Battle of Camden soldier identified through DNA in oldest known case

Descendant calls DNA match ‘absolutely a miraculous discovery’

After 246 years, a teenage soldier who died in one of the major battles of the American Revolution is no longer unknown.

Pvt. John Pumphrey enlisted in the 7th Maryland Regiment of the Continental Army in January 1777, still a teenager, and marched hundreds of miles through early American history, according to the Associated Press. He was killed at the Battle of Camden in South Carolina.

Pumphrey’s remains lay unidentified for more than two centuries until DNA testing and genealogical research by FHD Forensics established his identity.

Allison Peacock, founder of FHD Forensics, said the timing of the identification was notable.

“There was a sense of divine timing, I guess,” Peacock told the AP. “I don’t know what else you want to call it.”

To Peacock’s knowledge, Pumphrey is the oldest unknown soldier ever identified through genetic genealogy. The researchers had assumed the genetic distance between living people and someone who died more than 240 years ago — many generations removed — would make a match unlikely, Peacock said. The identification succeeded nonetheless.

Among the DNA matches was 71-year-old Nancy White, who lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. When she was contacted about her distant relation, the news came as a shock, she said.

“This is absolutely a miraculous discovery for us,” White said.