photos courtesy of NJ State Police
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Hamilton T0wnship NJ, Rowan University Anthropology students visited the NJ State Police Forensic Anthropology laboratory in Hamilton Township as part of an ongoing project involving the Hessian remains found at Red Bank National Park in Gloucester County in June 2022.
The students utilized 360-degree photography equipment to photograph multiple craniums, providing museum-quality images of these remains and allowing us to have a digital record for future analysis.
Thank you to the Rowan University students for their assistance and dedication to this project.
Over the summer of 2022, a team comprising archaeologists and volunteers embarked on excavating a plot of land recently acquired by New Jersey’s Red Bank Battlefield Park, the historic site of a pivotal conflict during the Revolutionary War. Across four excavation sites, they uncovered a trove of artifacts, including a rare 1766 gold coin—a significant achievement, according to experts.
However, as the project neared its conclusion, a startling discovery halted their progress: a human femur, unearthed by one of the volunteers. Further investigation revealed additional skeletal remains belonging to 13 soldiers, believed to be Hessians—German troops employed by the British during the war against American revolutionaries—reports Zach Zorich of The New York Times.
This unexpected find, resembling a mass grave, caught the researchers by surprise. “It was stunning. It was exciting. And it was sad at the same time,” remarked Jennifer Janofsky, excavation leader and historian at Rowan University and Red Bank Battlefield’s public historian. “We didn’t anticipate exhuming human remains. That was not a goal of this.”
The remains were uncovered within a former trench at Fort Mercer, constructed by American forces in 1777. Situated along the Delaware River, the fort played a strategic role in weakening British control over Philadelphia by obstructing the river and disrupting vital supply routes from England.
During the Battle of Red Bank on October 22, 1777, the American defenders faced overwhelming odds, with only 500 soldiers guarding the fort against a Hessian force of 2,000. Despite the disparity, the Americans emerged victorious, concluding the battle in less than an hour. The toll was starkly imbalanced, with 14 American casualties compared to 377 Hessians. This event, commemorated by the recent excavation, stands as one of the most remarkable upsets of the Revolutionary War.
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Interesting for the students