Discovery of femur leads to remains believed to be Revolutionary War soldiers in NJ

At the site of an old battlefield, the discovery of a human femur led to the skeletal remains of what researchers believe are 13 Revolutionary War soldiers buried in a mass grave in New Jersey.

An excavation of the mass grave uncovered more femurs, skulls and teeth of the likely 13 Hessian soldiers — Germans who fought for the British during the war — buried for 245 years near a trench that surrounds Fort Mercer at Red Bank Battlefield Park, according to an Aug. 2 news release from Rowan University.

On the last day of four public digs at the site, involving more than 100 volunteers, the human femur was found on June 26, Rowan University historian Jennifer Janofsky, who is the director of the park, said in a video detailing the rare findings. The discovery of the mass grave was announced on Aug. 2.

“One of our volunteers who was digging said, ‘I think I have a bone.’ And…everything…stopped,” Janofsky said.

“I’ll never forget that moment. It was stunning. It was overwhelming. It was sad.”

New Jersey State Police Forensic Anthropologist Anna Delaney confirmed the femur was human, and the rest of the remains were given to state police for DNA testing to determine their origin, according to the release.

The remains are believed to be Hessian soldiers based on the “context” and other artifacts found at the site, including a gold guinea coin from England, musket balls, a knee buckle and more, the release said.

“We didn’t anticipate exhuming human remains. That was not the goal of this,” Janofsky said, adding that “finding battlefield remains is incredibly unusual.”

The soldiers are believed to have been buried at the site after they were killed in the Battle of Red Bank in 1777 while fighting outnumbered American troops, according to Rowan University. During the battle, considered a victory for Americans, roughly 377 Hessian soldiers died compared with 14 American deaths.

After DNA analysis of the remains, Janofsky said “We’re hoping that eventually, perhaps, we can find some of these individuals” who were descendants of the likely Hessian soldiers.

“If we can extract their stories, and if we can tell their stories, it lets us put a name to a face. And that, to me, is a very powerful moment in public history.”

During the Revolutionary War, which took place from 1775 until 1783, roughly 30,000 Hessians were hired by the British to fight on their behalf, according to the Washington Library.

Red Bank Battlefield Park is roughly 15 miles south of Philadelphia.

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