With Memorial Day around the corner, we turn our thoughts and work to those who have given their lives for our country and our freedom.
Boston Stone Restoration has done a lot of headstone, monument and mausoleum restoration as part of our business over the years, but this recent project really caught owner Paul Bunis‘ attention.
BSR was contacted by the Town of Somerville to restore a monument to a Revolutionary War Soldier who died in 1775. It marks the spot where, James Miller died while holding off the Red Coats so his younger compatriots could retreat.
During the night of April 18, 1775, British soldiers quietly crossed the Charles River from Boston and marched past Prospect Hill on the way to Concord. Once in Concord, they destroyed key military stores, effectively sparking the American Revolutionary War as part of a chain of events that became known as the “shot heard round the world.”
As the soldiers returned to Boston, again passing Prospect Hill (present day Union Square in Somerville) one of many small skirmishes broke out. The colonists were outgunned and retreated, all but 65-year-old James Miller.
Miller was quoted as saying “I am too old to run” as he encouraged his fellow soldiers to escape the oncoming Red Coats. Stories say he was shot 13 times before succumbing to his injuries.
Paul will be restoring this marker free of charge out of a love for history and in honor of fallen soldiers everywhere who have died to protect our freedom.
The monument will be reinstalled in Somerville as part of a larger restoration project in the fall of 2015.