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What we didn't know: Revolutionary research at Red Bank Battlefield

By Rowan University

August 2^nd, 2022

On Tuesday, August 2, 2022, an unexpected victory during the Revolutionary War made unexpected history again.

"It was stunning. It was exciting. And it was sad at the same time. We didn't anticipate exhuming human remains. That was not a goal of this. There are maps that indicate burial spots. This is not one of them."

—Jennifer Janofsky, Ph.D.

Nearly 245 years since they were entombed en masse at Fort Mercer, the remains of individuals believed to be Hessian soldiers who lost their lives in the Battle of Red Bank were the focus of a solemn announcement in a quiet grove along the Delaware River across from Philadelphia.

The rare and significant archaeological find came near the finish of a small research project led by Rowan University Professor of History and Red Bank Battlefield Public Historian Jennifer Janofsky. It was a remarkable end to an already successful survey of the Fort Mercer trench in a small tract newly acquired by the Red Bank Battlefield Park. By late July, the remains of at least 12 Revolutionary War-era soldiers had been found.

Defying the king, defending the fort

What we didn't know: Revolutionary research at Red Bank Battlefield

What we didn't know: Revolutionary research at Red Bank Battlefield

What we didn't know: Revolutionary research at Red Bank Battlefield

Col. Carl von Donop led the Hessians attacking the American soldiers under Col. Christopher Greene's command at Fort Mercer. News of the Americans' victory made its way to Gen. George Washington, with personal accounts and correspondence describing the battle and accounting for the dead, wounded and captured.

In autumn 1777, the British held Philadelphia while its forces, supported by Hessian commanders and troops, fought the American rebels throughout the Delaware River valley. It was critical for the crown to control the river so the British could resupply their troops and repel the Americans on their own turf.

Gen. George Washington charged Col. Christopher Greene with defending Fort Mercer—a monumental challenge for the American commander, whose troops were vastly outnumbered. The Rhode Island Regiment assigned to Fort Mercer prepared for an historic battle. With the momentous conflict ahead, the garrison was already remarkable for its Black soldiers fighting alongside the white colonists for freedom. Fully ten percent of the Fort Mercer force was of African descent.

Advised by the French military engineer Thomas-Antoine de Mauduit du Plessis, the Americans held their ground in the fort and unleashed a punishing attack on the Hessians. The battle lasted under an hour and ended in a major victory against the King's forces. One of the greatest upsets of the Revolutionary War, the Battle at Red Bank devastated the Hessian contingent, held the British at bay and emboldened the Americans in their quest for independence.

Research that rewrites the historic record

With carefully excavated and recorded squares of earth explored in the Fort Mercer trench, the research team considered the project a success. They found hundreds of artifacts to be examined and added to New Jersey's record of the Revolutionary War, including a rare gold coin from 1766.

But near the end of the public history project, a volunteer uncovered something no one expected: a human femur. It would be the first of the human remains found in what the researchers believe is a mass grave of Hessian soldiers.

"This trench gives you a very different view of what that brutality of warfare is. And it's brutality that has been that way since the 18th century. The Hessian soldiers that are here—this was not the space they intended to end their lives in. Part of what we are hoping to be able to achieve here is to learn who these soldiers were, who these men were, and give them some level of dignity and respect in reburial."

—Wade Catts, RPA

While most of the work in the trench required careful manual labor with hand tools, the team also used a metal detector and ground penetrating radar at key points in the Red Bank Battlefield Archaeology Project.

Each item found at the Red Bank Battlefield Archaeology Project excavation is examined on site and catalogued before being removed for cleaning and laboratory analysis.

Metal-based items survived in the trench fairly well, accounting for the majority of the finds.

Volunteers Joe Reilly, Drew Stanzeski, Guy Digiugno and others processed tons of soil and debris from the trench to salvage tiny artifacts from the Red Bank Battlefield Archaeology Project.

Volunteers Lou Iocona and Joe Reilly help document the excavation.

Rowan University history major Raluca Muscan discusses artifacts with professor Jennifer Janofsky near the excavation of the Red Bank Battlefield Archaeology project.

