Great Barrington — John Whitty was a soldier who served in the Massachusetts Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, which lasted from April 19, 1775 to September 3, 1783.
According to historian Dennis Picard, Whitty grew up in what is now Germany. He was a Hessian soldier who originally battled against American forces, fighting alongside the British Army. “He either surrendered or walked away from the British Army at the beginning of October 7, 1777, right around the beginning of the Battle of Saratoga,” Picard said. “That was when he joined the United States forces. He served during the rest of the war for several years.”
The over-eight-year Revolutionary War had the Patriot Forces, led by George Washington, fighting against British military forces. The war led to the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which recognized the independence of America from the British.
After he died, Whitty was buried at the Water Street cemetery in Great Barrington. For hundreds of years, there was no recognition of Whitty’s service to the country; his gravestone said that it was in memory “of an old German soldier.”
After hundreds of years of being unrecognized for his service to his country, a ceremony of recognition was held to honor Whitty at Water Street Cemetery on Saturday, October 28. During the ceremony, veterans, historians, and state and town leaders all spoke and honored Whitty for his service. Towards the end of the ceremony, a marker was placed next to his grave signifying that he was a veteran who served in the Revolutionary War.
“I think part of the reason why it has taken so long for Whitty to receive this recognition is because his gravestone says that the stone is in memory of an old German soldier,” Picard said. “Many years ago, I was working with the Johannes Schwalm Historical Association, which searches for descendants of Hessian soldiers that stayed in this country.” Picard said that one of the names that he found was Whitty. “It struck me that people probably didn’t realize that Whitty served during the American Revolution,” Picard said. “I called the town’s Cemetery Commissioner and the local veterans organizations, which got the ball rolling for Whitty to be recognized.”
The event included remarks from members of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) James A. Modolo Post 8348 and American Legion Post 298, along with town and state officials. “It’s been a long time for this young fellow who passed away a long time ago, and he was forgotten,” American Legion Post 298 Commander John Kvocka said. “I’m sure some people will say that he wasn’t doing good things in some portions of his life. But, God bless him, he helped our country. We’re very happy to have this opportunity to thank him.”
“His story is important, especially because it has either been forgotten or misremembered,” Revolutionary War reenactor and Canaan, Conn. resident Timothy Abbott said. At the ceremony, Abbott spoke about Whitty’s history of service. “Whitty’s service to his country stands for the complexity of that time period,” Abbott said. “As we come into the anniversaries of the American Revolution, there are so many different stories that we have that help us appreciate what we have in our country, but the fact that freedom was never guaranteed.”
“This cemetery is an important historic piece of the town, and I think it’s very special that we recognize it,” State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli said. “I think it’s important that we recognize this part of American history. In this cemetery, you could probably go stone to stone and find historical facts about our country’s history. To me, history never ends.”
