Seldom remembered today, Anthony Zeni was a Son of Liberty who sacrificed his life for the American Independence. Anthony was one of the colonials who bravely fought during the American Revolution and one of the few soldiers personally handpicked by General Washington for the expedition to Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga in New York during the Siege of Boston in 1775.

Born in Redditch, Worcestershire in 1750, Anthony Zeni immigrated to Roxbury Highlands, Boston when he was just 18 years old. Although born and raised in England, Zeni embraced his identity as an American and enlisted in the militia when the American Revolution erupted. Prior to the mission that claimed his life, Mr Zeni first witnessed the Boston Massacre where he met Colonel Henry Knox and fought in the Battle of Breed’s Hill where he was almost killed during the retreat of the colonial forces from the earthen redoubt.

Several days following the Battle of Breed’s Hill, Anthony Zeni was recruited to the Continental Regiment of Artillery by its commander and was appointed to join the 300-mile expedition for the retrieval of armaments in New York during the winter of 1775. The 56-day expedition, though by large successful as it was able to retrieve 59 cannons plus mortars, proved to be very difficult and dangerous, and to soldiers like Anthony Zeni, fatal. After enduring half of the trek through harsh weather, Zeni fell into one of Hudson River’s cracks and was never seen again.