Possible Revolutionary War Soldiers’ Remains Unearthed

RIDGEFIELD, CONNECTICUT—The Wilton Bulletin reports that three male skeletons were discovered during renovation work on an eighteenth-century house in southwestern Connecticut. State Archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni noted the men’s robust skeletons, and the haphazard condition of their shallow graves. He thinks they may have been soldiers who fought in the Battle of Ridgefield on April 27, 1777. Historic records indicate that 16 British soldiers and eight Americans were buried near the battlefield. “Their femur bones show that they clearly walked a lot and carried a lot of weight back in their day,” he explained. Bellantoni and his colleagues also recovered five buttons. “They were all linear, pressed onto one of the men’s chest area,” he said. “That suggests he was wearing a jacket at the time of the burial.” No traces of boots or weapons have been found, however. Analysis of the buttons and the men’s bones and teeth could offer more information about who they were. To read about the archaeology of a small Revolutionary War skirmish in Massachusetts, go to "Finding Parker's Revenge."