August 10, 2014 - The Revolutionary War

I know that I have written about Revolutionary War heroes before, but I was particularly struck today by this mass grave.  It is a mound in the old Topsham Cemetery, which stopped accepting new members quite some time ago.  There are a few Revolutionary War heroes buried here, but this mound in particular caught my eye because it carries four emblems and four American flags but no headstones.  There are no names, no dates, no families listed.  They are unknown soldiers . . . but they are remembered.

Four Revolutionary War heroes.

The Revolutionary War was fought from 1775 to 1783.  It started as our rebellion against Great Britain but soon became a world war that involved Britain, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Mysore because these other countries secretly provided supplies to the revolutionaries.  France and Spain also provided significant sea power to the Patriots.  The Continental Congress of the Patriots declared independence in 1776.

One of a couple of different types of Revolutionary War emblems on graves.

It's easy to get caught up in our day-to-day life, in work, in drama created by others, and in the woeful headlines of today's news.  It's easy to think that the here and now is the only time and that those who died, well, that was a long time ago, so it doesn't count.  But it does count, and they count.  I think about the early citizens of Maine often and what they must have been like.  What were ordinary everyday things for them?  How did they spend their time?  Certainly not watching television.  And at the end of the day, did they go to sleep peacefully (after the war, of course)?  I often wonder about the hopes and dreams they must have had for this vast and beautiful land of America!