The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1935-01-03

IDENTITY MS last resting place was
unmarked at the time or SO nsnfleiently marked
that through the passage of years all trace of 1t
was lost
Last year DR. Charles penrose Keith of the
church vestry learned that Elizabeth Comic
daughter uf Hupkinsnn. was buried i'll the old
graveyard. He obtained permission from the Hop
kinson descendants to dig In this plot in the hope
OF solving the mystery Of the signer's burial
place. When this was done part of skeleton
WAS found and the homes were sent to nr. Oscar
" Batson professor OF anatomy at the Uniyer-
sity of Pennsylvania who made careful study
OF all the available evidence about Hapkinson,
including the known authentic portraits OF him.
Taking into consideration the probable height.
weight and age of the whose bones were
dug up In the Houkinsnn plot In the Christ
Church graveyard. well ms the profile Of the
skull and checking these with what VAS known
OF Hapknsuns stature and appearance at the
time Of his DEATH the nnatomist was able to
establish satisfactorily the fact that the grave Of
the signer had at last been found.
The announcement of this discovery is espe-
cially appropriate at this time for January
marks the anniversary nt nm event IN the history
of the Revolution which brought HopkInson al
most as much fame as the fact that he
sgners or the Declaration of independence. 1t
inspiration for IL poem that set 10 music
and became Of the most popular soldier
songs of tile struggle for liberty That the
famous BATTLE of the Kegs
During the Revolution as before and for long
afterwards England the Mistress of the
Sens" Except for the victories Of John Paul
Jones the iirdgling American navy was ptifnlly
inadequate to cope with the sen power of Great.
Britain. But to offset this was American ingenu-
ty which first manifested Itself In ITO when
Connecticut Yankee, named David BUSHNELL In
vented tlrte,shaped enian submarine which
he proposed Ia use for attaching bombs and rime
fuses to the bottoms Of the British warships
!, which had sailed into New York harbor to aid
in driving Washington and his tontlnentals ont
of that city The task OF operating this queer
craft WAS entrusted Ia another Connecticut Yam,
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 ieet sailed south
to aid In the capture az Philadelphia and an
chored In the Delaware river below thnt city. AL.
though Bnshnes submarine had not been sue
cessful, his Ingenuity not exhausted Tradl-
ton credits him with conceivlng the Idea OF load
Ing number of kegs with powder and putting
them In the river to inat downstream and explode
against the enemy ships when they touched them.
Most OF them blew up when they struck the Ice
cakes In the Delaware. but did destroy a
British boat. This WAY enough. however, 10 throw
~ the British into something of panic. They
opened IA terrific fire every floating object In
the river, with ship after ship pnnring broad.
sides into the water and the soldiers gathered
along the shores keeping up an incessant fire.
When Hnpkinsnn heard of this incident. he
WAS 80 amused that he wrote Satire poem
called '.rhp Battle of the Kegs" Sung 10 n varia
ton OF the tune of Yankee Double" Ii became
one OF the most popular songs OF Washington
t'ontInentas 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 L
Inns been preserved In virtually every antholog,
OF patriotic verse and nntIve songs.
So even though Francis Hopkinson had neve
done anything else but write THE Battle of tn,
Kegs" his fame would be secure. But ther
we're other things In his record to make hin
noteworthy He WAS born In Philadelphia iii iii
the son Of nm Engshnan #hassereed rs a Indg
Of the admiralty and member of the provincial