A village that honored an enemy soldier is hosting its descendants in special ceremonies today. The visit of George Campbell and daughter Miriam from Glasgow, Scotland takes place today. Campbell is the fifth-generation grandson of Adj. William Campbell, who came to West Haven in 1779 as part of the British invasion of the city during the American Revolution.
Part of the city’s historical lore, and commemorated on its flag, British soldiers entered New Haven Harbor, and landed near Savin Rock. Thomas Painter was a lookout, and alerted the town. The landing troops then marched toward the town Green. The Rev. Noah Williston, minister of the Congregational Church, was intercepted by the troops, and broke his leg trying to escape. Campbell restrained his charges, and had the man’s leg attended. The townspeople were grateful for his actions, despite his being a Redcoat.
The march toward New Haven commenced with Campbell a casualty of an ambush near Allingtown hill. He was buried on Pruden St.
The family visit will retrace the steps the English forces followed with a visit to the shorefront beaches and Savin Rock near to where the invasion of 1779 took place.
The Campbells will visit the Burial Grounds at 1:30 p.m., adjacent to the Congregational Church. There they will visit the grave of Williston. “Campbell’s act of compassion was something the people of this city never forgot,” said West Haven Historical Society President Jon Purmont. “Many years later West Haven named Campbell Avenue in gratitude for Campbell’s order.”
This event is open to the public and Church officials will be among those greeting the Campbell family.
At 3, the Campbell’s will continue their visit to Monument Park on Pruden Street to pay their respects at the grave site of their ancestor. A brief program will follow near the Campbell Monument, which commemorates his humane deed and also the ultimate sacrifice he made on that fateful day when he was mortally wounded.
This day of remembrance will conclude at 4:30, with a reception to honor George and Miriam Campbell at the Historical Society, 686 Savin Ave.
“It will be a day filled with nostalgia for them as they follow the route their ancestor took to his final resting place on a warm summer day in 1779,” Purmont said.
Very nice. The story of William Campbell is perhaps the story of West Haven in which the people can be most proud. It is a story worth remembering and celebrating in this time when the world is again gripped by internecine war.
It isn’t often that an invaded people honor an invader with a memorial. West Haven shares this distinction with the Ottoman Turks. Years after the battle at Gallipoli, they erected a memorial to the ANZACS, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers to recognize their bravery in the face of withering gunfire. Over a century later West Haven is home to the largest Turkish population in Connecticut.