During the Revolutionary War, the British traveled up Guard Hill and later burned all but one house in Bedford Village, N.Y.
Photo credit: M. Ciavardini
It’s hard to envision bucolic Bedford, N.Y. as a war zone, but it was one during the Revolutionary War. British forces traveled up Guard Hill Road and then burned all but one of the houses in the village 235 years ago today.
How often I drive on Guard Hill and think only fleetingly about its role during the revolution. Looking at all of the beautiful houses there today, I can’t really fathom the hardship the people who lived here during the War of Independence endured. Imagine being here when the Redcoats really were coming.
This month, the revolution is everywhere, in plain sight, wherever I go.
—Lori Tripoli
Revolutionary War history in plain sight in Bedford, N.Y. This plaque reads: This path leads to the summit of Guard Hill designated “a commanding heigth” on maps prepared by General Washington’s cartographer, Robert Erskine. Observation patrols were posted there by the American forces during the Revolution 1775 – 1781. It was given to the Town of Bedford by Wilhelmine Kirby Waller in 1981.
Photo credit: M. Ciavardini