Basset, Daniel, House National Register of Historic Places Listing

Daniel Bassett built his home around 1775 on the Monroe Turnpike. A classic saltbox. Actually, the steep, sloping rear roofline tells the story of early Yankee pragmatism and tax avoidance. Bassett, a lieutenant and later captain in the Fourth Militia Regiment, watched the Revolution unfold from this property. He kept watch. Local builders framed the house with massive, hand-hewn oak timbers, pinning them together with wooden pegs that still hold tight today. Two massive stone fireplaces anchor the interior. They kept the cold Connecticut winters at bay. But the house represents more than just sturdy colonial framing.

In June 1781, the war marched right onto Bassett's doorstep. Literally. Lauzun's Legion, a colorful unit of French cavalry under the Duke of Lauzun, set up Camp 19 on and around the property. Imagine five hundred French hussars in bright blue uniforms and tall fur caps occupying these quiet Monroe fields. They rested here for two days. Then they rode south to join George Washington. The French soldiers probably traded with Bassett, buying fresh beef and hay while their officers drank rum in the parlor. It must have been loud. Because the house survived later Victorian modernization efforts, it still retains its original hand-split lath, plaster, and wide-board pine flooring. It remains a rare, physical link to the Rochambeau march.