People in Milford braved the cold Thursday morning to remember the end of a historic journey in 1777.

Nearly 200 American Revolution prisoners of war reached the Milford shore after an 11-day voyage aboard a British war vessel.

Milford City Clerk Peter Smith said, "It reminds us that these were prisoners of war, many times there for two or three years. They stayed in conditions with no heat, you know, they were on a ship with no heat, they survived horrible weather conditions, horrible, and many of them starved to death."

Despite fears of smallpox, Milford residents stepped up to help the liberated fighters.