It is a very special place this hallowed ground. On a little hill overlooking a section of our town that carries the weight of the years. I visit East Concord this day in search of those that came long before me. People that wore tricorn hats and walked cobbled streets, many of them still speaking with a strong British accent. There were farmers, laborers, stonemasons and carpenters. There were doctors and lawyers and merchants too. They were our patriots, they felt strongly about their convictions and stood for what they believed to be proper.
Some fought because they felt strongly about taxation without representation while others fought because they hoped for a future where their children and their grandchildren would walk freely unencumbered by the laws and regulations forced upon them with British rule. Regardless of individual and personal reasons and thought, our ancestors gathered as one and fought for their independence from England.
Many of the people walking the streets of Concord did not believe we would go to war against England and just accepted the way they lived their lives. But many did in fact believe we would go to war and they prepared for the day when they would encounter the British soldiers on the field of battle. The Revolutionary War was fought from April 19, 1775, to September 3, 1783. It began with the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. Prior to the beginning of the war the bells were sounded in our town, British soldiers were captured and being transported to Concord, New Hampshire for trial. A horse drawn wagon with British soldiers shackled in red military uniforms arrived and delivered the war prisoners to the local jail where they would remain until trial. Concord jurors were selected and a trial commenced to try these young men for their aggression against the people. Our ancestors were vey reluctant and not interested in serving on a jury to convict these young British soldiers. But the trial did in fact convene and the soldiers were all found guilty. The guilty soldiers were served their sentence; they were instructed to discard their red British uniforms and remain in Concord. They were not incarcerated and allowed to work within the community and they swore they would never again bear arms against the people. Our ancestors were very satisfied with this lenient sentence and befriended the British soldiers living amongst them.
It was in the south end of Concord where a business was established in the form of an iron works. Large kilns were situated on the present-day Iron Works Road. Iron ore would be
excavated from the bed of the nearby river and carried by the wagon to the kilns where it was processed and smelted into iron. With the encounter and trial regarding the British soldiers in town the iron production was increased. More ore and more smelting resulted in an abundance of cannonballs being manufactured for the General George Washington and the Continental Army. It has been said that many of the cannonballs manufactured here in our town were used during the Battle of Bunker Hill. A fascinating fact that adds to the local lore regarding our ancestor’s support for the war effort against England.
It was our ancestors that served during the Revolutionary War bravely that I visit today. The Old Fort Cemetery offers all that remains of the brave men from our town that served gallantly on the field of battle. It is the names I read and recite as I walk from grave to grave in reverence; Bradley, Eastman, Kimball, Locke, Potter and Thompson. It is here they remain in this hallowed place steeped with lore. There are many others buried in our communities that served in the Revolutionary War, regular people with strong convictions to do what had to be done during a time of extreme turmoil. It was the support from the woman in our community that sustained our troops and provided care and compassion for those in need. From clothing and food to molding lead musket balls for the muskets used in war. It was an effort from the men, woman and children that quenched the thirst for independence.
Many of the local soldiers served on the field of battle in known locations. I stop to pray for Major Wheelock at the Old North Cemetery. Wheelock has a granite stone engraved. The engraving tells me he was at Valley Forge and elsewhere. I walk the Old North Cemetery
encountering more soldiers that served during the American Revolution.
The old slate stones retain their sharp engraved letters while the marble gravestones succumb to the centuries of the New Hampshire winters. There are stories in the form of epitaphs that tell me about hardships, last wishes and thoughtful departures from this life.
I reflect upon my life and try to grasp some of the hardships encountered by the veterans of the revolution. If the war was lost to the British these men would have all met untimely and disturbing fates. But they did not lose the war. They succeeded and presented a gift to each and every one of us. The gift of freedom.
As we celebrate our very important Independence Day this Fourth of July I reflect upon the meaning of this freedom, this gift that was provided by those that have all sacrificed so very much. We pass the cemeteries each day unaware of the heroes that sleep eternally on the other side of the old iron fence. Two hundred and fifty years of freedom provided to us by those that sacrificed for a better life. Say their names, pray for them and remember them. For they are the reason we celebrate this Fourth of July.