Revolutionary War battlefields often romanticize combat, but this mass grave just outside Philadelphia shows the violence soldiers actually experienced
A team of historians, archaeologists and forensic anthropologists is trying to identify 15 German soldiers who were unceremoniously dumped in a ditch after trying to help the British capture Philadelphia.
In June 2022, a volunteer at the Red Bank Battlefield Park in southern New Jersey made a startling discovery - a bone. This was not an ordinary find, but the remains of a Hessian soldier who died during the Battle of Red Bank on October 22, 1777. The Battle of Red Bank was a significant Patriot victory during the Philadelphia Campaign, which ultimately led to the capture of Philadelphia by the British.
The site, located near the Quaker property where Fort Mercer was built, was the scene of intense combat between the British and American forces. Despite being outnumbered, the Patriot forces, led by Col. Christopher Greene, successfully defended the fort from a Hessian brigade. The battle resulted in 111 Hessian deaths and 14 American deaths.
The discovery of this mass grave, one of just a handful of Revolutionary War mass burials, reveals the brutal reality of combat during this era. The remains recovered from the site, including bones and artifacts, tell a harrowing story of the violence soldiers experienced on the battlefield.
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