Revolutionary Middlebury (Waterbury Township)

During the American Revolution, what is now Middlebury was part of Waterbury Township, a rural but strategically positioned inland community whose residents actively supported the Patriot cause through military service, supplies, and cooperation with allied forces.

Men from Waterbury Township served in Connecticut militia companies and in Continental regiments raised under Governor Jonathan Trumbull, the only colonial governor to side with the Patriot cause. Local militia units were repeatedly called out for short-term service, particularly in response to British raids along the Connecticut coast and western frontier.

In April 1777, when British forces under General Tryon burned Danbury, then a major Continental supply depot, militia from Waterbury and surrounding towns marched rapidly to join Patriot forces. Though the main fighting occurred at Ridgefield, men from inland communities like Waterbury Township were part of the emergency mobilization that harassed British troops as they retreated toward the coast.

Residents also served in longer enlistments. Some men joined Connecticut Line regiments that participated in major campaigns in New York and the Hudson Valley. Service often meant months or years away from home, exposing soldiers to harsh winter encampments, disease, and supply shortages.

Waterbury Township’s greatest contribution may have been logistical. As a farming community, it provided essential provisions to sustain the Continental Army. Town records from the period reflect quotas for beef, pork, grain, and livestock to support troops. Farmers were sometimes paid in Continental currency, money that depreciated rapidly, making their contributions a financial sacrifice as well as a patriotic one.

Blacksmiths, carpenters, and wheelwrights repaired wagons, forged iron tools, shoed horses, and maintained equipment needed for military transport. Women on local farms managed households and agricultural work while men were away, producing food, clothing, and textiles critical to both family survival and military supply.

In 1781, the war came visibly closer to the township. French forces under Comte de Rochambeau marched through western Connecticut on their way to join General Washington in the campaign that would culminate at Yorktown. Elements of this march followed routes that today are commemorated as the Washington - Rochambeau Revolutionary Route.

French troops camped in nearby communities, and local residents of what would become Middlebury, Connecticut  witnessed the movement of thousands of allied soldiers, wagons, and artillery through the region. The presence of the French army underscored Connecticut’s strategic role as a corridor between New England and the Hudson River Valley.

Though no major battles were fought within Waterbury Township itself, the Revolution deeply affected daily life. The town faced periodic food shortages, high taxes, inflation, and political tensions between Patriots and Loyalists. Church congregations prayed for independence, town meetings debated wartime measures, and families endured long separations.

By the war’s end in 1783, Waterbury Township had contributed soldiers, supplies, labor, and steadfast support to the Patriot cause. Its experience reflects the broader story of inland Connecticut communities whose steady commitment, rather than dramatic battlefield action, helped sustain the American fight for independence.

Revolutionary Veterans from Middlebury