A letter placed in each of the coffins of the Camden Fourteen began….

Dear soldier, whose name is known only to God, As I lay you with care and love into this coffin, I do not feel worthy of the task. You likely could not fathom what the United States of America would become—from thirteen states to fifty, and 332 million citizens. Our democracy is the oldest in the world—we don’t always get it right, and we have fought amongst ourselves more than I care to think about. But, today we are the most powerful country in the world. This is what you paid for with your life.

The author of that letter, RWFI Director of Operations Stacey Ferguson, knows about defending our country. As a veteran herself, the subjects of our project are near and dear to her heart. During a 24-year Air Force career, she was charged with caring for those who served under her command.

“I see these soldiers who I helped exhume no differently—it is my responsibility to care for them and tell their stories,” she said. “I am at the end of a 250-year timeline of serving our nation, and these men and boys go back to the very beginning.”

Stacey during a reenactment at the Rev War Living History Park in Camden, South Carolina, above, and teaching a group of school children about our country’s founding period in history, below.

As a part of her dual responsibilities in both her RWFI role and her job as Historic Camden Foundation’s Deputy Director, her days are varied. From dirty jeans digging up old artifacts, to a colonial era long gown – she has many faces. And all of them enthusiastic and passionate.

The letter she placed in the coffins of the Camden combatants before they were reburied was a battlefield inspiration. As she was working on the excavation project, carefully unearthing the discovered remains, she said she often found herself having a conversation with her subjects in her head. Wondering about their lives and lots of thoughts and emotions. So the letter was a way for her process the feelings that arose. She even tried to write it using simple language they might have used in the 18th Century, so it would be familiar.

“I do have a pretty cool job: cannons, musket, archaeology, getting eyeballs deep in old books,” she exclaimed. “What’s not to love?!”

RWFI Director of Operations, Stacey Ferguson participated in the recent American Veterans Archaeological Recovery Camden Field School, sponsored by our organizational collaborator American Battlefield Trust and supported by the Historic Camden Foundation.