Project leaders Smith and Legg share insiders perspective on Camden Burials

February 23, 2023

Dr. Steven Smith, a research professor at the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA) and James Legg, public archaeologist at SCIAA have worked together on and off for several decades on archaeological digs, specifically at military sites. Now they are working together again on another project, this time one that has required their full attention and efforts for the sake of doing what has needed to be done for over two centuries.

Contracted by Doug Bostick, CEO of South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, Dr. Smith is the principal investigator on the Camden Burials project with Legg serving as field director. Both familiar with the site prior to the start of the project, Dr. Smith and Legg have worked together conducting field archaeology at the Camden Battlefield site since the early 2000’s. Over the past twenty years they have written two reports on the area, with this project culminating into a third report.

Legg has envisioned this specific project since the early 1980’s when he first became aware of the site and realized there may be burials inches below the surface. He felt that it was important to recover these soldiers’ remains, so that they may be recognized for their sacrifice, and properly honored and reinterned.

However, how well the remains were preserved was uncertain up until three years ago. While the university was closed due to the pandemic Legg found himself coming out to the battlefield almost daily with Dr. Smith accompanying him weekly. In April of 2020 while scouring the field with his metal detector, Legg finally found the reading that confirmed his suspicions from all those years ago.

“That reading was a couple of USA buttons initially, one button that still had enough metal in it to get me a reading.” Legg recollects, “And after I excavated the button, I looked at the hole and I could see that it was deeper than the plow zone. I scraped the bottom of the hole, and sure enough, there was a femur running across the hole.”

From this discovery, Legg has not only witnessed this project come to fruition but also has been an integral part of it while working alongside his longtime colleague Dr. Smith. The project has grown exponentially larger than either of them had anticipated.

“As it developed, the project which was envisioned as a small endeavor by the institute, ended up growing tremendously.” Legg explains, “We ended up with easily four times the number of individuals involved that we had envisioned. Our four-week schedule went to a total of eight-weeks. And our five or six individuals that we had planned to excavate ended up being fourteen individuals in seven different graves.”

Legg initially expected to help with the majority of the excavations but found himself busy instead coordinating the roles of the teams working on the project from the Richland County Coroner’s Office and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Dr. Smith reflected that this is the largest project he and Legg have worked on, and his first-time uncovering remains. While the primary goal has been to recover the individuals and rebury them deeply and honorably, the information they are uncovering about the lives of these Revolutionary soldiers has been unparalleled for Dr. Smith.

He explains that they have determined some of the soldiers were only teenagers. They have also been able to learn about health conditions the soldiers may have had, how they died in combat, as well as the location of where they fell during the battle. It’s given further insight into where the units were on the battlefield and how the battle most likely unfolded. This information has also further humanized these remains, bringing it into the foreground that these were actual people, kids even, fighting not for their lives, but for the country they wholeheartedly believed in.

Legg reflects on the most memorable and moving part of this experience being the small, but solemn ceremony given to each soldier after they were removed from the ground. Once laid in the box for transport, a flag was draped over the remains, and escorted by a veteran to the vehicle for transport. He states that while it was a small gesture, it was moving for all who witnessed it.

This project has deeply touched the hearts of the field archeologists, providing moments of honor and reflection. The recovered soldiers and information gleaned from them is something that both men believe will have a lasting impact on historical records from the American Revolution and the public’s understanding of these first veterans of our country.

“This battle has been overshadowed despite it being one of the largest American Revolution battles in South Carolina. It’s important for people to recognize the sacrifice these soldiers made on both sides and to learn about the past.” Dr. Smith shares, “And it brings a reality to what we’re studying. It’s not as abstract as the past being somewhere back there. Someone famously said, ‘Now this is our country and it’s here and it’s real and it happened.’”

