MILITARY · HISTORICAL MARKER
The Peter Freeman Lot
Warwick, Rhode Island
· Warwick Historical Cemetery #26
Military
13
The Peter Freeman Lot, Warwick Historical Cemetery #26, is a historic cemetery protected by state and city regulations. The lot measures 100 feet by 75 feet and contains 22 individuals, with 20 inscribed headstones and one fieldstone. Peter Freeman, according to his headstone inscription, traveled from Paris on a ship with the Marquis de Lafayette and fought in the Revolutionary War. Also buried there are William Dawley and William J. Tourgee, who served in Company A of the 2nd Regiment of Rhode Island Volunteers during the Civil War. The cemetery itself lies approximately 630 feet north of this location, adjacent to Runway 5-23 within the secure portion of the airfield. The burial sites have not been disturbed, but the arrangement of headstones and footstones here exactly replicates their original placement, and granite markers with the inscriptions have been set to mark the original burials. The monuments were moved because the extension of Runway 5 placed the cemetery within the Federal Aviation Administration's Object Free Zone and Runway Safety Area, where objects may not protrude from the ground. After alternatives were considered, relocation of the monuments was chosen to preserve the visual aspect of the original cemetery, while the burials remained in place. This outcome resulted from coordination among the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, the City of Warwick, and the Warwick Commission on Historical Cemeteries through an Environmental Impact Statement, a Record of Decision, and a Memorandum of Understanding in compliance with federal, state, and city regulations. In 2011 the cemetery boundaries were delineated, each monument was recorded and mapped, and five unmarked graves were discovered; that year the Environmental Impact Statement, Record of Decision, and Memorandum of Understanding were finalized. From 2012 to 2013, research sought to establish family relationships and identify descendants. In 2014, the monuments were evaluated for conservation methods. In 2015, monuments requiring treatment were carefully removed. In 2016, they were repaired and restored and the original monuments were set in their new location. In 2017, inscribed granite markers were set to mark the original burials.
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