By Jan Howard

A raid on Newtown's Tories, the British march from Compo Beach to Danbury, the burning of Danbury, the Battle of Ridgefield, and the winter encampments of troops in Redding were among topics featured in the first program associated with the Newtown Reads project sponsored by the C.H. Booth Library.

Town Historian Dan Cruson spoke and presented slides about "Newtown in the Revolution" on March 25 in the meeting room of the library, sharing his 25 years of research on the effects of the Revolution on Newtown and Fairfield County.

Newtown, Mr Cruson said, has always been represented as a Tory/Loyalist town, probably because of former Congregationalist turned Episcopalian (then Anglican) minister John Beach, who held his first Anglican service on the corner of Glover Avenue and Main Street in 1732 and attracted many Congregationalists to become Episcopalians. For years, Rev Beach served churches in Newtown and Redding, both towns with residents loyal to the crown who prayed weekly for the king.

"He was very popular," Mr Cruson said of Rev Beach, though not with everyone, as evidenced by two attempts on his life. He was shot at in Redding and planks were removed from the bridge he used to return to Newtown from Redding.

Despite the number of Tories in Newtown, there were almost an equal number of patriots who served in the war, Mr Cruson said. Some sections of the town had more Tory sympathizers than others, he noted.

Newtown's first experience with the Revolution came in 1775 when a militia troop led by Ichabod Lewis marched into town to disarm a group of Tories that had stockpiled munitions for a conspiracy planned to hold Fairfield County for the crown.

An eyewitness account of the brutal invasion revealed how Newtown residents were shot at and so terrified they ran into the woods. A wagonload of munitions was found and taken to the coast.

"The early years of the war were fairly quiet," Mr Cruson said. "Nobody really knew the war was going on unless they were in Massachusetts or New York."

That changed in April 1777 with the British raid on Danbury. Mr Cruson described the British march from Compo Beach north to Danbury, where military supplies were stored. The British were first fired upon by militia troops on April 25, 1777. When the British returned the fire and charged the militia, the militia troops ran, he noted.

"I don't fault any militia who ran away in the face of the British charging at them with fixed bayonets," Mr Cruson said.

"Redding Ridge was the most Tory part of Redding," Mr Cruson said. The British arrived there about 11:30 am. After having lunch, they marched forward, arriving in Danbury about 4 pm.

The British did not burn all of Danbury, he said, only places where military stores were being kept, which were mostly barns. Nine houses were burned, probably as a result of sparks from other fires. Contrary to local stories, the British did not roll the rum out and spend the night drinking.

"Disciplined troops would not do that," Mr Cruson said. Instead, they spent the night getting the military stores out. When they heard that the militia troops under Generals David Wooster and Benedict Arnold were on their way, the British retreated from Danbury, heading south to Ridgebury, where Gen Wooster caught them unawares. The British fell back, but Gen Wooster was wounded and died two days later. General Arnold was the hero in Ridgefield, where the militia continued to harass the British. The battle took its toll. A grave in Ridgefield contains the remains of 24 casualties of that battle, eight patriots and 16 British.

"They were mauled going back," Mr Cruson said of the British retreat to Compo Beach, where they had several ships.

The Danbury raid did not affect Newtown directly, but many militia members went to Ridgefield to oppose the British during their retreat from Danbury. One of the militia members was William Edmond, then a young lawyer. He was wounded in the leg during the fight and left on the battlefield as dead for more than 24 hours. After he was found, he was taken to a nearby house where a physician decided his leg needed to be amputated. When they left him for a while, Mr Edmond operated upon himself, opening the wound and packing it. He kept his leg, but had a severe limp for the rest of his life.

"That takes guts," Mr Cruson said. Later, as an attorney, Mr Edmond would give advice to anyone, but refused payment. "He was a truly amazing man. He was a very important man here." Mr Edmond went on to become a Congressman and a member of the Superior Court.

[Editor's Note, May 12, 2022: Edmond was also the grandfather of Mary Elizabeth Hawley, "Benefactress of Newtown." She donated the funds to build Edmond Town Hall, which was named in honor of her grandfather.]

There may not have been a battle in Newtown during the Revolution, but there was an execution, which was referred to in a diary kept by Captain Samuel Richards. On June 9, 1777, Robert Thompson was hanged here as a spy, with spectators and members of his family present. Originally from the Town of Lebanon, he settled in Newtown. After becoming bankrupt, he left town. He later became a member of Rogers Rangers and was commissioned by the British to recruit men for the Loyalist cause. When he was later captured, a petition to the British command was found in his pocket that proved he was a member of the British army.

While the French army later encamped in Newtown, the eastern wing of the continental army, which included about 3,000 men, encamped in Redding for winter quarters during the winter of 1778-79. Redding was chosen because it was between the coast and Danbury. "It was a strategic place to be." A second encampment of New Hampshire men took place in Bethel near what is now Blue Jay Orchards. "The soldiers came to social events here," Mr Cruson said.

This was how Samuel Hughes of New Hampshire met Betsey Foote of Newtown, a story that begins with romance and ends in tragedy. "He courted her, and she responded," Mr Cruson said. But Betsey's father, George Foote, was a Tory. When Mr Hughes and his daughter talked about marrying, he refused to talk about for a year.

"George Foote figures he'll die during that year," Mr Cruson said. But Mr Hughes survives, and he and Betsey are married. They migrate to Vermont, where he dies in 1818, leaving Betsey destitute. She received a pension, but was indigent.

Newtown is the site of encampments by French soldiers. Under the command of Comte de Rochambeau, they marched from Newport on their way to join General George Washington. They crossed the river from Southbury at the site of what would become Bennett Bridge and later Rochambeau Bridge and marched along Riverside Road to encampments on Church Hill Road and Castle Hill. Four days later they marched out of town on Mt Pleasant. They again camped in Newtown on their way back to Rhode Island at the end of the war.

Mr Cruson will lead a tour of Putnam Park in Redding, the site of the Continental army encampment, on April 12, at 1 pm, as part of the Newtown Reads project. Book discussions on April Morning will begin soon. Residents interested in discussing the book should register with the library at 426-4533.