Skeletons Unearthed In Ridgefield Could Be From Revolutionary War

Skeletal remains have been uncovered under an 18th Century house in Ridgefield, which could have ties all the way back to the Revolutionary War.

Of course, if you know your local Revolutionary War History, then you know about the pivotal Battle of Ridgefield in April of 1777. Now, a recent discovery underneath an 18th Century house near the site of the battle has unearthed skeletal remains that state archaeologists think may have a connection to that battle.

According to ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org, this could be the very first time in state history that soldiers from the Revolution have had their remains recovered from the battle field.

Ridgefield is no stranger to Revolutionary War artifacts. The Keller Tavern Museum at 132 Main Street was also in the center of the action during the Battle of Ridgefield, when British forces fired on the tavern after they learned that musket balls were being manufactured in the basement. One of the cannonballs lodged itself into a corner post, where it has remained ever since.

State archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni talked to ridgefieldpress.com about the three skeletons that have been discovered:

The skeletons were found contorted and confined in a hole that was relatively shallow, about three to four feet below the gravel floor of the home’s basement. One has been completely excavated already and is in the medical examiner’s office and we’re working on these other two.
All three skeletons were robust adult men lying in an east-west orientation in ground that appears to be haphazardly dug.

The sex is sometimes hard to determine in some of these cases but this one was easy, there’s no question we’re dealing with men. These were big guys. They definitely weren’t couch potatoes. Their bone size indicates that they were probably militiamen. Their femur bones show that they clearly walked a lot and and carried a lot of weight back in their day, and were probably carrying cannons or other artillery?

We don’t know what their role was exactly yet, but part of our interpretation of this scene is that these were soldiers. They were buried in a tight pit and buried hastily, one was put in first and the second one was thrown on top of him. And based on the east-to-west orientation of how they were buried indicates they belonged to a Christian society where that was the burial custom.

A press conference, where more details of this possible historic discovery will be revealed, will take place on Wednesday, December 18 at 1:00 PM at the Ridgefield Historical Society located at 4 Sunset Lane.

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