06/24/2026
Nearly 250 years after he died in the Battle of Camden, researchers identified Pvt. John Pumphrey as one of more than a dozen Continental Army John Does that were found near the battlefield.
On Thursday, researchers in South Carolina announced that they confirmed the identity of one set of remains. Pumphrey, whose death was not recorded and whose identity was nearly lost to history, had been from a prominent Maryland family who enlisted in the Continental Army in his early teens. Given his service in the 7th Maryland Regiment, he is believed to have taken part in several campaigns in the nearly four years he fought in the Revolutionary War.
Researchers from the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology found the bodies in 2022 after coming across some exposed bones. The Historic Camden museum began studying the site and reached out to FHD Forensics to try and identify the 14 dead. It was determined that 13 were Americans while the 14th was British. According to the Baltimore Sun, a skull fragment — which turned out to belong to Pumphrey — had a strong DNA sample. That, with genealogical databases, gave the researchers leads. Records from the area also helped to narrow the identity of the deceased, leading to Pumphrey. The young private joined the Continental Army at around 14 in 1777.
