Virtual Trivia

Question 28: Battle of Ridgefield II

April 28, 2020

One reason that Ridgefield's 1977 bicentennial battle commemoration was memorable:

  1. Patriot re-enactors insisted on "winning"
  2. British diplomats refused to participate
  3. A medal honored hero Benedict Arnold
    4.
  4. Biker gangs staged their own battles outside a Grove Street bar.

The weekend commemoration of the battle reportedly drew 1,000 re-enactors and an estimated 40,000 spectators. The town struck a medal honoring hero generals Wooster—and Arnold—that generated raised eyebrows; undaunted, Ridgefield re-issued it in 2002. This controversy of issuing a medal honoring Arnold was even featured in a New York Times article, which called it a "Bicentennial brouhaha."

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