Revolutionary Cemetery Tour

In honor of the 250th anniversary of America’s fight for independence, the Harvard Historical Society organized a tour of the Center Cemetery, highlighting Harvard’s very own Revolutionary War soldiers who lie in rest there. Harvard sent at least one man from every household to respond to the alarm at Lexington and Concord by sending its militias on ahead to Cambridge. Soldiers from Harvard continued the fight and were part of every ensuing battle north of the Chesapeake. The tour featured six reenactors who played the roles of Josiah Whitney, Submit Lawrence (wife of Isaac Gates), Joseph Fairbank, Josiah Whitney, James Haskell, and Jabez Keep.  The reenactors stood at the graves of their historical persons (when possible) and told their histories and their roles in the war, illustrating both Harvard’s participation during the Revolutionary War and its interconnectedness with Harvard’s colonial community. 

Josiah Whitney (played by Bruce Davidson)– His story was told from the gravesite of his fellow soldier, Andrew Park, who served at the Battle of Bunker Hill and likely was a casualty of that battle. Whitney was a lieutenant colonel and later colonel of the Lancaster regiment of the militia. In particular, Whitney would serve in the long siege of Boston. As a colonel, Whitney was the highest-ranking military officer in Harvard and served throughout the war.  

Isaac Gates (His wife, Submit Lawrence, played by Melissa Marteney)– As told by Gates’ wife, Submit Lawerence, Gates was a wealthy Harvard patriot who not only donated a large portion of his land to the American revolutionaries’ cause but also served as captain of two militias during the march to Cambridge on April 19, 1775. Gates was already a veteran of the French and Indian War (1756 to 1763), serving the British. Gates and his wife lived in a lavish mansion on the east side of Bare Hill. 

Jabez Keep (Played by Didi Chadran)– Sergeant of the Harvard  Minutemen and later second lieutenant during the siege of Boston, Keep served during some of the most intense periods of the Revolutionary War.  He was part of Captain Burt’s regiment that served as reinforcements in the Battle of Bunker Hill, and he saw the war through from its beginning to its end. 

James Haskell (Played by Bob Eiland)– A soldier of both the Harvard Minuteman Company and the Continental Army, Haskell and his family lived at 6 Old Schoolhouse Road in a house originally built by James’ father in 1764. The Minutemen would be absorbed, along with other militia around Boston, into the Continental Army under the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1775.  The Continual Army, struggled throughout the war with not only a lack of men and arms but also food and other provisionsl. 

Joseph Fairbank (Played by Ed Sterling)– Fairbank was the organizer of the Alarm Men militia, made up of a hundred men who had not already enlisted in the Minutemen or either of the two other Harvard militias. Elected by his men to be captain of Alarm Men, Fairbank led around a third of the Alarm Men on the thirty-mile march to Cambridge on April 19, 1775. Fairbank lived on what is now known as Stow Road, but which he would have known as Great Elms Road. 

Joseph Wheeler (Played by Nick Browse)–  The second minister in Harvard both preached and wrote of revolutionary ideals and urged resistance towards the English government. Not only a man of words but of actions as well, Wheeler served in the Alarm Men who made their march to Cambridge on April 19, 1775. Wheeler’s story as minister and soldier was told from the grave of his succeeding minister, Daniel Johnson.

These soldiers’ individual stories of the Revolutionary War help remind us how every soldier during the war had his own life at home, making their military service and sacrifices  even more meaningful. Events as legendary as the Revolutionary War may seem distant from our modern-day world. This tour celebrating 250 years of hard-fought independence was intended to help people relate to the war heroes of Harvard’s past and to feel gratitude toward them.