Warwick honors resident who took part in the Boston Tea Party
History. Town dedicated a commemorative plaque at the gravesite of John Cowdrey, a Warwick resident confirmed to have participated in the Dec. 16, 1773 event.
Warwick /
| 14 Sep 2026 | 05:17
Commemorative plaque (close-up) and placement of the plaque by costumed Nicholas Fitzgerald from Boston Tea Party Ships Museum; and gathering of townspeople surrounding Thomas Cowdrey’s gravestone in the Warwick Cemetery on Colonial Avenue. (
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The Town of Warwick honored a piece of Revolutionary War history Sunday with a ceremony at Warwick Cemetery dedicating a commemorative plaque at the gravesite of John Cowdrey, a Warwick resident confirmed to have taken part in the Boston Tea Party on Dec. 16, 1773.
Town Supervisor Jesse Dwyer reflected on the surprises that come with local office. “I have to say being town supervisor of this town has been so incredibly interesting, because every once in a while you get a very unusual email that tells you something you didn’t know.” That email, he said, was what first alerted him to Cowdrey’s role in the Revolutionary War “and one of the significant events that led up to America’s independence.”
Dwyer spoke about how central the area was to the war effort. The cemetery sits “steps away from the Rebel Highway, Route 94,” Dwyer said, which served as a corridor for George Washington and the Continental Army as they moved from the northeast down to Philadelphia. He also pointed to two nearby landmarks: Colonel John Hathorne’s house, and Baird’s Tavern, which Dwyer called “a great historical stopping point” for Washington and his troops — and noted it remains in operation today.
Village of Warwick Mayor, Michael Newhard, said “We have a citizenry that truly is engaged in historic Warwick. They really want to know. And it’s on so many levels, but [the Tea Party event] is an incredible piece because this is the spark that started it all. And to know that someone from our community is buried here in our cemetery was part of that and then went on to have an incredible career as a military man, is pretty amazing as well.”
Following those remarks, the program continued with welcoming comments from Evan O’Brien, creative director of the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, and closing comments from Johnathon Lane, executive director of Revolution 250. The ceremony’s centerpiece was a costumed Nicholas Fitzgerald from the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum presenting the commemorative plaque at Cowdrey’s grave.