- Twelve Continental soldiers who died in a South Carolina pine forest in 1780 are being properly mourned and buried after being exhumed.
- Historians are working to preserve, identify, and unveil relics from the war ahead of America’s 250th anniversary of independence.
- “You died a brave and horrific death far from home and loved ones. You were rudely cast into a shallow grave with many like you. Now we deserve you.” Giving you a heroic farewell,” wrote Air Force veteran Stacey Ferguson..”All I can say is thank you on behalf of a grateful nation.”
Twelve American soldiers died in a South Carolina pine forest in 1780 and their bodies were hastily buried under a thin layer of soil. Their comrades fled from the British who seemed poised to bring a swift and brutal end to American experiments.
But later this month, the carefully collected and studied remains of dozens of unknown soldiers who fell on the battlefields of Camden are receiving proper memorials and burials. and historians hope to emphasize that history unites rather than divides.
“Our democracy is the oldest in the world. We don’t always get it right. We’ve fought among ourselves more than I think. But today we are the most powerful nation in the world, this is you, pay with your life,” reads a letter from Air Force veteran Stacey Ferguson.
Bodies of 14 Revolutionary War Soldiers Unearthed at South Carolina Battlefield
But the exhumation and reburial of soldiers is more than just a memorial. It is also an illustration of what modern science can do. Several of those who fell were teenagers, one with a musket bullet lodged in his spine. Their names may soon be discovered through DNA testing and genealogy.
However, there are limits to what you can discover. Time took a toll on my body. Bones that did not decompose into dust were scattered by wild animals, souvenir hunters, and watermelon farmers in the mid-1900s. Some wreckage showed scars from spades and other equipment. As a result, the bone gap may or may not be a musket or bayonet wound.
“For many of these people, we were unable to establish an exact cause of death. One Madeline Atwell said.
Atwell’s office has spent months helping other archaeologists carefully dig up soil at the site. When the bodies were discovered, they were draped in U.S. flags and veterans took them to trucks.
The remains have been x-rayed, examined and meticulously cataloged. They are now preparing for a reburial ceremony that historians deserve to call America’s first hero.
“They are America’s first truly veterans, and we have a responsibility to honor their sacrifice,” said Doug Bostick, CEO of the South Carolina Battlefield Preservation Trust.
A large ceremony is planned in South Carolina from April 20-22. A soldier is honored at the National Cemetery at Fort Jackson Army Basic Training Base in Columbia before heading for his 20-mile march to Camden. They lie in that state for two days before horse-drawn caissons carry them to their resting place.
A similar project is underway in New Jersey, where the bodies of as many as a dozen German Hessians who fought for Britain were found in a mass grave on the Red Bank battlefield. Detailed tests, including DNA, are also performed there.
Historians and archaeologists are reburying 12 Continental Army soldiers whose bodies were found in South Carolina after holding a memorial service. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
“History is an ongoing process. We didn’t write the Battle of Redbank, we know everything that happened,” said a public historian at Rowan University and director of Redbank Battlefield Park. One Jennifer Janowski said, “We have a better chance to tell the fuller story of these individuals. Who were they? Why were they here? They what was the fate of
These soldiers are the lucky ones and can be remembered.
Many of the 900 people killed in Camden, one of America’s deadliest battles, were left on the ground where all traces of them were removed within a few years by wildlife and South Carolina’s heat and humidity. rice field. At the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780, nearly all American soldiers deserted, were killed, wounded, or captured, historians say.
But that was the turning point. The Continental Congress followed George Washington’s recommendation and named Nathaniel Greene to take over the Confederate Army.In a little over a year, Greene’s army pushed the British north into Virginia, eventually falling to the aid of the French at Yorktown. He effectively won the War of Independence.
Key to that victory was South Carolina, where Bostic and other Revolutionary War zealots are trying to revive the zeal for the conflict. In the early 1800s, historians credited South Carolina with winning the independence of the United States. Fighting and skirmishing took place in 42 of her 46 counties in the state.
But South Carolina rebelled again, lost the Civil War, and historians reacted in 1776 to its attempt to tear apart what had been knit together.
“The South was completely left out of the Revolutionary War in the post-Civil War history books,” Bostic said.
South Carolina commemoration organizers mark the 250th anniversary of the American Revolutionary War while remembering the battle but highlighting the ideals of American democracy and the country’s ability to change, mature and admit its shortcomings. I want to
Ferguson thought about that as he worked on his Notes to the Long Fallen Soldiers. Historic As director of operations for the Camden Foundation, she has preserved and honored them every step of the way. A total of 14 bodies were unearthed, including a Scottish Highlander and a soldier from North Carolina who fought for the British. They are respected as well.
Bodies of 12 Hessians found on New Jersey Revolutionary War battlefield
The US soldiers appear to be from Maryland or Delaware. Researchers are collecting his DNA from them, and people whose ancestors died in the Revolutionary War have volunteered to provide samples in the hope that the soldier will not remain unknown forever. increase. That work is still months or years away.
For now, Mr. Ferguson has helped other archaeologists and employees of the Richland County Coroner’s Office carefully place the remains into handcrafted long-leaf pine coffins made from 18th-century designs, and blacksmiths. Seal with individually made nails.
They sprinkled dirt from where each man was recovered in a coffin. And they all signed Ferguson’s letter, the former Air Force officer telling the soldiers that they probably couldn’t comprehend the power and wealth their country had gained 250 years after they died.
As an officer, Ferguson said he felt obligated to care for them, as well as the men and women in his command.
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“You died a brave yet horrific death, far from home and loved ones. gives you the hero farewell you deserve,” Ferguson wrote. “All I can say is thank you on behalf of a grateful nation.”
