Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1900-04-05


had laId u rest Just six weeks before
that day, The state OF Souncctleut
has erected granite monument eNcY
the remains OF William Ledvs7i. Near
II is all that relic hunters have left nt
the origlnal tombstone The inSerip-
ton has been nearly all Clipped away,
but I, may be found copied upon the
north side Of the monument, In
wooded valley called "Gungawamp" is
a reuSh Sranite slab hearing the letters
y. \, This marks the grave Of John
Adam 5 brother, Nathaniel. MANY Of
the graves were never marked and can
not be located, In lS@6-S0, Groton
monument WAS erected In memory ot
the patriots who fell in tn, massacre
of Fori GriSwold near this spot ON The
9th e September, A. H. 1881, when the
British, under the command OF tho
traitor, Benedict Arnold. burnt the
towns ~ New London and Grotou. and
spread dtso)ation and woe throughout
this region" The top OF this grants
oheASl is rs feet above the harhoc.
Within the door OF the monument is A
marble slab bearing the names OF those
who fell; beside it hang many relies OF
the battle In the Btll Memorial u
brary hard by is the sword Of l.cdyard.
Il Is short weapon of the rapier pat
tern IN the atheueum at Hartford are
the vest aud shirt that he wore. with
the rents made by the sword The writ
er has a piece of the trimming OF this
vest presented by a granddaughter OF
Gurdon Ledyard. brother Of the
colonel
In form and outline Fort Grlswold is
substantially the same as when taken
by the british, In the southwest bas-
ton is the ruined masonry Of the old
magazine. Across the east side Of the
parade are the remains of the barracks
chtmncyS; the stone foundations OF the
old platform run along the west On
the right OF the gate is the well; in the
south wall, opposite. is the salIyport
where Shapley's party entered, with It's
covered way outside, In front of tho
gate is what was left of the breastwork
after the enemy had shoveled II into
the ditch to bury their slain; just " tn
in is the marble slab marking the spot
where l.edyard fell On the south par
apet is the cmhrasure where Moutglm-
cry died by Lambert Latham's pike.
near II IS his grave. Capt Amos
stanton of the continental army hap
pcned to be at homo at the time on a
furloueh, and went into the fort that
morning as a volunteer. He was an
experienced soldier, and far superior
in military ability to any man present
at the council of war held early in tho
day. He wished to meet the enemy ~
the landing and slirmiSh with them
through the woods, handling his men
$50 that they would seem more than
they were. The constantly arriving
militia and volunteers could thus be
given an opportunity to swell the mum
brr Of fighters, while the enemy were
holl in check 1t was the plan fol
lowed With success at Concord, Lcxin2
ton, Norwalk and other places RHt as
III was, the speedy arrival OF the Brit
ish prevented the asspmbine or more
than l60 men.
Though the Connecticut coast had
been terorized by war ships that pa
.troIcd the sound New London had
thus far escaped in spite Of the strong
.cr reasons for destroying It than at
.tached to any other place, british
and tories hated the town It was A
stronghold Of the privateers that
played such havoc with English MGR
chant marine, and helped to bring the
war to its close Two hundred and
nifty vessels in the West India trade
with cargoes amounting to sl0,000,000.
We're captured in a single year In the
year l777 alone only 40 English vessels
out Of 200 engaged in the African trade
escaped the American cruisers For
the insurance Of single vessel for "A
single voyage more than 30 per cent.
was paid in England MOST OF those
Ipriyateers went out from the harb1rs
Iof Essex county in Massachusetts, and
New London county in Connecticut.
At he end of the war the port OF Silem
counted a privateer force Of 1000 men
and $50 guns The New London force
was as strong tin weakened by
Arnold raid In the single year l779
|! rs prizes were taken into that port. a
Few weeks before the event Of which
we write, the Hannah, laden with an
unusually rich cargo, was brought into
Now London by the Minerva This
prize, valued at si00,0 900, was probably
the richest that the American priva-
Itoer. had ever taken. It Ia thought
that this seizure was the immediate
cause Of Arnold's raid
IN New London was fabulous
amount Of accumulated store. but the
enemy enjoyed no plumber and were
able TO destroy but a small fraction OF
this booty. The priyatecrs and IL