Large-scale forensic search for fallen soldier burials from the American revolutionary war at Kettle Creek battlefield, Georgia, USA

Abstract

The Battle of Kettle Creek was the only major victory for U.S. forces in Georgia during the American Revolutionary War that took place on February 14, 1779. Around 50 loyalist prisoners were subsequently, and controversially, convicted of treason and 5 hanged. The battlefield site was only identified in 2008 and the land was purchased by the American Battlefield Trust in 2018. This article aims to present results from a forensic archaeological search to answer two questions: (1) was it possible to identify the burial ground(s) for site preservation from this historic battlefield site; and (2), were the fallen soldiers from the battle buried in a mass grave or in individual interments? Search methods included a phased investigation approach of a desk study, then ground searches involving cadaver dogs, geophysics (GPR), and subsequent forensic archaeological excavation and soil analysis (specifically mtDNA and VOC extractions) to recover possible trace evidence of human burials. Results suggest the main battlefield burial area was able to be identified, with 24 cadaver dog alert locations, geophysical and soil anomalies suggesting individual burials where fallen soldiers were interred. Archaeological excavation found contemporary battlefield artifacts, and although human remains were not recovered, the soil analysis showed the presence of mtDNA in these locations. Despite the difficult ground search conditions due to the large search area, 200 + years age of burials, and limited remains, such a focused search strategy has been proven to be an effective approach to detect other historic battlefield burial sites.

Keywords

• Forensic archaeology
• Cadaver dogs
• Ground penetrating radar
• Geophysics
• Revolutionary war
• Decomposition