A plaque honoring Revolutionary War veteran Asa Redington is unveiled Monday outside the museum bearing his name at 62 Silver St. in Waterville. Cindy Gagnon, right, of the Fort Halifax Daughters of the American Revolution, led the project to install the sign, one of just five like it in the United States. Dylan Tusinski/Morning Sentinel

WATERVILLE — Asa Redington was one of only a few Americans to serve in the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard, an elite Revolutionary War-era unit responsible for protecting Gen. George Washington and the Continental Army headquarters.

A sign commemorating his service was unveiled Monday outside the Redington Museum, which bears his name at 62 Silver St. in Waterville. The plaque is one of only five in the nation issued so far by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Redington served in the Continental Army from 1778 to 1783, in that time fighting in several battles against Native Americans and British soldiers, despite several bouts with pneumonia and malaria before rising to the Army’s highest ranks.

About 30 people watched Monday as members of the Fort Halifax Daughters of the American Revolution and Waterville Historical Society unveiled the sign.

Cindy Gagnon, the Fort Halifax DAR member who lead the project, said Monday’s event was about much more than the 6-foot-tall sign.

“All the work we do is about respecting our history and our country and our veterans,” Gagnon said. “It’s been two years getting this sign ready, doing all the research, filing the applications, but it’s finally here.”

A plaque honoring Revolutionary War veteran Asa Redington is unveiled Monday outside the museum bearing his name at 62 Silver St. in Waterville. Dylan Tusinski/Morning Sentinel

In 1781, Redington was part of the Battle of Yorktown in Virginia, a decisive American victory that is considered to have marked the unofficial end of the Revolutionary War.

He was appointed to the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard shortly after, and was eventually selected to deliver George Washington’s personal papers and baggage to the first president’s home at Mount Vernon, according to Jessica Couture, the outreach coordinator for the Waterville Historical Society.

Redington was discharged from the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard in 1784, subsequently moving to Vassalboro and later becoming a businessman in Waterville, where he became a central figure in the young town’s development, Couture said.

“He built the first-ever dam on the Kennebec (River), and actually owned several sawmills and gristmills in the area. We have ledgers from all the business transactions he did over the years,” Couture said. “He was one of the founders of what eventually became Colby College, too.”

The plaque unveiled Monday is the culmination of about two years of extensive research and genealogy work between several local historical groups, including the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and Colby College, Gagnon said.

Gagnon, a member of the Fort Halifax DAR for about five years, said she first had the idea to apply for a plaque commemorating Redington through her work renovating veterans’ headstones throughout central Maine.

There are only five such plaques across the country, in large part due to the specific requirements laid out by the national DAR to obtain one, Gagnon said. The subject must be directly related to the Revolutionary War, no other signs or plaques may be dedicated to them and all information submitted to the DAR must be independently verified by two expert historians.

There are hundreds of Revolutionary War-era headstones in Waterville, Winslow, Vassalboro and beyond, Gagnon said, and she often cleans and restores them, when not doing genealogy research for projects, such as Redington’s plaque.

Among the many names Gagnon has come to know from the centuries-old inscriptions, she said Redington’s story has always stood out.

“We started flipping through our files, and Asa Redington, he always stood out — not to take away from the other patriots,” Gagnon told the crowd Monday.

A historical American flag known as the Bennington flag waves above the crowd Monday during a ceremony outside the Redington Museum at 62 Silver St. in Waterville. Dylan Tusinski/Morning Sentinel

Gagnon said she was able to submit an application for the plaque after a yearslong research project aided by Dr. Margaret Arnold, a descendent of Redington, and Danae Jacobson, an assistant professor of history at Colby College in Waterville.

Despite the museum’s being named in his honor, no signs had been erected to commemorate Redington, making him a perfect candidate for a DAR plaque.

The sign is outside the front door at 62 Silver St., a home Redington built for his son in the early 1800s that now houses the Waterville Historical Society. Inside the home are many of Redington’s personal items and letters, many of which were on display during the plaque unveiling Monday.

Gagnon and the DAR chapter hope the plaque will not just memorialize Redington’s history, but will inspire passersby to learn more about the history of the communities in which they live.

“If you want to find a true patriot, his name should be attached. He took every chance to serve his country and came here to build the community we’re standing in,” Gagnon said. “I think there’s so much value in learning about our history, because it sort of defines who we are today.”