Archaeologists Unearth Soldiers Killed In Battle Of Camden

Heritage Daily ^ | November 11th, 2022 | South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust

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The Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780), also known as the Battle of Camden Court House, was a major victory for the British in the Southern theatre of the American Revolutionary War.

British forces under Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis routed the numerically superior U.S. forces led by Major General Horatio Gates outside of Camden, South Carolina, strengthening the British hold on the Carolinas following the capture of Charleston.

Archaeologists, acting on behalf of the Historic Camden Foundation, have unearthed the skeletal remains and accompanying artefacts of 14 Revolutionary War soldiers on the site where the Battle of Camden was fought...

Based on preliminary field examinations, the team believes that 12 of the bodies are Patriot Continental soldiers, one is likely a North Carolina Loyalist, and one is British soldier from the 71xt Regiment of Foot, Fraser’s Highlanders...

Planning is underway by SCBPT and Camden area partners for reinternment ceremonies on April 20-22, 2023.

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Image Credit : South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust

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[the OlLine Rebel]

Very cool!

Love the RevWar.

Ahh, the famous Camden battle, where fat Brit Horacio Gates ran off on a son of the great Dreadnought.

Even a great blood horse would not be stupid enough to run for 60 miles. Bastard Gates lying about his running away and abandoning the field.

[blueunicorn6]

I told my wife to bury me in the woods with:

1. A Smurf doll.
2. A bottle opener
3. 3 right shoes.

See what those archeologists make of that in 200 years.

[moovova]

I’m surprised that area hasn’t been stripped bare by weekend searchers using metal detectors.

And, speaking of horses...

The The Carolina Cup Races in Camden is always fun...although a little pricey.

[Bigg Red]

Mark

[fidelis]

The Battle of Camden - American Revolution Podcast

[MinorityRepublican]

I’m not a scientist but it’s surprising that the bones are still there and it’s not in a dry climate.

[catnipman]

“Ahh, the famous Camden battle, where fat Brit Horacio Gates ran off on a son of the great Dreadnought.”

thankfully, that was the last straw for washington, who appointed the great general, Nathanael Greene, to rebuild the southern forces after gates marched then into total destruction ...

[ponygirl]

The majority of continentals were from Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, with a couple of small attachments from South Carolina and North Carolina. However, many militia from North Carolina and Virginia were at Camden, including the counties where my North Carolina ancestors resided:

Known Patriot Participants at Camden: Carolana.com

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks!

[ponygirl]

I know it’s a long shot, but it would be so cool if they could extract DNA and identify the family lines of the buried. So often there was no surviving record of those killed unless it was a general or other commanding officer. My own ancestor was at Hobkirk Hill the following year and the only reason I know this is because another man mentioned him in his pension application as having been granted a temporary promotion for the battle.

[Eska]

interesting. Two of my ancestors (father and son) were with the mid Maryland militia at Camden. After the Revolutionary War, The father (Richard McElfresh) gathered all his sons and families and went by wagons up to Pittsburgh, Pa where they started the Western Pa line of my family.

I have my great grand fathers Civil War Discharge hanging on my military wall, kinda cool. Richard Mc was the 4th generation in America; a David was kicked out of Scotland and made to Maryland in late 1600s. I'm the 11th generation and in Alaska.

I've seen the family bible from 1702 and they often had 2 wives each having 15 kids. 1/3 of the kids died from consumption (TB). We have it easy nowadays.

[ponygirl]

You are lucky to have all that information, as most families do not, particularly in the south. I did discover a newspaper clipping from the early 1900s that mentioned my great great grandfather was a veteran and had walked home from Appomattox with a bullet lodged in his thigh. I am currently trying to rebuild this family line, which is extremely difficult, as there are no bibles and no church records from the southern families and most people were buried in the field out back and those small cemeteries have not been respected or maintained. The census records are a tangled mess, as they reveal war widows who took in the children of other fatherless families…you can see this in particular neighborhoods that lost a lot of men.

My mom’s side were Yankees and one of her ancestors was a Calvary officer who was shot from his horse and died in Louisiana. He had sent home dozens of letters to his family. The letters were split among family members at one point and a portion of them were published, but my grandmother’s n’er do well brother absconded with their family’s portion and sold them for the stamps.