The Register Citizen: Litchfield area Revolution descendents remember
LITCHFIELD — The namesakes of the Litchfield-area chapters of two organizations had plenty of deep roots in northwestern Connecticut’s history. That legacy — which included intrigue and governance — was honored July 4 at East Cemetery.
Cannon fire, period costumes and a sizable crowd filled the cemetery at noon as the Mary Floyd Tallmadge chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Oliver Wolcott Branch of the Sons of the American Revolution convened to recount the contributions their titular figures made to the founding of the United States of America.
The Charles Merriman Society of the Children of the American Revolution also joined in the festivities, as younger descendents of revolutionaries were part of the proceedings. According to Paul Selnau, president of the Oliver Wolcott Branch of the Sons of the American Revolution, the descendents of not just Tallmadge, Wolcott and Merriman took up residence in Litchfield, but so did those of other Revolutionary War-era contributors.
“Like many of us,” Selnau said, “we traced our patriot ancestors for many, many years.”
Tallmadge’s husband, Benjamin, helped organize an espionage ring that undermined the British efforts during the Revolutionary War. Through a series of coded messages, including one indicated by laundry — the number of handkerchiefs hanging on a clothesline directed members of the ring to specific meeting places — Benjamin Tallmadge’s ring helped unearth General Benedict Arnold’s treason and provided intelligence for General George Washington.
Benjamin Tallmadge, who came to Connecticut from Setauket or Brookhaven, New York, attended Yale College and served as the superintendent of Wethersfield High School from 1773 to 1776 before joining the rebellion.
Tallmadge would eventually serve in the House of Representatives for eight terms, as well as a stint as Litchfield’s Postmaster.
Wolcott’s name would be familiar to northwestern Connecticut denizens, due to the town, school and library named in his honor. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Wolcott led a militia company in the French and Indian War before turning his guns on the British crown as a major general for the Connecticut militia. Wolcott would eventually be elected to the post of Connecticut lieutenant governor before dying in office.
“Many of us who lived in Connecticut,” said Selnau, “our patriots started out in this area.”
One of those descendents, six-year-old Samantha Smith, placed a flag on Tallmadge’s grave. Smith’s father, Charles, recounted his family’s history in the Revolutionary War. Six members of his family — five from Connecticut — served, and several of them defied the odds not just in revolution, but longevity.
“The hardest part was making it to 40,” Charles Smith said. “They put everything on the line for us.”
The Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution were not alone in presenting the ceremony. Following a recounting of Tallmadge’s and Wolcott’s contributions, the First Litchfield Artillery Regiment set off window-rattling cannon fire. While the ceremony is not the first of the year for the Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution, it will not be the last. Selnau said his chapter took part in celebrations in Southington and Southbury, and are planning another commemoration in Norfolk for the fall.
