In 1974, an archaeological excavation was undertaken to determine the exact location and configuration of the Fort McIntosh site. Stone footers and other artifacts uncovered by the dig showed that the fort’s size and shape were much larger than originally supposed, and more than 80,000 artifacts of all types were recovered and carefully cataloged. Because of the rocky soil, the logs that formed the walls of the fort and buildings were laid horizontally on fieldstone footers, which also filled small deviations in low places. The fort’s outer log walls also served as the back walls of the barracks and were protected from enemy approach by angled bastions at each of the four corners. The archaeological work was completed in 1978 in time for the celebration of the fort’s 200th anniversary in October of that year, and the site was officially rededicated by General William Westmoreland, attended by the present-day Old Guard, which traces its beginnings to this site. Fort McIntosh had been decommissioned by the Army in 1788, when above-ground artifacts were removed and the walls were dismantled to prevent further use as a fortification, and many of the logs were later used in other local structures, including the log house at the Beaver Area Historical Museum.