The grave is hard to find, deep in the woods, hundreds of yards from any main roads. Few people ever look for it; most people don’t even know it’s there, off of Rte. 140 in Gardner on land that used to belong to Westminster.
The grave marks the final resting place of Private Abner Miles, who was born in Westminster in 1745. Little is known of Miles’s life, but we do know that during the American Revolution, he served for just over three months in a regiment known as Jackson Company. In August 1777, his company responded to an alarm in Bennington, Vermont, marching 200 miles in 10 days from Westminster to what is now Adams, Massachusetts, under the command of Major Ebeneezer Bridge. Miles died of smallpox in 1778.
Since the 1950s, however, a local group of veterans has taken action to ensure that Miles’s life and service to his country are never forgotten. Twice a year, on Memorial Day and Christmas, members of the Westminster VFW, AmVets Post 2012, and American Legion visit the site honor Miles by offering salutes and replacing flags. At Christmas, they place a wreath on the grave.