Historical Society Pays Tribute to Bedford’s Earliest Veterans

The grave marker for the — At Bedford’s Old Burying Ground the grave marker for Cambridge Moore, Caesar Prescott and Caesar Jones, Negro slaves and soldiers in the Revolutionary War, was decorated on Memorial Day – Image JMcCT, 2013

Compiled by The Bedford Citizen

Alethea Yates and Don Corey –members of Bedford’s Historical Society—spoke during the Memorial Day services on May 27 about the contributions and sacrifices made by Bedford soldiers during the early conflicts of our nation.

At the Shawsheen Cemetery, retired Brigadier General Oscar de Priest offered a prayer and Don Corey gave a short address to highlight the significance of the cemetery in the history of the community.

….“Shawsheen Cemetery is the final resting place for veterans that have served this nation in every war, from the Revolutionary War up to the present day. It was the focal point of Memorial Day ceremonies from its initial observance until after World War II. Ceremonies appropriately shifted elsewhere in town to honor those who served in World War II and in subsequent conflicts, but because so many Bedford citizens who served their country are buried here, it is appropriate that we continue that tradition here….” Read more

Later that morning at the Old Burying Ground on Springs Road, Captain Brian Nash of the Bedford Minutemen Company read the roll call of the Revolutionary War veterans buried there and Terence Parker gave a brief history of the former slaves interred at the site.

In the northeast corner of the Old Burial Ground are the remains of Caesar Jones, Cambridge Moore and Caesar Prescott, three former slaves who fought for the freedom of the colonies during the Revolutionary War. … Read more

Nash also introduced Alethea Yates from the Historical Society who brought the assembled crowd back to Revolutionary times.

….“Bedford men served, fought, suffered in this war in places far from home: in what are now New York State, Maine, northern Vermont, Canada, and elsewhere. Among the Bedford men who served, to name just a few, were Hugh Maxwell; Josiah Fassett; Rev. Nicholas Bowes, Bedford’s first minister, who contracted a fatal illness when he was serving as a chaplain; and Nathaniel Merriam, who died at Lake George when he was only 19. The war ended with the French driven out of North America, and with the British deep in debt—and in need of tax revenue from their colonies….” Read more

Still later, Yates spoke at the World War I memorial on the Common in the center of town as the parade paused in that place to honor those who served in the Great War.

…. “Bedford was a small community of only 1400 people, yet there are 71 names on the monument. Bedford’s servicemen were sent to many parts of the world. At least 17 served in France, where the fighting was bitter, protracted, and sometimes hopeless. Some fought in battle after battle. Some were wounded, some were gassed, and some were stricken in the terrible influenza epidemic. Three Bedford men never returned home….” Read more