The Mysterious Skull of Count von Donop: Using Forensic Science to Resolve a Historical Case of Mistaken Identity

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "The World Turned Upside Down: Revisiting the Archaeology of the American Revolution" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Count Carl Emil Ulrich von Donop, adjutant to the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, volunteered for service in America during the Revolution and served as a Colonel commanding four battalions of Hessian grenadiers and the Jäger Corps. An aggressive and skillful officer, he played a key role in the American defeats on Long Island and Manhattan. During the 1777 Philadelphia Campaign, von Donop lost his life while leading an assault on Continental forces at Fort Mercer in Gloucester County, New Jersey. His grave soon became a landmark on the battlefield, though it was later desecrated by vandals. A cranium, purportedly belonging to von Donop, was held by private individuals until 1950 when it was donated to Rutgers University. This paper describes recent efforts to authenticate this identity in preparation for its eventual reburial.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The World Turned Upside Down: Revisiting the Archaeology of the American Revolution   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology