In the summer of 1778, the British garrison of Detroit prevented western expansion of the fledgling republic that was established two years prior. On October 23, 1778 an expedition of 1,200 men consisting of Continentals and others led by General Lachlan McIntosh left Ft. Pitt. On their way, they established Ft. Laurens with one hundred and eighty-one men and 5 women during the winter of 1778-79. On the morning of February 23, a wagon driver and 18 men left the fort and were fired upon. Allegedly, the attackers killed and scalped seventeen people and took two as prisoners. Examination of skeletal remains revealed that multiple blows to the head were common. Eleven of 12 crania from ambush victims and four of seven non-ambush victims exhibited lesions consistent with scalping. No evidence of gunshot wounds was found.

In February of 2019 a cemetery was discovered during apartment building construction in Lake George, in Warren County, New York. Archaeological research and primary source historic documentation attribute this cemetery to the American Army of Quebec which set up a general hospital there in the summer of 1776. The Quebec campaign was a tactical and strategic failure for the United Colonies (United States). Still, the remnants of the army, reinforced and recovered, was able to stave off near certain defeat by invasion from Canada in both 1775 and 1776. This site sheds important light on a poorly documented period which helped set the stage for subsequent significant events including the 1777 Saratoga campaign.

In 1776, at the end of the failed campaign to take Quebec, the greatest threat to the Continental Army was not battlefield trauma but disease. The retreat from Canada to New York was marred by an epidemic of smallpox and thousands were sent to a hospital hastily established at Fort George on the southern end of Lake George, NY. Inadequate medical knowledge and a lack of basic supplies contributed to hundreds of deaths in just a few months. In 2019, an unmarked cemetery associated with the general hospital was disturbed by construction. It became the subject of a large-scale recovery and analysis by community volunteers and professionals. The commingled remains of more than 40 individuals likely represent a cross section of the military including noncombatants and reinforcements. Most exhibit little evidence of the expected health and musculoskeletal stress possibly due to their brief time in service and acute disease.

Construction activities to lower the soil grade of a 1790 house basement in 2019 uncovered human skeletal remains in Ridgefield, CT. In compliance with state statutes, the state archaeologist was notified to assume the investigation.

Subsequent excavations yielded five adult males, four of which were hastily buried together in a common shallow mass grave, the bodies commingled with overlapping arms and legs. The discovery is located within the battlefield of Revolutionary War Battle of Ridgefield (April 27, 1777). Our working hypothesis is that the burials found under the basement were victims of this historic battle. This presentation will discuss the discovery, excavation, and analysis of material culture recovered from the burial site and their archaeological and historical implications.

A series of human skeletal remains and associated artifacts were recovered during salvage archaeology efforts in Ridgefield, Connecticut, USA. This area is rich in history, with well-documented timelines of agency, conflict, and aftermath. However, the role of the osteologist/bioarchaeologist is to provide an independent and rigorous evaluation of biological data to infer/deduce aspects of individual identity, development, health, activity and (if possible) cause of death. It also entails careful communication and planning with multiple communities. We discuss these roles in relation to this case and describe the complex interactions within and between scientific research, history, intersectionality, and narratives.

In the summer of 2022, as part of a public archaeology program at Red Bank Battlefield Park (where Fort Mercer was situated), a mass burial space dating from the Revolutionary War was uncovered. Based on context and artifacts, the burial space is thought to contain the remains of Hessian soldiers who lost their lives during their attack on Fort Mercer, October 22, 1777. Fort Mercer was a critical defense point on the Delaware River protecting the nation’s capital of Philadelphia. The battle action was a decisive victory for the rebel garrison, while the Hessian assault force suffered heavy losses. This paper summarizes the battle's history, the treatment of the dead immediately after the battle and in subsequent years, the archaeological fieldwork, and artifact analyses.

The first conference on “conflict archaeology” was held 25 years ago. Since then, the study of battlefields has provided unique but incomplete insights into the nature of large-scale violence and warfare technology. Bioarchaeology helps to complete that picture of brutal human behavior. The unexpected discovery of dismembered skeletal remains buried in the trench around Fort Mercer after the Battle of Red Bank in southern New Jersey provides the opportunity to document the physical trauma that soldiers faced during the Revolutionary War. Their irregular burial also reflects the treatment of body parts left on the battlefield, remains that most likely represent Hessian soldiers killed during their worst defeat of the entire war. This paper presents the results of the osteological and dental analyses of the remains excavated from the trench at Fort Mercer, the Delaware River post that General George Washington had written was “of the utmost importance to America.”

Red Bank Battlefield Park, located in Gloucester County, New Jersey, is best remembered for the upset victory over attacking Hessian forces in October of 1777. In 2022, with the addition of a new parcel, the New Jersey Historical Commission awarded the park a grant to support an archaeological survey of the addition as well as a public archaeology project. On the last day of the project, a volunteer discovered human remains. Since then, the remains of 15 individuals, believed to be Hessian soldiers lost at the battle in 1777, have been recovered. This paper explores how the discovery is prompting a reexamination of the battlefield’s interpretation and preservation strategies. This paper will include a discussion of current proposals to memorialize and interpret the burial site as well as the challenges of working with the public to appreciate the horror of a Revolutionary War battlefield.