Subject: Restoration
of Rev War Vet - Lt. James B. Stafford's grave in Trenton
At
Riverview Cemetery, not far from the Trenton, New Jersey waterfront, is the
unkept and forgotten grave of Revolutionary War Naval officer Lieutenant
James B. Stafford, a true American hero whose name and patriotic deeds should
not be forgotten and whose grave should be restored and memoralized.
Born
in 1755 in Wexford, Irleand, not far from the birthplace of Captain John
Barry – the Father of the American Navy, Stafford enlisted in the American Navy
during the revolution and served valiantly under Barry aboard the USS Alliance.
The Alliance, a large frigate man-of-war,
transported General Marquis
deLafayette to France to obtain fresh uniforms and supplies for
Washington’s rag tag army. Then, after a mutiny, John Barry was given command
of the Alliance and defeated a
number of British warships, including two at once and also winning the last
major naval battle of the war, so Lieutenant Stafford had engaged in
swashbuckeling combat and helped defeat the British during the Revolutionary
War.
According
to the research of navy historian John Barry Kelly, at one critical point
during the latter part of the revolution, Lt. Stafford was given the perilous
task of communicating a vital dispatch from the Secret Committee of the
Continental Congress to the American Minister in England, Henry Laurens. The former President of the American
Congress, Laurens was then incarcerated in the Tower of London. Against great
odds, and with ingenuity and stealth, Stafford successfully completed the
mission.
As
long time New Jersey resident, after the revolution Stafford retired to
Trenton where he lived until August 19, 1838 when he died at the age of 83,
the last surviving veteran to have served on the Alliance.
John
Barry Kelly, a distant relative to both Captain John Barry and Revolutionary
War Captain Richard Somers, of Somers Point, New Jersey (and no relation to
me), is a Philadelphia Parks manager who is researching and writing about
lesser known US navy officers from the Philadelphia area. John Barry
Kelly located and recently visited Stafford’s grave, and reports that it “needs
repairs and rehab. It once was a splendid tribute to a valiant officer, but
now is in deteriorated condition.”
When
he visited Kelly placed an American flag and Revolutionary War marker at the
site. He then wrote to me asking a good question: could some VFW or veterans
group or SAR - DAR – Sons - Daughters of the American Revolution, or some
such organization, step up and adopt this grave site as a project?
Maybe
by August 19, the anniversary of his death, the grave of American
Revolutionary War Lieutenant James B. Stafford can be properly restored and
serve as a memorial to all of the great, forgotten patriots like him.
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Photos by John Barry Kelly