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For Love and Liberty: Three Heroes and Their True Loves

By Rick Wise • February 14, 2025

Thomas Sumter Thomas Sumter came to South Carolina in a roundabout way. A native Virginian, he served as a sergeant during the Cherokee War and had the honor to escort Cherokee Chief Ostenaco to England for a visit with King George III. Upon their return to America, they landed in Charleston, returned the Chief to his home, and Sumter made his way to Virginia. His homecoming was not as celebratory as he’d hoped. Bad debt caught up with him and he was promptly jailed. Using his wiles, he successfully negotiated his release and headed for South Carolina, intent upon getting paid money owed him by the British government for his trip to England. In 1764 he received 700 pounds for his efforts. With this newly acquired fortune, Sumter ventured to a fork in the road near Eutaw Springs on the way to Nelson’s Ferry. That vacant lot on the route from Ninety Six to Charleston became the site of a bustling store, and Sumter’s fortune began to grow. Soon he made the acquaintance of Mary Cantey Jameson, who became widowed during the time he operated the store. After a respectable amount of time, Sumter began courting the amiable woman, eleven years his senior. Though she suffered a withered left arm from infantile paralysis and didn’t walk well, her suitor was undeterred. He cut a dashing, athletic figure, and showed off by leaping into the saddle without using the stirrups. They were smitten with each other and married. Sumter now had a wife…and a superbly valuable plantation on the Santee River called, “Great Savannah.” Sumter loved Mary and their son, Tom, Jr. dearly, though he felt the pull to fight for his country. He served in the militia, commanded the Second Regiment of Riflemen, was a Provincial Congressman, commanded the Sixth Regiment of South Carolina Continentals, and participated in the uneventful efforts to drive the British from Georgia. Suffering from fatigue and malaria, he returned home and resigned his Continental commission on September 19, 1778. With military service behind him, he became a gentleman plantation owner and enjoyed home life with Mary and Tom, even as the war continued and Charleston fell. In addition to Great Savannah on the Santee, Sumter and Mary owned a home in the High Hills of the Santee near modern Stateburg. It was there that the British made a critical mistake. Captain Campbell of Tarleton’s British Legion stopped by his home in search of the former Continental officer. Having received a warning from a neighbor, Sumter was nowhere to be found. The British Legion, Provincial Loyalists from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania fighting for the King, questioned Mary about her husband’s whereabouts. When she couldn’t answer, the British Legion removed the invalid Mary still seated in her wicker chair from the house and sat her under a shade tree. She and twelve-year-old Tom watched the enemy ravage their smokehouse- allegedly leaving Mary one ham under her chair, and then burned their home. Sumter, who was not engaged in the war at that time, now had even more reason to return to the fight. He headed to the New Acquisition (modern day Rock Hill) and raised over a thousand troops to exact revenge. Sumter stayed in the war and fought many battles, while remaining devoted to his wife and son. During the Rounds Campaign in February-March 1781, he made a special effort to get Mary and Tom from a neighbor’s home at Cane Savannah plantation near modern Sumter. She rode horseback on a mattress held on by a servant, and occasionally fell as they traveled. She and Tom were eyewitnesses to Sumter’s fight at Radcliffe’s Bridge near modern Bishopville. Though bruised and exhausted, Sumter and Mary were reunited. Mary seemed to always have a very special place in Sumter’s heart, though war and in later years, politics and serving in Washington, kept them apart. Mary receives the credit for the spelling of “Sumter” as we know it today. Originally spelled “Sumpter”, Mary felt the spelling without the “p” was more refined. Sumter complied and the change passed the test of time. They were married fifty years, until her death in 1817. For Thomas Sumter, the “Gamecock”, there was also a love story to match his other extraordinary feats. They are buried together at the Thomas Sumter Memorial Park in Stateburg, SC. William Washington Lieutenant Colonel William Washington, a cousin of General George Washington, commanded the Third Regiment of Continental Light Dragoons. He arrived in South Carolina in late 1779 and camped near Sandy Hill plantation, Charles Elliott's home a few miles west of Charleston. There he met sixteen-year-old Jane Riley Elliott. She told him that “she would look out for news of his flag and fortune." The cavalryman told her that unfortunately there was no flag for his regiment. She quickly remedied that problem by cutting an eighteen-inch square of crimson damask from a drapery. She then fashioned a sleeve to fit a lance pennon and bound the edges for a fringe. Jane presented it to Washington, and is