PEABODY - Janet Briggs Lettich watched Saturday morning as four headstones at the Old South Burial Ground were dedicated to four Revolutionary War Minutemen whose remains have been lost.
Since she was a child, Lettich has known that Benjamin Deland Jr., George Southwick Jr., Samuel Cook Jr. and especially Ebenezer Goldthwaite died fighting British soldiers in one of the bloodiest battles at Lexington and Concord.
Their bodies were brought back and buried in the Main Street cemetery, but over the years the location of their graves was lost. The memories of them, however, lived on, and Goldthwaite found a place in Lettich's family history.
Looking back at her genealogy, she discovered Goldthwaite's cousin was her fifth great-grandfather. Now, with a proper memorial installed, she can finally go to the cemetery to pay respects to her relative.
"I've been waiting years for this," she said.
The four bodies were buried in the cemetery when they were carried back from the battle in a wagon, but as the boundaries of the cemetery changed, the corpses' location was lost. The Peabody Veterans Council tried to track down the remains in the 1990s and the city even hired a researcher, but neither had any luck.
"They're probably under the sidewalk or under the street," Lettich said. With the help of Dave Cronin, Peabody cemetery commissioner, last year Veterans' Agent Chris Tighe urged the National Archives to provide four headstones for the Minutemen in the Old South Burial Ground and one to replace the aging stone over Minuteman Henry Jacobs in West Peabody - which was dedicated Saturday evening.
Members of the Veterans Council also placed a wreath at Lexington Monument on Washington Street to honor all the Minutemen who gave their lives.
The fact that the headstones at the Old South Burial Ground are there but the bodies aren't doesn't bother Lettich.
"As long as we have some way to remember them," she said. "We can't forget the sacrifices other generations have made."
As Revolutionary War re-enactors from Danvers fired muskets and the smell of gunpowder filled the air, the ceremony marked the courage and bravery of the four men who died and remembered the cause for which they fought.
"We gather this morning on this hallowed ground to honor four men who gave their lives so we could be free," said Mayor Michael Bonfanti.
Since she was a child, Lettich has known that Benjamin Deland Jr., George Southwick Jr., Samuel Cook Jr. and especially Ebenezer Goldthwaite died fighting British soldiers in one of the bloodiest battles at Lexington and Concord.
Their bodies were brought back and buried in the Main Street cemetery, but over the years the location of their graves was lost. The memories of them, however, lived on, and Goldthwaite found a place in Lettich's family history.
Looking back at her genealogy, she discovered Goldthwaite's cousin was her fifth great-grandfather. Now, with a proper memorial installed, she can finally go to the cemetery to pay respects to her relative.
"I've been waiting years for this," she said.
The four bodies were buried in the cemetery when they were carried back from the battle in a wagon, but as the boundaries of the cemetery changed, the corpses' location was lost. The Peabody Veterans Council tried to track down the remains in the 1990s and the city even hired a researcher, but neither had any luck.
"They're probably under the sidewalk or under the street," Lettich said. With the help of Dave Cronin, Peabody cemetery commissioner, last year Veterans' Agent Chris Tighe urged the National Archives to provide four headstones for the Minutemen in the Old South Burial Ground and one to replace the aging stone over Minuteman Henry Jacobs in West Peabody - which was dedicated Saturday evening.
Members of the Veterans Council also placed a wreath at Lexington Monument on Washington Street to honor all the Minutemen who gave their lives.
The fact that the headstones at the Old South Burial Ground are there but the bodies aren't doesn't bother Lettich.
"As long as we have some way to remember them," she said. "We can't forget the sacrifices other generations have made."
As Revolutionary War re-enactors from Danvers fired muskets and the smell of gunpowder filled the air, the ceremony marked the courage and bravery of the four men who died and remembered the cause for which they fought.
"We gather this morning on this hallowed ground to honor four men who gave their lives so we could be free," said Mayor Michael Bonfanti.
On April 19, 1775, at 10 a.m., the Minutemen were deployed from the corner of Main and Washington streets. In warm weather much like Saturday's, they marched 16 miles in four hours, carrying loads of ammunition, weapons, water and equipment to Lexington and Concord.
"You don't think about it unless you do it and realize what a feat that is," said Lt. Col Mark Ray of the National Guard 101st Artillery, who recently returned from Iraq.
The spirit of the Revolutionary War patriots who drove back the powerful British army is alive and well in today's soldiers, he said.
"From the time of our nation's birth our survival has depended on every citizen being a soldier," he said. "The passion that was the driving force for these four Minutemen we honor here is the same passion that our soldiers of today embrace."
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