The Revolutionary War Campsite is a historic archaeological site in
West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
The town's popular downtown area is colloquially ...
. It was the site of a 1778 encampment of
Continental Army soldiers during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. The site was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1986.
Description
The site is located in a wooded area on the grounds of the Metropolitan District Commission, near the southern end of Reservoir #6, part of the
Greater Hartford
Greater Hartford is a region located in the U.S. state of Connecticut, centered on the state's capital of Hartford. It represents the only combined statistical area in Connecticut defined by a city within the state, being bordered by the Greater B ...
area public water supply. It is wooded, and the only significant surface remains at the site are ruins of stone-lined fireplaces. The site was long thought, without supporting evidence, to have been the location of an encampment by the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...
under
Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, 1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807, was a French nobleman and general whose army played the decisive role in helping the United States defeat the British army at Yorktown in 1781 during the ...
, during its march across Connecticut in 1780 and 1781; but detailed documentation of the movements of Rochambeau's movements shows that French forces never encamped in what is now West Hartford.
However, three brigades of the
Continental Army were stationed in and near Hartford area in 1778, as a result of General
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
's worry that
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
forces shipping out of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
were preparing to raid Connecticut communities. Two brigades, one commanded by
Enoch Poor
Enoch Poor (June 21, 1736 (Old Style) – September 8, 1780) was a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was a ship builder and merchant from Exeter, New Hampshire.
Biography
Poor was born and raised ...
and the other by
Ebenezer Learned
Ebenezer Learned (April 18, 1728 – April 1, 1801) was a brigadier general in the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
Early life and career
He was the son of Ebenezer and Deborah Haynes Learned, and was born at Oxford, ...
, were ordered to the area in October 1778. Newspaper reports of the period and a contemporaneous journal kept by an officer of the
1st New Hampshire Regiment indicate that American soldiers camped at this location from October 15–21, 1778. The area was thereafter used as a military hospital.
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See also
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References
{{National Register of Historic Places
Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in West Hartford, Connecticut