Battle of Ridgefield - Legacy

Legacy

Beginning in 1877, residents of Ridgefield have remembered the battle with some form of anniversary ceremony every twenty-five years. A full day tribute was hosted at former Connecticut Governor Phineas C. Lounsbury's Town Street mansion in conjunction with the town's bicentennial celebration in 1908. The 150th anniversary affair in 1927 featured the publication of George Lounsbury Rockwell's History of Ridgefield, and the 200th anniversary was held a year early to tie in with America's bicentennial celebration in 1976. The bicentennial and 225th anniversary celebrations included re-enactments of the battle, for which portions of Town Street (now Main Street) were covered with dirt for sake of authenticity.

In 1854, a monument was erected in Ridgefield to honor David Wooster. The Keeler Tavern, now a local museum, features a British cannonball still lodged in the side of the building. Educational markers are maintained at various points of significance throughout the town, including the locations where David Wooster was mortally wounded and Benedict Arnold was pinned by his shot horse. A stone marker near the site of the barricade marks a spot where both Patriot and British troops were buried together. In New Haven, a public square was named for Wooster, as was Wooster Street.

The battle is depicted in the Newbery Honor-winning book My Brother Sam is Dead by Christopher and James Lincoln Collier.