Hessian remains unearthed at Revolutionary War battle site Fort Mercer including gold guinea

WillieBoyd2

Researchers believe they have uncovered at a battle site in New Jersey the remains of as many as 12 Hessian soldiers who fought during the Revolutionary War

Also found was a King George III gold guinea which would have been a soldier’s pay for a month.

The Philadelphia Inquirer and Associated Press article with photo of guinea obverse:
https://www.inquirer.com/wires/ap/hessian-remains-unearthed-revolutionary-war-battle-site-20220802.html

JimW

Thanks for the post! IIRC, Fort Mercer was a key Delaware River defense point on the NJ side along with Fort Mifflin on the PA side. Based on the historical accounting, there were dead buried at both forts but the locations were not documented or known since that time. Nice that they found the gold coin too.
Fort Mifflin is a cool place to visit if you get the chance. Dates back to 1771 and some of the exterior walls still show evidence of the British bombardment during the Revolution.

Weiss

Here's a non-paywall page from the university that organized the dig and the finds. About 1/3 way down you'll find a link to the "photos and illustrations".

It's a 1766 guinea, BTW:

https://chss.rowan.edu/departments/history/red-bank-battlefield/

MWallace

I can't help but wonder if their family at the time ever found out what happened to them or if they just went to war and never returned.

Herb_T

@MWallace said:
I can't help but wonder if their family at the time ever found out what happened to them or if they just went to war and never returned.

They went to war and never returned, like many of the Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

ricko

War is not tidy.... There are many still 'missing' from the WW's and Korea.... Cheers, RickO