Dr. Bill Stevens and Dr. Madeline Atwell of the Richland County Coroner's Office take great care during the 2022 archeological recovery of a Battle of Camden casualty whose hasty 244 year old field burial was endangered. Credit: Sarah Nell Blackwell photo, courtesy of SCBPT.
FHD Forensics is working with Historic Camden Foundation, South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust (SCBPT), Richland County Coroner's Office (RCCO), South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA) and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources on a forensic identification project of great historic significance.
As a continuation of the Camden Burials campaign begun in 2022, the company is now undertaking the genetic genealogy analysis of some of the 'The Fourteen' as they became known.
In 2022, skeletal remains and artifacts of 14 Revolutionary War soldiers from the Battle of Camden were unearthed after shallow battlefield burials were being exposed by many years of erosion and relic hunting activity.
"The burials were very cursory in nature," explained SCIAA archaeologist James Legg. "Prisoners of war were likely made to bury the dead in extremely shallow graves — we're talking 12 to 14 inches deep. Some of them even showed evidence of plow marks from 20th century farming, that's how poorly these soldiers were treated."
"This was a humanitarian recovery preventing these individuals from being further damaged," commented Bill Stevens, deputy coroner at RCCO. "The biological anthropologists in our office worked for months to x-ray, clean, examine and re-assemble the remains before reburial."
It was the deep respect and reverence exhibited by everyone involved in the Camden Burials project that FHD Forensics' founder and genetic genealogist Allison Peacock says inspired her team to get involved.
Genetic profiles from the ancient DNA of the first two Revolutionary War soldiers of thirteen have been successfully sequenced by Astrea Forensics in order to undertake the challenge of identifying them using genetic genealogy. The 14th, probably a North Carolina Loyalist, was determined to be Native American and was not sampled.
Peacock believes these are the oldest John Doe investigations in the country.
Historic Camden Foundation is the steward of Camden's colonial and Revolutionary War history. As owners of the largest portion of the battlefield, they provided funding for the identifications.
"As property owners, we are the caretakers of not only the resources we can see above ground, but also to the rich history below ground," explained Cary Briggs, executive director, Historic Camden Foundation.
The late Doug Bostick, former CEO of SCBPT, summed up the importance of the groundbreaking effort. "They are truly America's first veterans. We have a responsibility to honor their sacrifice by ensuring their remains are protected in perpetuity and their stories of bravery are shared."
Before his death last year, Bostick spearheaded the international reburial event in April, 2023. In addition to U.S. and British military contingencies in attendance, the Air Force performed a flyover to honor these men who lit the way for the next 244 years of armed forces in this country.
"It has been a responsibility well met," continued Peacock. "The emotional significance of the Camden Burials event inspires us in this new phase. The DNA data looks promising, so the next few months will see us uncovering the personal stories of these heroes."
Current SCBPT CEO Rick Wise hopes these new efforts might reunite families whose ancestors' sacrifice helped others escape.
Legg said the evidence of battle uncovered during their preservation efforts helps solidify the reality of the war, which can be difficult to conceptualize outside of history books:
"It's almost like a mythology, the Revolution; like a story we all agree happened, but may not feel that it was real. These gravesites made it real."
Republished courtesy of FHD Forensics