French,Americanstudents digging up Bolton farm in search of Revolutionary history

Jul. 15—Thirteen French students arrived in Connecticut on Tuesday, joining 16 Connecticut students in a program of the Museum of Connecticut History called Digging into History. All of the students are staying in dormitories at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain until the French group heads to New York City on July 24 and then home two days later.

Their visit centers on an archaeological excavation at the Bolton Heritage Farm, which was Camp No. 5 on Rochambeau's 680-mile march from Newport, R.I. to Yorktown. The visit is a continuation of the program that started with Connecticut students' trip to France in 2019 to help restore a section of World War I trench at Seicheprey, where French and American troops fought against the Germans. Some American and French college students who helped with that project also are taking part in the Bolton dig.

French student Chiara Lopes, 16, said that along with the basics of archaeology, she is learning about Americans and has been struck by the many questions they ask and their interest in her and her fellow students. The Digging Into History program (Crueser dans l'Histoire) "is a way to keep our connection and to keep the flame lighted," Chiara said.

Rochambeau arrived in Newport in July 1780 at the head of an army of 450 officers and 5,300 men. France had supported the American patriots with money and supplies since 1776, and in March 1780, King Louis XVI approved sending troops. At a meeting in Wethersfield in May 1781, Rochambeau and Washington agreed to join forces near New York City.

The Franco-American army would march to Yorktown and compel the surrender of British forces on Oct. 19 of that year. Inspired by the American victory, French people rose up and stormed the Paris prison called the Bastille on July 14, 1789, launching the French Revolution.

Without France's help during the American Revolution, Carawan told students and visitors gathered in a barn Friday morning due to pouring rain, he might well be speaking with a British accent today.

"It's one thing to declare freedom; it's another to win it," the trail administrator for the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route said.

Much of the National Historic Trail from Newport to Yorktown is built on and paved over, Carawan said, which makes the well preserved Bolton site all the more extraordinary. Digging into History program director Christine Pittsley said that a French soldier from 1781 would instantly recognize the tiered fields off Bolton Center Road, which along with other roads in the area has followed the same line since the French encampment.

In April, a survey of the town-owned farm using metal detectors and ground-penetrating radar unearthed buttons from each of the regiments represented in Rochambeau's force, along with musketballs, part of a wagon and a piece of an iron kettle, said state archaeologist Sarah Sportman, who is directing the current dig. The nascent archaeologists so far have found artifacts that include pieces of clay pipe stems dating to the late 18th century, Sportman said.

The discoveries help students connect to the people of that time, to "get to the individual experience," Sportman said. The French soldiers who marched along what one contemporary called Connecticut's "frightful" roads, each carried a musket and equipment weighing about 60 pounds. They came through Bolton with 250 ox-drawn supply wagons and some of the soldiers' wives and children. Starting on June 21, The Regiment Bourbonnois camped at the farm, followed the next three days by the regiments Royal Deux-Points, Soissonnois and Saintonge.

Some officers above company grade who did not camp with the troops stayed at local taverns, including Oliver White's tavern across from the campsite at Brandy Street and Bolton Center Road, a red house that still stands. Rochambeau stayed in the parsonage, home of the Rev. George Colton, whose sloping land, locally known as the Minister's Farm, was the site of the camp.

The dig is centered on a section of field that ground penetrating radar identified as an anomaly, differing from surrounding soil, perhaps a gathering place for the French soldiers, said Scott Brady, a volunteer and member of Friends of the Office of State Archaeologist. On Friday, several square-shaped holes about a foot deep were covered by a tent, but the steady rain prevented any work.

Students are to return next week, Monday through Thursday, to complete the dig. The group also is headed to a New Britain Bees baseball game, Lake Compounce Amusement & Water Park in Bristol and other "Connecticut fun" sites, translator Amy Albert, a graduate student in public history at CCSU, said.

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The American and French students have been enjoying each other's company, organizers said, and were to attend a picnic dinner with hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken and watermelon at the Bolton Congregational Church on Friday night. Six Connecticut students speak French and seven or eight of the French students speak at least some English and most understand English if they don't speak it, Pittlsey said.

The Bolton Heritage Farm is on the National Register of Historic Places. The property also is a state archaeological preserve, where unauthorized metal detecting is prohibited. Informational placards describing Rochambeau's march and the encampment were installed last year by the National Park Service near a barn on the property. The town also owns the large white house on the hillside that served for many years as the Congregational parsonage.

Carawan said his work and the Digging Into History program are centered on getting young people excited about history and "developing a legacy among these kids." Conard High School senior Emma Grimmer-Solem, one of the Connecticut participants, talked to Carawan about volunteer opportunities, which made him smile. The 17-year-old West Hartford resident said she plans to major in history in college.

Emily Borges of Shelton, a college senior who participated in the World War I trench restoration, said the Bolton dig brings the exchange program full circle. The value of the experience, she said, "is getting your hands dirty — feeling the history."

Participants say it's also about connections and gratitude. After Carawan talked about the world-changing result of French aid to the American revolutionaries, Albert provided a short translation for the French students — "Merci, le Francais!" — which was met with spirited applause.