David Redding
? - 1778
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David Redding was a Loyalist who was accused of supplying provisions to British troops, as well as guns to other Tories, and passing military intelligence to the enemy. He was tried and convicted of "inimical acts" and sentenced to be hanged on June 4, 1778. However, Redding's counsel argued that he was tried by only six jurors and common law required twelve.
The gathered crowd, expecting a hanging, became unruly when they learned that Governor Chittenden had granted Redding a reprieve until the following week. Ethan Allen jumped onto a stump and said
"You shall see somebody hang at all events, for if Redding is not then hung, I will be hung myself!"With this the crowd dispersed.
Redding was retried by a full jury and found guilty, and a "vast multitude" gathered to witness the execution on June 11th by the Catamount Tavern.
After his execution, his body was turned over to Dr. Jonas Fay for anatomical study. Over the years the remains, now just a skeleton, had passed to a doctor in Massachusetts, who used it while instructing his students at Williams College. Over the generations the skeleton was passed down to other family doctors and educators until it was then given to the Bennington Museum in an oaken chest in 1927. Whether to exhibit the skeleton as a Revolutionary relic or to bury the remains of an actor of a famous episode was the subject of debate for years. Finally, in 1976, the remains were interred here, just a few hundred feet south of where he was executed.
