Quoted Text
Can't think of a better or more appropriate way to spend this day. Wish I was closer, as I've never been there.
-Conor 
Our town of Bethlehem Pa. has the largest burialground of Revolutionary War soldiers. Following the battle at Brandywine,west of Phila. the trains of our beaten army made their way up to our small village and it was designated the field hospital for the Continental Army. Several hundred wagons,carrying their load of misery(wounded troops)along with supplies and officers' baggage(including Washingtons) wound their way up the rutted dirt roads to our town of about 500 hundred inhabitants. The sturdy stone German style large buildings and the excellent cutting edge medicine practiced by our doctors here was the reason for the move to our location.
The train was accompanied by a goodly amount of British POWs and their guards. This host of people quickly overwhelmed the limited facilities and even though very good care was offered and given,many secumd to not only their wounds but an outbreak of Typhus as well.
To keep the loss secret from the British the dead were buried on the heights to the west of town at night in unmarked graves. The names were kept in a log as the town elders were meticulous in record keeping(good German trait)and after the War the list was duly handed over the the new Gov't.
However,when the British burned Washington in 1812,the veterans' rolls were lost and these names are now long forgotten,just like the thousands that met their end on the prison hulks anchored off Brooklyn.
And so,we have in our small quite town,the resting place of over 500 souls that gave their all for the new concept of self-rule.
Over the years,the events faded into memory and the burial location was forgotten. A whole neighborhood was built on top of the graves.
About 6 years ago people digging a foundation in their yard,uncovered the skeletal remains of 3 of these soldiers and I had the honor of walking in the re-internment procession,after which the Old Guard from Arlington fired a 21 gun salute while dressed in period uniforms. Very cool!!!
We have a tomb on First Ave. that contains mortal remains and also doubles as a marker for the area where these forgotten names rest in peace.
We also have other marked graves in the old town cemetery of some of the surgeons and medics that died while here attending our troops. Interestingly,the Marquis D'Lafeyette also recovered from his leg wound inflicted at Brandywine at a private residence here in town.
Sorry,I was long winded but I like to tell the story of our first Vets,as they are almost always overlooked. In my opinion they were the most ill-treated of any of our Vets from any war,being thought of at the time as just a bit better than common criminals,except of course,for the high ranking officers.
J
