NSDAR Group Pledges Plaque Restoration

From June 23 to July 1, 1781, General Rochambeau established a camp on the grounds of what is now Hawley School in Newtown. Soldiers commanded by Lafayette camped at the spot as well. As a commemoration of the 200th birthday of George Washington in 1932, Mary Silliman Chapter, NSDAR, marked the site with a bronze plaque.

To commemorate the 220th anniversary of the encampment, Joan Rumble Sondergaard, recording secretary of Captain Christian Brown Chapter, Cobleskill, N.Y., met the Connecticut chapter members for a wreath-laying ceremony. As a former member of the Mary Silliman Chapter, which is now inactive, Ms Sondergaard and the other Connecticut members have pledged to have the marker restored and the graffiti removed in time for the 225th anniversary.

The goal of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route committee (W3R) is, among others, the creation of a National Historic Trail and to promote heritage preservation along the route. In 2006, hundreds of reenactors hope to once again trace the route from Newport to Yorktown.

Also taking part in the ceremony at the Newtown monument were Adeline Szekeres Anderson, Suzanne Szekeres Meeker, Jessica Szekeres, and Shirley Rumble Szekeres. Attending as well was Amy Anderson, a member of Timothy Murphy Society, CAR. All are descendants of Captain John Kent of Southwick, Mass., and later Remsen, N.Y.