alleged to have said, "Here is your flag, take this, Colonel, and make it your standard." William attached the banner to a hickory pole and the 3rd Dragoons carried it at Cowpens, where afterwards the flag was named, "Tarleton's Terror.” Following the flag’s appearance at Guilford Courthouse, Hobkirk Hill, and Eutaw Springs, it became known as the “Eutaw Flag.” Without a doubt Washington had fond memories of Miss Jane Elliott and the gift surely reminded him of her as he fought those battles with her flag guiding his troops. On September 8, 1781 Washington was wounded and taken prisoner at the Battle of Eutaw Springs. It is little surprise once granted parole, William Washington became reacquainted with rice heiress Jane Elliott, her father since having died and leaving her his estate. Despite the war, the couple married on April 21, 1782. Washington now had a lovely young wife, and became the head of Sandy Hill with real estate holdings of some 12,000 acres. Together they had a boy and a girl, and William was a planter for 30 years. During that time, they hosted President George Washington for a two-day visit during his Southern Tour in 1791. Jane enjoyed his love of horse racing, and even his brief recall to active duty as a brigadier general in 1798. But it was their love that was kindled in the midst of war that is of special note at this time. And the flag with which she honored Washington? She gifted it to the Washington Light Infantry in 1827, and it is preserved by them to this day. The couple is buried in the Elliott Cemetery near Rantowles Bridge on Highway 17, south of Charleston. Francis Marion The Swamp Fox is well known for his exploits in the Cherokee War, as a Continental officer in the Second South Carolina Regiment at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, then as their commander at Spring Hill Redoubt in Savannah. But at forty-eight years old, his fame was more about leading militia as the greatest partisan commander of the Revolutionary War. His leadership kept the fires of Liberty burning when at times it seemed hope was lost. And part of what kept him going was his relationship with Mary Esther Videau. Marion was under stress keeping his militia in the field, meeting the intelligence and logistics needs of General Nathanael Greene, and meeting the needs to help Governor John Rutledge as he tried to re-establish the state government. But if there was a source of solace for him, it was that he had a not-so-secret admirer. Mary Esther Videau was his first cousin, the daughter of his mother’s sister. Now a spinster in her late forties, she had been known to him since childhood. Over the years she had inherited a considerable fortune in money and land from her deceased parents and brothers. She also kept up Marion’s morale with a steady flow of correspondence, in which she also helped him with intelligence of enemy movements. Following the announcement of the surrender at Yorktown, she was said to have attended a celebratory ball at Cantey’s Plantation near the Santee River. It appears Marion was shy around women, and though he and Ms. Videau corresponded, he was not one to reveal romantic feelings. That changed after the war when Some of their cousins arranged a meeting, shedding light on the couple’s mutual attraction. They married on April 20, 1786 as part of double wedding with two other cousins. Yes, that was common in Colonial South Carolina! Marion was fifty-four and she was forty-nine. The Marions apparently made a sweet middle-aged couple. Though they would be childless, Marion and Esther adopted a ten-year-old grandnephew, Francis Marion Dwight, and another family member, Charlotte Videau Ashby. Unfortunately, Marion’s adopted son did not father any sons, so Marion had no direct descendants to carry on his name. The Marions enjoyed a happy and loving marriage. Historical documents suggest the two resembled each other, which may not have been complimentary to her. But they did share common interests like fishing, traveling, camping, and backgammon. They also enjoyed having visitors to their home, such as Peter Horry. While Marion continued to grow his estate and participate in politics and militia service, he valued the time spent at this plantation, Pond Bluff. It is said that Esther may have had a bit of temper. As Marion came in from checking his fields, he would toss his hat into an open window to check her mood. If she threw it back out, he would keep riding! Perhaps modern marriages could learn from that. Marion died at sixty-three years old on February 27, 1795. Esther outlived him by twenty years. They are buried at Belle Isle Plantation Cemetery near Pineville, SC. Three Revolutionary War heroes, who knew the love of women who made them even better heroes at home. Sources: Bass, Robert D., Gamecock: The Life and Campaigns of General Thomas Sumter. (Orangeburg, Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1961). https://web.archive.org/web/20150912092012/http://home.golden.net/~marg/bansite/friends/washington.html Oller, John. The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution (pp. 302-307). Hachette Books. Kindle Edition.