The Battle of Red Bank: Archaeology, Public History, and Human Cost of Conflict

How do you lose a mass burial for nearly 250 years? In the summer of 2022, a public archaeology dig at the Red Bank Battlefield stumbled upon a discovery that wasn’t on any historical map: a mass grave containing the remains of up to 15 Hessian soldiers who fell during the brutal 1777 battle at Fort Mercer. This presentation will focus on the realities of a Revolutionary War battlefield, explore the lives of the men who fought and died there, and the efforts of a multidisciplinary team to identify the dead.