The Battle of Camden is mentioned in history books and even films like "The Patriot," but the precise location remained unclear until the 1990s. Today, historians are still trying to solve mysteries about the unknown soldiers who died.

Camden

The Battle of Camden, a significant defeat for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, left many soldiers' identities unknown for centuries. Recent efforts by historians and genetic genealogists have led to the discovery of several sets of remains, including Continental soldiers, a British Highlander, and a Native American, buried without markers.

Using advanced DNA analysis and genealogical research, experts have begun to build genetic profiles for these remains, narrowing down possible family connections and appealing to potential relatives for DNA samples. While some progress has been made, with two profiles yielding thousands of living genetic matches, the ultimate goal remains to restore the names and honor of these forgotten soldiers.

How war historians help solve mysteries from the Battle of Camden

On August 16, 1780, on these grounds the Battle of Camden unfolded. The Continental Army faced the British and suffered one of the worst defeats of the Revolutionary War. Some 2,000 patriots were captured, wounded, or killed. What was the fighting like? Yeah, it was really brutal. Of course, all parties present fought very obstinately and exchanged a lot of musket fire at close range. Was this a big setback for the Americans? It was a disaster. The battle, led by British General Lord Cornwallis and American General Horatio Gates, is mentioned in history books and even movies like The Patriot. This battle was over before it began. But no one knew exactly where the fighting happened until Legg and Smith began their search for artifacts back in the 1990s. A few years ago, their metal detector found a button that led them to something unexpected. Five sets of bones together in a shallow grave. You know, it's just evidence of how brutal this fight was. Someone dug out a shallow hole and said, get that guy, get that guy, and get that guy. Laid them down in there, stacked them up. I mean, that's just kind of stunning. You know, it's like, whoa. Nearby, they found nine more sets of remains. Clues indicated one was a 71st Regiment of Foot Scottish Highlander who fought with the British, another a Native American, and USA Uniform Button suggested 12 were Continental soldiers. But there were no grave markers and no idea who these men were. Today, the city of Camden and its historic foundation are determined to get the country's attention. To tell the story of the Revolutionary War in the South and the sacrifice of those who died in the nation's violent birth. The men whose remains and identities have been hidden for centuries. Well, it's the ultimate cold case, really. It's also a cold case that belongs to the whole country. Do you think you can solve it? I do. All of these things have to do with the Battle of Camden. Allison Peacock is a genetic genealogist and a leader in a growing field that identifies remains by combining cutting-edge DNA analysis with the old-school world of family trees. When DNA came along, it was just a game-changer. But what can you get from DNA that you can't get from the paper record? DNA proves connections between people. There's a way that you can analyze matches that helps you prove connections that you can't find on paper. After the remains were exhumed, officials approached Peacock with a question. The question they posed to me was, can it be done? Can we do what you do on 244-year-old remains? And I said, maybe. They have started the search, completing genetic profiles for two sets of remains so far, soldiers they now call 11A and 9B. The mission and hope is to discover their real names. Just for those two, we're dealing with about 25,000 matches. That's about 25,000 living genetic matches, modern-day people that are related to these two men. And in a typical John Doe case, I might get 3,000 or 4,000 or 5,000 at the most. Sifting through the data has taken months, but what they've been able to learn is breathtaking. Valerie Kemp works with Peacock and is focused just on 9B. He was a teenager. We know for sure that his family were from the Anne Arundel area. How close do you think you are to cracking this cold case? Really close? They have now narrowed down this list of families and are asking any possible relatives with these last names to share their own DNA to help pinpoint a link. My dream would be that a Warfield or a Griffith or any of those people might reach out to us and they can go to the Revwar Forensic Institute website and send us a note. And then they could do a cheek swab and submit their DNA? Absolutely. We'll send them the cheek swab. We'll pay for it. What would it mean to you to be able to give 9B his name back? I mean, it would mean a lot to me. I would hope that if somebody found my loved one and they don't know who they are, that they would try to identify that person, that they would treat them with respect. Two years ago, nearly all of Camden gathered to finally, formally bury the remains of the 12 Continental Soldiers with full military honors. It was, in a sense, a moment of the Revolutionary War playing out in the 21st century. The Battle of Camden should be recognized as a really impressive performance on the part of the American Army. And they stayed to the end until they completely were overrun. Why should we be honoring these young men today? First Americans. First American Soldiers. Soldiers who are now laid to rest in real graves, but still unknown. So this team will not rest. Their battle has just begun. When you see someone getting the respect that they deserve, that maybe they had been forgotten about, because these men were forgotten. And no one knows their names. And nobody knew their names. Yeah. But you want to change that. I do.

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