Revolutionary War Veterans' Bones Are Eroding Away
Tax deductible
On a hill on the banks of the Otter Creek in Weybridge, Vermont, there are Revolutionary War veterans and their families interred in a small burial ground .
These patriots battled for our freedom in the Battle of Bunker Hill and served as a Minuteman in Lexington Alarm in 1775.
The road leading to the cemetery has been closed and monitoring systems have been put in place.
The cemetery can be moved to a higher ground. This would require licensed undertakers and/or archaeologists, and the appropriate paperwork as required by state law and a new site.
The scope of work is divided into these five tasks:
1. Background Research
2. GRP Survey and Mapping, Recording of Extant Monuments
3. Disinterment of the Cemetery
4. Re-interment of the Cemetery and Re-setting of the Monuments
5. Brief Archaeological Report.
The Town officials, UVM, neighbors and non-profits are all making serious efforts on several fronts to save the cemetery. There is great enthusiasm in completing these tasks. Unfortunately, the cost of an archaeological excavation in today's COVID-19 world seems overwhelming. Grant funds have dried up and we are now pleading with the public before we lose these treasured remains.
We, as members of the Vermont Society, Sons of the American Revolution, are seeking your help. If we lose this cemetery, we lose a part of history.
Help us save this cemetery and these patriots' skeletal remains by donating now.
Thank you for your contribution.
Please share this GoFundme page on your Facebook, Twitter or other social media site.
Other media coverage of this urgent need:
Associated Press coverage
ABC News Coverage
Fox News coverage
NBC News coverage
CBS News coverage
Vermont Old Cemetery Association
P.S.
It would be wonderful to go beyond our main goal and provide further analysis.
These patriots battled for our freedom in the Battle of Bunker Hill and served as a Minuteman in Lexington Alarm in 1775.
The hill is badly eroding due to soil configuration and is in great danger of collapsing. UVM archaeologists have discovered bones in the eroding slope. About 20 gravestones exist now and evidence indicates that there were several more burials in this location. We know some remains have been rescued and are now awaiting reburial at another appropriate site in the future. Gravestones have been moved away from the chasm and set aside for preservation.
The road leading to the cemetery has been closed and monitoring systems have been put in place.The cemetery can be moved to a higher ground. This would require licensed undertakers and/or archaeologists, and the appropriate paperwork as required by state law and a new site. The scope of work is divided into these five tasks:
1. Background Research
2. GRP Survey and Mapping, Recording of Extant Monuments
3. Disinterment of the Cemetery
4. Re-interment of the Cemetery and Re-setting of the Monuments
5. Brief Archaeological Report.
The Town officials, UVM, neighbors and non-profits are all making serious efforts on several fronts to save the cemetery. There is great enthusiasm in completing these tasks. Unfortunately, the cost of an archaeological excavation in today's COVID-19 world seems overwhelming. Grant funds have dried up and we are now pleading with the public before we lose these treasured remains.
We, as members of the Vermont Society, Sons of the American Revolution, are seeking your help. If we lose this cemetery, we lose a part of history.
Help us save this cemetery and these patriots' skeletal remains by donating now.
Thank you for your contribution.
Please share this GoFundme page on your Facebook, Twitter or other social media site.
Other media coverage of this urgent need:
Associated Press coverage
ABC News Coverage
Fox News coverage
NBC News coverage
CBS News coverage
Vermont Old Cemetery Association
P.S.
It would be wonderful to go beyond our main goal and provide further analysis.
Further analysis would produce a synthetic report providing a detailed account of the families and individuals buried in the cemetery, the lives they lived, and the care they took in burying their dead.
Please be generous.
Thank You
Please be generous.
Thank You
Fundraising team (2)
David O'Rourke
Organizer
West Rutland, VT
National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (Vermont Society Sar)
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
Seth and Olia Hopkins
Team member
