Long Hill Revolutionary patriots remembered

On Saturday, May 16th, members of the Sarah Riggs Humphreys-Mary Silliman chapter, NSDAR, Inc. placed flags to mark the graves of Revolutionary War patriots, buried at Long Hill Burial Ground.

The flags were placed by chapter members and officers to commemorate the Revolutionary War Patriots at Long Hill Burial Ground in Shelton. Patriot last names are embedded in various ways throughout our community. Family names Beard, Beardsley, Bennett, Curtiss, Hovey, Hull, Tomlinson, Wheeler and Wakelee are among those buried in the Long Hill Burial Ground.

Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, began during the Civil War. Families placed flowers on the graves of those who were killed in battle. Then in 1868, a national holiday on May 30 was promoted. After WWI, May 30 was observed in honor of all who died in all US wars and became known as Memorial Day. In 1971, Memorial Day became a federal holiday celebrated on the last Monday in May.

Twenty-four patriots of the Revolution are buried at Long Hill cemetery; placing the flags is a tradition that began five years ago, in 2021.

The historic Sarah Riggs Humphreys-Mary Silliman chapter, Inc was founded in 1893. The DAR is a non-profit lineage society; any woman who is lineally descended from an ancestor who aided the patriot cause during the American Revolution may be eligible to join. For more information, visit www.sarahriggshumphreysDAR.org or reach out to srhmsregistrar@gmail.com.