The quiet pine woods of Camden, South Carolina, have long concealed a story dating back to the nation’s founding. In August 1780, British and American forces met there in a brutal Revolutionary War battle that ended in a devastating loss for the Continental Army.
Battlefield archaeologists Jim Legg and Steve Smith have spent decades examining the historic site. More recently, their work led to a startling find: several sets of human remains buried in shallow graves in the sandy soil. Metal buttons found with the remains indicated the men were likely Continental soldiers, but no names or personal identifiers were discovered. Instead, the remains were cataloged by number.
Roughly 2,000 Continental troops were killed, wounded or taken prisoner in the battle, and some never made it back to their families. For generations, relatives were left with little more than uncertainty about what happened to them. Now, the discovery by Legg and Smith, combined with major advances in DNA technology, is helping answer questions that once seemed impossible to solve.
One set of remains, once identified only as 9B, has now been confirmed as those of John Pumphrey, a young Maryland soldier who joined the Continental Army’s 7th Maryland Regiment when he may have been as young as 13.
Allison Peacock, a genetic genealogist who works with DNA evidence and family histories to identify human remains, said the team relied on “three different types of DNA” along with biographical records to reach the conclusion. The confirmation, she said, gave her “goosebumps.”
Historical records show the Pumphrey family had longstanding ties to Maryland. They owned sawmills and property, though court documents indicate the family estate was lost in a legal dispute after the death of John Pumphrey’s father. Peacock said financial hardship may have influenced the teenager’s decision to enlist.
“I’m sure he just was building a new life for himself,” Peacock said.
Pumphrey likely traveled more than 1,000 miles with his regiment. The unit served in campaigns alongside then-Gen. George Washington and fought in battles in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The Pumphrey family still exists today. The DNA that helped identify Pumphrey’s remains came from three women: Pam Donahue, Karen Pumphrey Etchison, and Nancy Pumphrey White. Donahue said she is proud to know her fourth-great-uncle fought for the United States.
“To find out that we do have a young man that sacrificed his life for the development of our country, it’s amazing, absolutely amazing,” she said.
In late June, members of the extended Pumphrey family came together to hear his story and say his name for the first time in centuries. His remains are interred in South Carolina, where he and the other soldiers were discovered, but the tombstone, once marked “Unknown,” will soon have his name carved on it.
“I think it’s a gift to the whole country to know his story,” Peacock said.
