An accidental discovery beneath the floorboards of a Connecticut home during a basement renovation has led to important new findings about the American Revolutionary War. In late 2019, contractors working on a 1790 house on Main Street in Ridgefield found human skeletal remains buried in a shallow communal grave. Later investigations by the Connecticut Office of State Archaeology identified the remains as adult men who had been buried without coffins. Physical evidence strongly connected them to the April 1777 Battle of Ridgefield. Years of additional excavation, metal detecting and forensic research, supported by National Park Service grants, have uncovered important military artifacts. These include rare military buttons and lead musket balls that are changing long-held ideas about how the 1777 battle took place.
Discovery of early national insignia
Among the most important finds from recent surveys by the Ridgefield Historical Society and Heritage Consultants, LLC were three pewter military buttons stamped with the initials “USA.” Archaeologists say these buttons are the earliest physical evidence found so far of Continental Army enlisted soldiers wearing a common national insignia during the Revolutionary War. Before this discovery, historians generally believed Patriot soldiers in early 1777 were mainly part of separate colonial militias without standard uniforms or national symbols. According to research published by the Ridgefield Historical Society, the “USA” buttons suggest that American troops under Major General David Wooster and Brigadier General Benedict Arnold were already presenting themselves as one army representing a united nation, only ten months after the Declaration of Independence. The buttons were found in the southern part of town, along with dropped “buck and ball” ammunition. This type of ammunition was commonly associated with American forces and combined one large musket ball with several smaller pieces of lead shot.
Evidence of a violent British ambush
The archaeological work has also led historians to reconsider the traditional timeline of the battle. The fighting began after about 1,800 British and Loyalist troops under Major General William Tryon raided an American supply depot in Danbury. Patriot forces then attacked the British troops as they retreated toward Long Island Sound. Earlier accounts described the first fighting as small skirmishes as British forces moved toward the main barricade on Main Street. However, the location of recovered musket fire shows that the fighting was much heavier and more chaotic than written records suggested. At the Second Engagement site, researchers found a large concentration of British musket shot along with unused American ammunition. Archaeologists believe British soldiers used the natural cover of a hillside to gather their forces and launch a sudden ambush against Wooster’s advancing troops. Artifacts found at the site include a damaged American-made cast musket butt plate, broken French artillery musket fittings and unused lead shot dropped by retreating Continental soldiers. General Wooster was mortally wounded during the surprise attack, which briefly broke up the American lines before the surviving troops regrouped near the center of town.
Evidence of an organized retreat
Earlier accounts suggested that Patriot troops made a disorganized retreat after British forces broke through the main barricade on Main Street during the Third Engagement. However, evidence from the southern part of town points to a more organized defense. Archaeologists found groups of fired and damaged lead shot from both sides. The pattern suggests that retreating Patriot soldiers repeatedly stopped, took defensive positions and fired directly at advancing British troops. Researchers from the University of Connecticut have also used ground-penetrating radar near the site of the original 2019 discovery. The surveys identified seven additional areas that experts believe could contain more wartime burials. The Connecticut Office of State Archaeology is continuing DNA testing and chemical isotope analysis on the four original skeletons. The research aims to learn more about their geographic origins, diet and possible military connections.
Recognition and documentary project
The research project, involving the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office, local historians and university researchers, recently received an Award of Merit from Preservation Connecticut for its documentation and community outreach work. The Ridgefield Historical Society is also raising money for a documentary called The Battle of Ridgefield: A New Look at 250. The project is supported in part by a grant from Connecticut Humanities and will document the discoveries and continuing forensic research. The historical society is continuing to catalogue artifacts recovered from all four known engagement areas as researchers prepare for the 250th anniversary of the battle in 2027.