The Coolidge examiner., 1935-01-04


unmarked At the time or 80 insufacently marked
that through the passage of years all trace of Il
was lost
Last year Dr. Charles Penrose Keith OF the
church vestry learned that Elizabeth Conde.
daughter Of Hopklnson was buried IN the old
graveyard lie obtained permission from the Hop.
kinson descendants TO dig In this plot IN the hope
Of solving the mystery OF the Slgner's burial
place. When this done. part OF a skeleton
was found and the bones were sent 20 DR. Oscar
v Batson. professor os anatomy az the UnIver.
slty OF Pennsylvania. who made a careful study
OF all the available evidence about Hupklnson
Including the known authentic portraits OF him
Taking into consideration the probable height.
weight and age of the man whose bones were
dug Up In the HopkInson plot in the Christ
Church graveyard well as the profile OF the
skull. and checking these with what was known
Of Hopkinson's stature and appearance NJ the
time of his death. the anatomist was able 10
establish satisfactorily the fact that the grave Of
the signer had az last been found
, The announcement OF this discovery is espe-
eiaily appropriate at this time for January 5
marks the anniversary Of an event In the history
OF the Revolution which brought HopkInson al
most much fame as the fact that he was a
signcr OF the Declaration OF Independence. II
a comic opera battle which gave him the
inspiration FOR a poem that was set to music
and became one Of the most popular soldier
songs OF the struggle for liberty. That was the
famous Battle of the Kegs"
During the Revolution. as before and for long
afterwards. England was the Mistress OF the
Seas Except for the victories OF John Paul
Jones. the hedgling American navy was pItifully
inadequate 10 cope with the sea power OF Great
Britain. But 10 offset this was American ingenu-
ity which first manifested Itself In lT70 when a
Connecticut Yankee. named David Bushnell In
vented turtle shaped. one-map submarine which
he proposed 10 use for attaching bombs and time
fuses 10 the bottoms OF the British warshlps
which had sailed into New York harbor TO aid
In driving Washington and his continentals out
OF that city. The task OF operating this queer
craft was entrusted TO another Connecticut Yan.
kee Ezra Lee. and although he failed in his
major objective. he did succeed In setting of
bomb from beneath the water which threw up
great geyser OF water and scared the enemy out
Of the harbor.
Later in the year the British feet sailed south
10 aid In the capture OF Philadelphia and an
chored In the Delaware river below that CITY, Al
though Bushnells submarine had not been sue
cessful his ingenuity was not exhausted Tradi-
tion credits him with concelyng the idea OF load
Ing n number OF kegs with powder and putting
them In the river TO float downstream and explode
against the enemy ships when they touched them
MOST OF UltN Drew Aii NNeD NleN NtrNck the Ice
cakes In the Delaware but one did destroy
British boat. This was enough. however. TO throw
the British into something Of a panic They
opened terrific ire every floating object In
the river. with ship after ship pouring broad
sides into the water and the soldiers gathered
along the shores keeping up an Incessant fire.
When Hopkinson heard OF this incident he
was So amused that he wrote a satiric poem
called The Battle OF the Kegs" Sung to a varia-
ton Of the tune of Yankee DooIle" IL became
one OF the most popular songs OF Washingtons
Consiuenfals during the remainder of the war
More than that. II has come down through the
years as an outstanding example OF the mock
heroic poems characteristic OF that period and II
has been preserved in virtually every anthology
OF patriotic verse and native songs
So even though Francis Hopkinson had never
done anything else but write The Battle Of the
Kegs" his fame would be secure. But there
were other things In his record TO make him
noteworthy. he was born In Philadelphia In 1887,
the son OF an Englishman who served as a Judge
of the admiralty and q member OF the provncial