose outcome could have dramatically changed history.

Clark Wernecke is the Project Director for the Gault Project. Mr. Wernecke has a BA in History, PhD in Anthropology and an MBA. In addition to more than 20 years of archaeological experience, Wernecke has considerable business experience and has specialized in the management of large archaeological projects. He has worked in the Middle East, Mesoamerica, and the American Southeast, and Texas. Dr. Wernecke is also currently an advisor to Exploring Solutions Past: The Maya Forest Alliance, a nonprofit organization looking for solutions to the world’s conservation crisis by rescuing knowledge out of the past, in the present, for the future.