Beyond July 4, 1776: Woodbridge’s Revolutionary War Patriots and the anniversaries still ahead
As Americans mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence today, it’s worth remembering that this July 4 commemorates only one moment in a much longer story.
Of course, the Revolutionary War did not begin with the signing of the Declaration — that was just one of many momentous steps along the path of revolution. After years of unrest, fighting had broken out more than a year earlier at Lexington and Concord in April 1775. You can see a list of the local men who responded to the Lexington alarm, led by New Haven's own Captain Benedict Arnold, in a previous essay at TownHistory.org War Service Records.
Nor did the story of the Revolution end in 1776. The war continued for seven more years, touching communities across Connecticut and shaping the lives of the men and women who lived in what was then the Society of Amity.
For residents of present-day Woodbridge and Bethany, some of the most significant local events of the Revolution were still years away from the signing of the Declaration. Most notably, on July 5th 1779, British forces under Major General William Tryon landed at Savin Rock in West Haven and Morris Cove in East Haven. Men from the surrounding countryside answered the alarm and marched toward the center of the city of New Haven to help defend their neighbors, homes, and families.
Among those who responded were members of the Sperry family, including my own fifth-great-grandfather, Simeon Sperry (1739-1805). Their story — and the broader story of the militia response to Tryon’s invasion — is explored in the TownHistory.org essay Revolution Comes to New Haven and Militia from Surrounding Towns Muster into Action.
That event signifies that one of the most important Revolutionary War anniversaries for our own community is not occurring today. The 250th anniversary of the British invasion of New Haven and the mobilization of militia from Woodbridge and neighboring towns will arrive on July 5, 2029. For local historians, descendants, and residents interested in understanding how the Revolution unfolded here at home, some of the most meaningful commemorations are still ahead of us.
Remembering our local patriots
As part of the national semiquincentennial observance, the Find-a-Grave website has introduced a special feature they have described as “Honoring the Spirit of 1776” with a 1776 designation that can be added to the memorial pages of Revolutionary War participants. Over the coming weeks, I will be adding that designation to the fifty patriots I have currently included in the Revolutionary War Patriots of Woodbridge + Bethany virtual cemetery on Find-a-Grave. While the badge itself is small, its purpose is significant: helping descendants, researchers, students, and local residents discover the stories of the men who helped shape both the nation and our own community.
The virtual cemetery builds upon earlier efforts to make these stories more visible. In 2019, Woodbridge Eagle Scout Jason Luciani, working with fellow scouts from Troop 907, researched and mapped the graves of veterans buried at three Woodbridge cemeteries and created interpretive signage identifying their locations — read more by visiting the website of the Eastside Burying Ground. His work transformed a collection of individual gravestones into a resource that helps visitors understand the Revolutionary War history preserved within each cemetery. I wrote more about this remarkable project in a previous essay at TownHistory.org Observing Memorial Day in Woodbridge.
Exploring local history today — in person or online
Normally, a visit to one of Woodbridge’s historic burying grounds is an excellent way to connect with these early residents. This summer, however, Connecticut is experiencing one of the hottest stretches of weather in recent memory. For those who prefer to stay indoors and enjoy some air conditioning during the current heat wave, the virtual cemetery offers another way to explore local history.
Each memorial page connects gravestones, military service records, family relationships, photographs, and historical research. Together they create a digital map of the Revolutionary generation that once lived in the Society of Amity.
One of my favorite discoveries while researching these patriots became the basis for the essay Enoch & friends... and their 999-year lease. An eighteenth-century document revealed a remarkable network of neighbors, relatives, veterans, and community leaders whose names appear repeatedly throughout Revolutionary-era records. These were not simply soldiers; they were the men who defended New Haven and after the war helped build the community that would eventually become the town we know today.
Venturing out to visit patriot graves in Woodbridge
Visitors wishing to explore these connections firsthand can learn more about the three colonial-era cemeteries in Woodbridge by reading another TownHistory.org essay Some History of Woodbridge Burial Grounds. The intrepid might begin in-person visits at Eastside Burying Ground on Pease Road. There, among the ancient stones, rest Capt. Enoch Newton, Simeon Sperry, Josiah Sherman, Jesse Ford, and many of the neighbors, relatives, and fellow patriots whose names appear together in Revolutionary-era records.
Long before it became a burial ground, the land itself formed part of the Sperry family farm established by Richard Sperry in the 1640s. Simeon's father, Ensign Nathaniel Sperry Jr. (1695-1751), conveyed property for what became Woodbridge’s first cemetery, creating a resting place that would eventually receive not only members of his own family, but many of the men who served beside his children during the Revolution.
Today their gravestones stand within sight of one another, connected by family ties, military service, and a shared place in the community’s earliest history. The same men who once walked these roads, worked these fields, attended meetings of the Society of Amity, and answered the call to defend New Haven now rest on the landscape they helped shape.
Other patriots from Woodbridge include those buried at Northwest and Milfordside cemeteries — read more about men chosen as officers by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1775 in a brief essay Revolution in the Air of Woodbridge on TownHistory.org. At our sister publication, the Woodbridge Town Chronicle, I recently wrote about the anniversary of founding father and Woodbridge property owner Roger Sherman's birth Happy birthday, Mr. Sherman. And you can also learn about the Woodbridge connections of James Hillhouse and the Sherman family, including Roger Sherman and his brother, the Reverend Josiah Sherman (another of the Revolutionary War patriots buried at Eastside), in the TownHistory.org essay Clover Hill Farm: the former John Beecher-Roger Sherman-James Hillhouse property.
The tombstone of Reverend Josiah Sherman, who died very suddenly while laboring with the church, has the following inscription: “In memory of Rev. Josiah Sherman, minister of the Gospel, Ob. Nov. 24 A D 1789, M. 60. The learned scholar, the eloquent orator, the exemplary Christian, the faithful pastor, the kind husband and parent, and the humble follower of Jesus Christ. Piety adorned his useful life and in the moments of a painful death enabled him to triumph in the hope of heaven. Much impressed himself and conscious of his awful danger, by him the violated law spoke its thunders and by him in strains as sweet as ever angels use the Gospel whispered peace.”
While the Declaration of Independence is turning 250 today, for Woodbridge and the greater New Haven area, some of the most significant Revolutionary War anniversaries are still ahead of us. Because the story of the Revolution did not end on July 4th 1776, our commemoration need not end with remembering the anniversary of the famous events in Philadelphia that day. Instead, we have the opportunity to continue exploring and honoring our local history through October 19, 2031 (the 250th anniversary of the surrender at Yorktown) and September 3, 2033 (the 250th anniversary of the Treaty of Paris), which formally ended the war.
Stay tuned to TownHistory.org as we continue exploring the Revolutionary history of Woodbridge, Bethany, and the greater New Haven area through the commemorations still to come.