FLAG DAY June 14, 2020: Remembering Cavendish Patriots/Old Revolutionary Cemetery

Below is the handout from the 6/14/20 Flag Day Program, which included to a visit to both the Revolutionary and Coffeen Cemeteries.

Flag Day: Commemorates the adoption of the United States flag on June 14, 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. "Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." The design was attributed to Francis Hopkinson, a NJ Congressman, who also designed Continental paper money, the first US coin, signer of the Declaration of Independence and contributed most of the designs for the Great Seal of the U.S.  This is also the “birthday” of the US Army. Congress adopted "the American continental army" on June 14, 1775.

French & Indian War: 1756-1763

Crown Point Road: Built by the British, linking Fort Number 4 in Charlestown, NH to Fort Crown Point on Lake Champlain in order to improve the supply chain in the French & Indian War.  Major John Hawks and 250 rangers cleared a roughhewn road through the forest. A path was cut across the elevation in southeastern Cavendish, now called Hawks Mountain. Soldiers traveling along this section of the road soon complained of its roughness. Another route bypassing Hawks Mountain was laid out during the next spring. An encampment twenty miles from Charlestown on the road gave the tributary of the Black River its present name Twenty Mile Stream. The Crown Point Rd had originally been an Indian trail. During the American Revolution, Colonial Militias, schooled by the British during the previous war, turned the tables on them and utilized the road to their own advantage, contributing to the ultimate British defeat.

1775-1783: American Revolutionary War: In a new settlement like Cavendish, one of the first orders of business would be to establish a militia for self-defense. Every able-bodied  man would be a member, with one elected as Captain. These groups were also called “training bands.” John Coffeen was captain of the first Cavendish Militia and during the Revolution was at the head of a troop of Rangers.  When the Revolution came, these military companies were called into action. Oliver Tarbell was captain of one of the “train bands” and the company met at the Tarbell farm. In addition there were “alarm-lists,” which enumerated all the men between 14 and 65 years of age, who were liable to be called upon in an emergency. Until 1847, all able-bodied men between 18 and 45 years of age, by law, were enrolled in the militia and were required to do military duty. Every man was required to keep arms and equipment as needed for actual service, and for so doing, his poll was exempt from taxation.

1777: Capt. Coffeen’s grain and grass fields were destroyed when 300 New England troops were stationed on his farm, while working on the Crown Point Road. Later in the year, after the surrender of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, militia, whose terms had expired or where discharged for misconduct, again encamped at Coffeen’s as they made their way home. The tavern house, which Coffeen had established, was immediately filled to overflowing. Those who could not get lodging inside, built fires with the boards that Capt. Coffeen had procured for building a large barn and house. They stripped his home of nearly everything it contained and the turned their horses into his grain. They justified their actions by declaring that the enemy would do it themselves within 48 hours. Capt. Coffeen sent his family to relatives in Rindge, NH. Coffeen’s place became an interim camp and as a result he buried a number of Revolutionary soldiers in his family’s burial grounds. It is believed that there are 12 unmarked graves of Revolutionary soldiers in the Coffeen Cemetery.

Minutemen: Civilian colonists who formed militia companies and were self-trained. They were known for being ready at a moment’s

Cavendish Old Revolutionary Cemetery: The earliest burial was that of Henry Proctor in 1778. While there are 17 known veterans of the Revolutionary War, it is anticipated that many more are buried in this cemetery. The Crown Point Rd passes to the right (north of this Cemetery.

Capt. Benjamin Adams Sr: Both Daniel & his son Benjamin were Revolutionary War Soldiers. Benjamin came to Cavendish, VT in 1778-9.

David Chubb: Served as a Private in 1st Lieutenant Joseph Little's Springfield Company of Colonel Joseph Marsh's Vermont Militia Regiment for 1 month and 21 days.

Thomas Gleason: VT Calvary

Hannah Lovell: Gravestone notes her involvement in the war. Research done by Carmine Guica found that she was “a very brave and patriotic woman who often carried messages by horse back to commanding officers of the Revolution.”

Pvt Edmund Tarbell: Veteran

Captain Leonard Whiting: A British Lieut. in the French & Indian War. Lawyer, farmer, inn keeper. He was seen as a Loyalist during the Revolution & was arrested several times. Moved to Cavendish in 1805. He and Dutton fought together in the French & Indian War.

Revolutionary War Patriots Buried in other parts of town:

Coffeens: The first legal settlers in Cavendish (1769) were Capt. John Coffeen, his wife Susanna and their eight children.

-       Susanna: She was the only woman who stayed in Cavendish throughout the war tending to soldiers, running the tavern etc. As a result of her service, the town awarded her property

-       Lake -Enlisted April. 1775 as a Minuteman. He served in Capt. Reuben Dickinson’s Company of Minutemen of Col. Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge’s Reg’t. 

-       Michael: Enlisted as a Minuteman in May 1775 at the age of 17. He and his brother Lake fought at Bunker Hill. Michael serve in a number of battles including the Battle of Saratoga. He was a member of the “Green Mountain Boys.”

-       Capt. Coffeen attended the First Constitutional Convention of Vermont at Windsor as Cavendish’s delegate. Capt. Coffeen and Susanna are buried in the Coffeen Cemetery.

Salmon Dutton (founder of Cavendish Village): A minuteman under the command of Captain Samuel Stone in Colonel William Prescott’s regiment.

Parkers: Joshua Parker was a Captain in the Revolutionary War. His son Deacon Joshua Parker was 14 years old when he fought in the war. Both are buried in the Center Rd. Cemetery.

Captain Leonard Proctor(Founder of Proctorsville): Well respected for his leadership, he served as the company’s Second Lieutenant on the Lexington Alarm of April 19, 1775 in Capt. Minot’s Company, Col James Prescott’s Reg’t. “This brave group of men took up their muskets and fought as minute-men on the Lexington Green in the opening battle of the American Revolution. Leonard Proctor was 41 years old at this time and the father of seven children.” Proctor is buried in the Proctor Cemetery off of Route 131 in Proctorsville.

Peter Tumbo: Born in Africa and brought  to America via a slave ship. At 21, he was given his freedom. He fought in the Revolutionary War. In 1805, he purchased 50 acres of land from Lake Coffeen and lived in Cavendish until his death in 1832. The abolitionist newspapers of the day, listed him as being 106. It is believed that he, his first wife and daughter are buried in the Coffeen Cemetery. As a private cemetery, it did not require entry into town records.

802-226-7807  www.cavendishhistoricalsocietynews.blogspot.com PO Box 472 Cavendish VT 05142  margocaulfield@icloud.com