A remarkable discovery was made at the Red Bank Battlefield in the summer of 2022: the remains of at least 15 Hessian soldiers buried for 245 years.
From Monday, April 22, through Tuesday, May 7, the Friends of the Indian King Tavern Museum and Rowan University’s Department of History will host a free lecture series in Haddonfield on the history behind that discovery called The Hessian Legacy and the American Revolution.
Each lecture will begin at 7 p.m. at the Haddon Fortnightly on Kings Highway East.
“It is absolutely amazing for the public to hear about these discoveries as they are being researched,” noted Michelle Hughes, historian at the Indian King Tavern Museum.
The lecture series is among Revolutionary-era events that will lead to the annual Haddonfield Skirmish on Saturday, June 1. Attendees will learn about the recent archaeological findings, the role of Hessians in the American Revolution and what historians uncovered about the individual soldiers found at Red Bank.
Other events will include a Wednesday, May 15, performance featuring the insights of founding father Thomas Jefferson on protecting democracy. On Monday, April 22, guests will hear from the team behind 2022 archaeological dig, historian Jen Janofsky and archaeologist Wade P. Catts of Rowan University.
On Monday, April 29, Robert A. Selig will share the painstaking efforts undertaken on both sides of the Atlantic to document the recovered soldiers. Historian Friederike Baer of Penn State Abington College will share how Hessian soldiers and civilians described the American Revolution on Tuesday May 7.
This year’s Skirmish will evoke Colonial and Revolutionary War history at the Indian King Tavern Museum and in Haddonfield, one of the key towns outside Philadelphia during the American Revolution that found itself at a crossroads as troops moved through the region.
The historic tavern was the temporary home of New Jersey’s fleeing legislators and was where the colony transitioned into a state. Skirmish events throughout Haddonfield will begin at 9 a.m. and a battle reminiscent of those in 1778 will take place in front of the Indian King Tavern Museum at 2 p.m.
For more information on the skirmish or any of the lead-up events, go to IndianKingFriends.org.
