Middleboro's role in American Revolution explored
Stephen DelSignore, left, of History & Co. and Winston Stone dressed in Revolution-era garb for the exhibit. Photos by Nick Mossman
A real-size Declaration of Independence was on display.
A collection of uniforms worn during the American Revolution. Reenactor Stephen DelSignore said he's worn each of these for his exhibits and reenactments.
Stephen DelSignore, left, of History & Co. and Winston Stone dressed in Revolution-era garb for the exhibit. Photos by Nick Mossman
A real-size Declaration of Independence was on display.
A collection of uniforms worn during the American Revolution. Reenactor Stephen DelSignore said he's worn each of these for his exhibits and reenactments.
MIDDLEBORO — “Nothing in history is inevitable,” said Stephen DelSignore, a Middleboro native who runs American Revolutionary War exhibit History & Co.
“Something has to happen, someone has to give in, someone has to do something, someone has to sacrifice.”
To commemorate how history has led us to today, DelSignore displayed his collection of artifacts honoring the American Revolution at the Peter H. Peirce Homestead on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25.
“I think we take what we have today for granted,” DelSignore said. “We have it way too easy, and we don’t appreciate what it’s taken to get where we are today.”
Among many items, DelSignore’s collection included recreated clothing of British and American soldiers, a full-size replica of the Declaration of Independence and a crate of tea like that thrown overboard during the Boston Tea Party.
These items were on display at the Peirce Homestead, which is owned by the Friends of the Middleboro Public Library. Friends President Paula Fay spoke about the impact Middleboro residents had on the Revolutionary War.
At Middleboro’s Memorial Day Ceremony, flyers created by the Peirce Homestead showed a list of 38 Middleboro residents who fought in the American Revolution.
“I think here in Middleboro, I don’t think there’s necessarily the recognition because everyone thinks of Massachusetts and the Revolution as Concord and Lexington,” Fay said. “And it was a lot more than Concord and Lexington.”
Fay said that Middleboro had both loyalists and patriots active in town, a split that often got bitter. DelSignore affirmed this split, saying that during the era of the Revolutionary War, loyalists and patriots could face threats for expressing their opinions publicly.
“We talk about partisan politics today,” DelSignore said. “It was just as partisan with probably more painful results back then than you would have today, and people don’t realize that.”
DelSignore said that the purpose of his exhibit is to get the word out about what the 18th century was like.
Visitors could walk through the exhibit and talk to DelSignore about American Revolutionary history.
“I’m such a history nerd,” said Aurora Fay, 17, a first-time visitor to the Peirce Homestead. She said that she thought it was nice to see the history of a small town like Middleboro.
And Memorial Day wasn’t the only time to catch the American Revolution in Middleboro. DelSignore said he expects the exhibit to come back throughout the summer.
