A Revolutionary War soldier who died at the Battle of Camden in 1780 has been identified, solving one of America’s oldest “John Doe” mysteries.The remains of Pvt. John Pumphrey of the 7th Maryland Regiment were discovered by South Carolina archaeologists at the site of the Battle of Camden.”His sacrifice is one of the reasons we can sit here today in freedom,” said Rick Wise, executive director and CEO of the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust. “I want to honor you, his family, for what he did.” Thursday’s announcement was made at a historic home in Anne Arundel County, where family members whose DNA helped identify him gathered to honor his sacrifice.The identification was made possible by the work of Allison Peacock and her forensics team at FHD Forensics. “It’s incredibly expensive work. It’s incredibly tedious work, and it’s incredibly complicated research to go all the way back to the colonial era,” Peacock said. Pumphrey was between 16 and 18 years old when he died. He had enlisted years earlier and had just been given $100 to re-enlist.”That could’ve changed his life, but unfortunately, it ended up being a fateful choice,” Peacock said. “We know a few months later, he — with the few men from Maryland — stood in the face of the bloodiest battle in the war.” It was Pumphrey’s genetic relatives whose DNA helped identify him nearly 250 years later. Some of the 20,000 DNA matches from ancestry research websites are now meeting each other, including Russell Hudson from Gettysburg, who contributed to Peacock’s research team. “I was part of that and it felt good. It’s a little emotional today. I mean, it’s pretty cool,” Hudson said. Pumphrey died a hero, holding the line so fellow soldiers could escape. His family expressed pride in helping honor his sacrifice and solve a Revolutionary War cold case. “The fact we were able to give back his name, that he was treated with honor, and that, from now on, people will know about his bravery is really special,” said Valerie Kemp, a forensic investigative genetic genealogist at FHD Forensics.
A Revolutionary War soldier who died at the Battle of Camden in 1780 has been identified, solving one of America’s oldest “John Doe” mysteries.
The remains of Pvt. John Pumphrey of the 7th Maryland Regiment were discovered by South Carolina archaeologists at the site of the Battle of Camden.
“His sacrifice is one of the reasons we can sit here today in freedom,” said Rick Wise, executive director and CEO of the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust. “I want to honor you, his family, for what he did.”
Thursday’s announcement was made at a historic home in Anne Arundel County, where family members whose DNA helped identify him gathered to honor his sacrifice.
The identification was made possible by the work of Allison Peacock and her forensics team at FHD Forensics.
“It’s incredibly expensive work. It’s incredibly tedious work, and it’s incredibly complicated research to go all the way back to the colonial era,” Peacock said.
Pumphrey was between 16 and 18 years old when he died. He had enlisted years earlier and had just been given $100 to re-enlist.
“That could’ve changed his life, but unfortunately, it ended up being a fateful choice,” Peacock said. “We know a few months later, he — with the few men from Maryland — stood in the face of the bloodiest battle in the war.”
It was Pumphrey’s genetic relatives whose DNA helped identify him nearly 250 years later. Some of the 20,000 DNA matches from ancestry research websites are now meeting each other, including Russell Hudson from Gettysburg, who contributed to Peacock’s research team.
“I was part of that and it felt good. It’s a little emotional today. I mean, it’s pretty cool,” Hudson said.
Pumphrey died a hero, holding the line so fellow soldiers could escape. His family expressed pride in helping honor his sacrifice and solve a Revolutionary War cold case.
“The fact we were able to give back his name, that he was treated with honor, and that, from now on, people will know about his bravery is really special,” said Valerie Kemp, a forensic investigative genetic genealogist at FHD Forensics.