Friday, October 27, 2006

To archaeologist, location everything
State archaeologist Nick Bellantoni, in the hopes of solving a centuries-old mystery, took a walk through Milford Cemetery on a recent crisp autumn afternoon, scanning the landscape for possible clues.
Bellantoni and other history buffs gathered at the cemetery Wednesday seeking to uncover evidence of the lost graves of 46 Revolutionary War soldiers who died of smallpox in February 1777, less than a month after a British prison ship dropped the men off at the city's shores.

The names of the men who fought for American independence, including Antonio Gomez of Spain and Abram Beach of Goshen, are engraved in a monument built in 1858 near the southern corner of the cemetery, where the soldiers are believed to be buried in a mass grave.