PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - U.S. Army Garrison Picatinny Arsenal officials honored three Revolutionary War veterans during a Wreaths Across America event at the installation's Walton Burial Grounds on Dec. 18.
Picatinny Arsenal Garrison Chaplain, Lt. Col. Joseph W. Lawhorn, along with Picatinny Arsenal Religious Affairs Specialists, Sgt. First Class Randy Mckire Jr. and Sgt. Tisha Rivera, laid the wreath at the graves marked for John Burwell, Peter Doland, and Jonathan Wiggins.
The Walton Burial Ground is located at the edge of what was the Walton Farm and the Faesch Iron Works. It was a communal burial ground from the mid/late 1700’s, until the last burial estimated to be 1884.
The Walton name is derived from the family name of the only grave markers that remained legible into the 20th Century, when Picatinny acquired the property during World War II. While bearing the Walton name, the burial ground is believed to also hold remains from other local family members, including from the Doland, Wiggins, and Burwell families.
“Local legend states that the remains of some of the 35 Hessian prisoners of war that worked at the neighboring Faesch iron works are interred there. However, research has shown that not to be true.,” said Jeff Ranu, Picatinny Arsenal’s Historian.
“There are, however, the remains of three Revolutionary War veterans of the Continental Army, said Ranu of the three veterans honored for the event. “Most of the grave markers have either been weathered to the point that no inscription is legible, or no markings were ever placed upon them. This makes identifying the interred individuals virtually impossible. While the identities remain largely a mystery, ground penetrating radar has identified there are potentially between 70 and 100 graves within the burial ground,” Ranu said.
The Picatinny Arsenal Historical Society coordinated the laying of three wreaths at the Arsenal’s Revolutionary War burial ground as part of the Wreaths Across America initiative.
Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit organization founded in 2007, to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, in Washington, D.C.
In 2022, Wreaths Across America and its national network of volunteers placed more than 2.7 million wreaths on headstones of our nation's service members at 3,702 participating locations.
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