250 years ago, the 13 colonies banded together to declare their independence from the United Kingdom and to form the great experiment of the United States of America. The saying went that the sun never set on the United Kingdom as they occupied colonies all over the world. The problem with the colonies was that much more revenue and goods flowed back to England than to the colonies.
By the 1760s and 1770s, the American Patriots had enough. Organized resistance against the occupying British forces with such incidents as the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre, and the Battle of Bunker (Breed’s) Hill in Massachusetts on June 17, 1775, the first battle of the Revolution. The battle was considered a British victory, but the costs were high, with 1,054 British killed or wounded compared to 343 American Patriots killed or wounded.
The seeds of war against Britain were sown. However, victory was not guaranteed as this ragtag group of farmers and craftsmen fought against a well-trained and organized army. Patriots made up about 45% of the population, while those still loyal to Britain made up up to 20%, and the remainder were neutral. The patriots had one thing going for them that the British did not: the cause of Freedom.
Back in Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress met to declare independence from Britain. Our founding document, the Declaration of Independence, was written primarily by Thomas Jefferson and signed by 56 representatives from the 13 colonies on July 4, 1776. This constituted the birth of our nation. By signing the Declaration, the signers were putting not only their fortunes but also their very lives on the line, an act considered treasonous by Britain. Had we lost the Revolution, these 56 patriots would most definitely have been tried and probably executed by Britain.
The Declaration stated 27 individual grievances against Britain, primarily taxation without representation. The preamble of the Declaration was written by John Adams and read as such, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that their Creator endows them with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The American Revolution ended on September 3, 1783, with the British surrender to the newly formed United States of America. The Revolution was fought in all of the former 13 colonies from Massachusetts and Maine down to Georgia. It can be remembered for many battles, including Washington crossing the Delaware at Trenton, New Jersey, on Christmas night 1776, the freezing winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and the eventual victory at Yorktown, Virginia.
Well-known patriots are remembered throughout history, including the commander of the Continental Army, General George Washington; the founding fathers, many of whom would become presidents and political leaders; Paul Revere and his famous ride; and Patrick Henry, who declared, “Give me liberty, or give me death.” Other notorious figures emerged, such as Benedict Arnold, who switched sides to the British, making his name synonymous with treason.
But what of the individual soldiers who fought in the Revolution? Known as citizen-soldiers, militia, or Minutemen, they would return to their farms and professions after the war and live out their lives in a now-free America. Some of those former soldiers made their way west to the territory of Wisconsin, as farmers, craftsmen, and businessmen. Wisconsin would not become a state until 1848, sixty-five years after the Revolution.
At least 40 former Revolutionary War soldiers are buried in the State of Wisconsin. Most are marked by historical markers placed in the cemeteries. Of these, 25 came from New England, six from New York, and the remainder from other states as far south as Georgia. Three were officers, two were sergeants, and the remainder were private soldiers. One was listed as a drummer boy.
For a full list of Revolutionary soldiers buried in Wisconsin, visit Wisconsin History.org or the Sons of the American Revolution. Wisconsin Society. These burials can be found as far northwest as Menomonee, with the grave of Stephen Tainter, and as far west as Platteville in the case of Samuel Mitchell. Nine veterans are buried in Racine County and Four in Kenosha.
There is a marker in Mound Cemetery in Racine listing four soldiers. Elisha Raymond and Lot Search both enlisted at age 15 at the beginning of the war. Rufus Carter fought at both Lexington and Breed’s Hill. A fourth veteran, Ebenezer Whiting, is buried in Root River Cemetery, but his exact gravesite is unknown.
Each gravesite and historical marker reveals a bit of history from 250 years ago. Nathaniel Ames, buried in Prairie Mound Cemetery in Oregon, served in both the army and the navy. He was taken prisoner by the British and later released at the end of the war. After the war, he became a Methodist preacher and raised a family of ten children. He arrived in Racine, Wisconsin in 1836 and later moved to a farm in Oregon, south of Madison. He died at the age of 102 in 1863. Not only did he serve in the Revolution, but he also lived to see and experience the Civil War.
Source documents: Wikipedia, Wisconsin Historical Organization, Wisconsin Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and Wisconsin Cemetery Enthusiasts.
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