You’ve Heard of King Charles III. Who Were I and II?

In America’s fractious 17th-century colonial era, the cave served briefly as a hideout for two fugitives from England who had served on the military commission that ordered King Charles I to be executed in 1649 for treason, tyranny and other crimes.

The beheading of King Charles I led to

Oliver Cromwell’s

interregnum puritan rule, which lasted until shortly after Cromwell’s death. The monarchy was restored in 1660 with the crowning of Charles II. The new king promptly sought to punish those who killed his father, and 10 of the commission’s 31 “judges” who were still living were pursued and executed for their role in the regicide.

Three of the surviving judges,

John Dixwell,

William Goffe

and

Edward Whalley,

fled to America and the support of sympathetic colonial puritans in Boston. As the British authorities intensified their efforts to locate the “regicides,” the three moved west to the tiny colony in New Haven. There, for a brief time, Goffe and Whalley hid in the cave.

Later, the two hiders moved to Hadley, Mass., where they lived out the rest of their lives. Dixwell melted into the New Haven colony and was never captured by the British.

In New Haven, three major streets are named after the three judges; Dixwell Avenue, Goffe Street and Whalley Avenue continue to testify to part of the history behind the new King Charles III’s reign. Like the newly crowned king, my father’s cigar also has a new handle: It’s been rebranded the Smith Perfecto.

Mr. Vincent was commissioner of Major League Baseball, 1989-92.