Testing artifacts for blood residue on site produced traces that could lead to more substantial lab results.

Most musket balls found at Red Bank show multiple signs of impact. Though typically made mostly of lead, some contain pewter and other metals, necessary because the colonists were short on materials.

While fabric and leather deteriorate more rapidly underground, metal items like this button, likely from a soldier's uniform, survived more than two centuries.

A knee buckle is one of the artifacts that tested positive for blood residue on site.

Archaeologist Dana Linck and volunteer Joe Reilly work at the site. Using carefully laid pegs, strings, pins and flags, the researchers recorded a description of the excavation and where they found each item.

Uncovering and handling an artifact takes time and attention to detail. It is critical to unearth the item intact and also to keep it from being contaminated with researchers' DNA.

An impacted musket ball from the Fort Mercer trench excavation during the Red Bank Battlefield Archaeology Project.

Wade Catts and Dana Linck confer with Jennifer Janofsky at the Fort Mercer trench excavation site during the Red Bank Battlefield Archaeology Project.

Professor Janofsky holds a rare 1766 King George III gold guinea, the equivalent of a soldier’s wages for a month, unearthed at the excavation. It might have been hidden in a boot or sewn into a garment whose materials decayed underground.

A rare 1766 King George III gold guinea, the equivalent of a soldier’s wage for a month, found at the Red Bank excavation.

Forensic specialists Anna Delaney and Stuart Alexander review information on site. Because human remains were found at the site, New Jersey State Police sent their experts.

To preserve the fragile artifacts during the excavation, the archaeologists and volunteers used hand tools to move tons of earth shovel-by-shovel and sometimes, grain-by-grain.

The "public" in public history

Long a treasured cultural resource as well as recreational area, Red Bank Battlefield Park serves visitors of all ages with education programs and welcomes public participation in its research. In 2020, Gloucester County purchased a quarter-acre lot at the park’s north end, interested in part of the Fort Mercer trench that hadn't been explored.

Rowan University Professor Jennifer Janofsky acquired a $19,000 grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission which funded an initial archaeology survey on the parcel, as well as a public education and outreach program. Gloucester County committed $30,000 in additional funding for the second phase of the project and in May 2022, the county’s Parks and Recreation Department offered four public archaeology participation days. More than 100 visitors, including Rowan students, shoveled the ground, screened for and washed artifacts, and learned about archaeology.

Archaeologist Wade Catts was among the professional researchers on site to guide volunteers, examine and document the hundreds of artifacts found and record the survey of the site. He describes the grim nature and painstaking pace of his work with a sense of respect and care for the long-dead. "It's like being a nurse," he said, tending gently to the fallen, honoring their lives with his confident, quiet skill.

In the upper levels of soil, the excavation uncovered ceramic fragments, most likely late 19th century. Laboratory analysis will provide details on their origin.

Rowan students Emily Schmidt, right, and Lorin Starrett, center, joined a community volunteer to screen soil and separate artifacts and fragments from the earth.

Archaeologist Dana Linck explains basics of excavation to visitors.

Archaeologist Dana Linck refers to a handbook of Revolutionary War-era munitions to identify items found at the Red Bank Battlefield site.

Well above the human remains found at the excavation, researchers found shards of pottery and ceramic, most likely 19th century artifacts.

As the excavation site expanded, the team used plumb lines to mark each section and make corresponding records of what they found in each.

A soldier's story

Carvings by John Burlingame, of the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment, show the brutal story of the Red Bank conflict on a powder horn. A muster roll from the regiment listed Burlingame, adding to the authenticity of the soldier's artistic account.

While not found in the excavation at Red Bank, the powder horn (now owned by collector Tom Grinslade) is one of many artifacts that provides a reference point for historians studying the October 1777 battle.

Photo courtesy: Scott Stephenson, Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia.

Though primitive, the art on this powder horn shows extraordinary detail consistent with other records of the Battle at Red Bank.

Footnotes

Photos: Kevin Monko, Jennifer Janofsky, Red Bank Battlefield Archaeology Project team

FootNotes

Photos: Kevin Monko, Jennifer Janofsky, Red Bank Battlefield Archaeology Project team

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