VIDEO: Peabody Honors Those Who Fought and Died in Battle of Lexington

On any given day, scores of drivers and pedestrians travel past the Lexington Monument on Washington Street without acknowledging the names of the seven men who fought and died in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.

On Monday morning, city officials, the Peabody Historical Society, the Peabody Veterans Council and members of the Danvers Alarm List militia acknowledged the sacrifices made by Samual Cook Jr., Ebenezer Goldwaite, Bejamin Deland Jr.. George Southwick, Henry Jacobs, Jotham Webb, and Perley Putnam.

Ray Silva, commander of the Peabody Veterans Council, placed a wreath on the monument as members of the Second Corps Cadets Veterans Association looked on.

Then Henry Rutkowski, captain of the Danvers Alarm List, ordered the seven militiamen to fire three rounds from the muskets.

Mayor Michael Bonfanti and William Power, executive director of the Peabody Historical Society each said Patriots Day allows Peabody residents to learn about the many people who joined the cause for independence at the outset of the Revolutionary War and appreciate their sacrifices.

The Rev. Sigmund Podlozny Jr., who plays the role of Rev. Benjamin Balch in the Danvers Alarm List, said the men from South Danvers, which is now Peabody, were all young and some had families. But they all answered the called and mustered in Peabody before they march 16 miles on the morning of April 19, 1775 to Arlington Heights to engage the British forces.

He said Cook, 33, had one child. Goldwaite, 22, was single and Deland, 25, had a five year-old son. Southwich was a father of four children and his son, Joseph, was born two days after he was killed in action. Jotham Webb had only been married for two weeks and went to war wearing his wedding clothes and Putnam, 21, was the first South Danvers man who died in battle that day.

Podlozny said all of the men were wounded and would have survived, but were bayonnetted by retreating British forces on their march back to Boston. The seven men were part of a 350-member regiment commanded by Col. Pickering's regiment.

Rutkowksi, who lives in Salem, said he has been a minute man reenactor since he was 15 years old and enjoys events like Peabody's Patriots Day celebration.

"It's a real connection to the citizen soldiers who left his farm to fight for his country," he said. "We do things like this to remember these people."

The seven men whose names are printed on the Lexington Monument were not the only ones recognized on what was a blustery, sunny Monday.

The group of city officials, veterans groups and Danvers Alarm List members also went to the new Revolutionary War monument located at the entrance to the Peabody Bikeway behind the Lahey Clinic to pay tribute to the 350 men who served in the War for Independence under the commander of Captain Samuel Eppes.

One of the soldiers honored at the memorial is Private Jonathan Wilson 3rd whose remains were discovered when the mall was being expanded. Bonfanti said his body is buried at Cedar Grove cemetery, but when the city and Simon Property Group, owner of the Northshore Mall, decided to create the Revolutionary War monument, they wanted to give Wilson some recognition by placing his name on one of the three stones there.

The Peabody Veterans Council Honor Guard played "Taps" that was preceded by a 21-gun salute as Bonfanti and Silva raised the American flag. The group then moved onto the site of the newly dedicated memorial for the city's four Medal of Honor recipients in West Peabody located on the portion of the Peabody Bikeway that runs parallel to Crystal Lake.

The names of those servicemen: Patrick F. Bresnahan, U.S. Army; William L. Carr, U.S. Navy; Thomas E. Ellsworth, U.S. Army; and Daniel D. Stevens, U.S. Navy were all recognized and saluted.

"The idea has always been this bikepath is to honor all of our veterans," Bonfanti said. "It bothered me there was nothing for the Medal of Honor recipients."

At the urging of ret. Army Brig. Gen. Al Mangone, a member of the veterans council, the city and Peabody Historical Society also decided to honor Capt. Samuel Flint, another native Revolutionary War hero killed at at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, with a new plaque that will be placed on a memorial on top of a hill that overlooks the Medal of Honor recipients memorial on one side and his original West Peabody home across the pristine waters of Crystal Lake.

Mangone said Flint is the last man who will be honored as one of Peabody's killed in action "and he has waited the longest."

Mangone said that while many of Peabody's veterans killed in various wars came home, Flint was "interned where he fell at Saratoga. All that came back was his sword, his pistol and his cross belt."

Bonfanti said the city hopes to create a new "Peace Park" where can people can reflect on the tragedy of war and the sacrifices made by so many so that others can live in peace and freedom.