Rare Revolutionary War relics discovered by Beacon Hill dealer

Boston, MA – When the alarm sounded on the first day of the Revolutionary War, young Solomon Smith of Acton grabbed his flintlock and headed for the Old North Bridge in Concord.

Fighting alongside his neighbors against the British, the Minute Man is noted as firing one of the “shots heard ‘round the world” on April 19, 1775.

Fifty years later his service and bravery would be honored.

Period Americana, a merchant of history headquartered in Beacon Hill, recently acquired a set of three ribbons presented to Smith. The three ribbons date to 1825 when the country was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the War.

One ribbon commemorates those that served in the Army of the Revolutionary, the second commemorates the Battle at Concord Bridge on April 19, 1775, and the third depicts General Lafayette and the Bunker Hill Monument. This last ribbon was likely issued in June 1825 when Lafayette laid the cornerstone of the Monument. The ribbons were handed down through the generations until the last family members divested of them.

"These are a rare find from the Revolutionary War as only one of the three ribbons is known to exist and only two examples of that ribbon could be located, one being in the new Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia," said Kenneth J. Olson, president of Period Americana. He added that neither the Smithsonian Institute nor Library of Congress hold these important artifacts.

Smith served in the company of Captain Isaac Davis who died as a result of wounds sustained during that battle. Smith was then attached to Captain William Smith’s company and marched to fight at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He was later present at General Burgoyne’ surrender at Saratoga, NY. In 1825, at the age of 72, he marched 24 miles to see General Lafayette lay the corner stone for the Bunker Hill Monument.

Solomon is the father is Luke Smith, who had the distinction of serving in the 6th Massachusetts Regiment and participating in the Baltimore Riots on the first day of fighting during the Civil War, April 19, 1861.

The ribbons will remain part of Period Americana’s collection which it makes available for research and for school presentations. The collection is comprised of several artifacts of American turning points such as John Hancock’s copies of George Washington’s letters to General Howe, one of the few known Revolutionary War medical diaries, a Civil War prison diary, and hundreds of documents and artifacts.