Revolutionary War Veterans in Belgrade
In 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, the Belgrade Lakes area was part of a vast wilderness owned by the Kennebec Proprietors of Boston, Massachusetts. The land was basically uninhabited except for a handful of settlers. There was no town to muster soldiers to fight the British. Yet, the Revolutionary War has great importance to this area, for when the war was over and our freedom secured, veterans of the war were among the first settlers to establish our town.
In preparing for the 250th Anniversary of America, fellow Belgrade Historical Society member Bob Lewis and I spent the winter researching Belgrade’s Revolutionary War veterans. We were able to identify roughly two dozen soldiers that came north and settled here. We found that these brave soldiers fought in large and small battles throughout the northeast. They served under General George Washington, General Henry Knox, General John Sullivan, and General John Starks. They came from Massachusetts, Knox, and Cumberland Counties to the south and from New Hampshire. We found each of our veterans has a unique history of service, but a couple of the stories were truly inspiring.
Sergeant John Rankins served in the Army of the Revolution for eight years and four months, just about the entire length of the war. He served at the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the Battle of Bunker Hill, Battles of White Plains and Stillwater, NY, Battles of Monmouth and Trenton, NJ. He was present at Valley Forge during the brutal winter of 1777-78 and was taken prisoner during the Sullivan Expedition to Canada in 1779. After the war, he settled in Dearborn which later became North Belgrade. He is buried in the Ellis Pond Cemetery. Also buried at Ellis Pond is Private Benjamin Bickford.
When Silas Burbank of Scarbough enlisted in the Massachusetts Militia, he brought his two sons, 13-year-old David and 11-year-old Eleazer, with him. David played the drum, and Eleazer played the fife. The Burbank family served together at the siege of Boston, the battles of Bennington, VT, Saratoga, NY, and Monmouth, NJ. They also spent the winter at Valley Forge under General Washington. After the war, Eleazer settled on the hill overlooking Messalonskee Lake. He is buried in the small Quaker Cemetery on Route 11 across from the Pine Grove Cemetery.
Most of our Revolutionary War veterans are buried in Woodside Cemetery behind the Old Town Meeting House, including Private Paul Yeaton, who at age 19 enlisted in 1781 for three years. He later settled on a farm on the West Road, and when he passed away at the age of 94 in 1856, he was Belgrade’s last living Revolutionary War veteran. The Belgrade Historical Society has dedicated a wall at the Belgrade Old Town Meeting House to all of the Revolutionary War veterans, and we invite everyone to visit during our open houses, July 9 from 9:00 to 12:00 and July 23 from 1:00 to 4:00. Cemetery tours in Woodside Cemetery of the Revolutionary soldier’s gravesites will be available.
Dianne Dowd is a member of the Belgrade Historical Society.
Download Full Newspaper: High Res | Low Res (Details…)
<— Previous Article • Summaries • Next Article —>
©2026 by Summertime in the Belgrades. All rights reserved.