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Virginia BulletinVirginia Society

Sons of the American Revolution___________________________________________________________________2011-2012 Volume XXXV No. 3

Sixty-six Compatriots and 27 guests, representing 21 Chapters, attended the 2011 Semi-Annual Meeting in Fredericksburg on September 16-17. The weekend’s program included aparade down Caroline Street, from the conference hotel to the city’s historic Market Squarewhere Mayor Tom Tomzak welcomed VASSAR President Mark Brennan and the Conferenceattendees. Leading the way was a local James Monroe High School Marching Band Fife andDrum, featuring Kaylee Newcomb and Sam Bradshaw. VASSAR Color Guard CommanderRob Andrews called cadence for his men and the Compatriots and guests who joined in theparade. More coverage of the Semi-Annual Conference can be found inside.

President Mark Brennan

Delivered at the marking of Governor Thomas

Nelson, Jr’s grave in Yorktown on October 19.

Today, the men of the Virginia Society ofthe Sons of the American Revolution gather,as we have for many generations, in thisholy place to honor and pay tribute to thememory of a man who sacrificed everythingthat he had on the alter of a new and dearlywon American liberty, independence, andfreedom from British tyranny.

Born to a status of high privilege andwealth, Thomas Nelson, Jr. of Yorktown didnot have to do anything at all if he hadchosen not to do so. Successful, wealthymerchant and planter, he was a family man,very comfortable in his surroundings andaccustomed to all of the privileges of highsocietal standing and material possessionsthat a loyal subject of King George III couldpossibly enjoy in the eighteenth century.

But, perhaps more than any otherprominent man of the colonies, he risked andlost his treasure, his business, his home, hishealth, and finally, his life in the cause ofAmerican independence. For these greatsacrifices, we would remember him morethan two centuries later even if he had notsigned the Declaration of Independence,fought at Yorktown as a general of theVirginia Militia, and served as a war-timegovernor of Virginia. Thomas Nelson, Jr.died at an age that most of us surpassedseveral years ago at the home of a son inHanover, Virginia, living on the edge ofpoverty, suffering from asthma, with elevenchildren and his wife. His money was gone,having made a loan in excess of $2,000,000to an ungrateful Virginia government to feed,clothe and otherwise supply provisions fortroops. His health was shattered and he wasdestined, for a time, to be buried in anunmarked grave.

I began to wonder what Nelson’sthoughts must have been as he lay on hisdeathbed. Was it all worth it?

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Virginia Society, Sons of the American Revolution2011-2012 Officers

* Mark S. Brennan, Sr, Esq. …………………………………………...President2120 Christendom Drive, Midlothian, VA 23113 (H) 804-379-6363 (O) 804-237-8804

mbrennan@vanblk.com

* Henry P. Williams III, PhD……………………………………...President-elect841 W. Leigh Dr., Charlottesville, VA 22901 434-938-8141

phil.williams.3rd@gmail.com

* Kent S. Webber ……………………………………………2ndd Vice President9405 Delancey Dr., Vienna, VA 22182-3410 703-938-8141

kwebber2@csc.com

*William A. Broadus, Jr. ………………………………………3rd Vice President10133 Brandon Way, Manassas, VA 20109 703-361-2665

wabroadusjr@aol.com

*Robert Carr………………………………………………………….….Secretary8718 Bradgate Court , Alexandria, VA 22308 703-780-3066 (H) 703-407-4496 (C)

capt7cs@aol.com

* Frederick N. Elofson……..……………………………………………Treasurer21 Paula Maria Dr., Newport News, VA 23606 757-596-6825

fnecpa@msn.com

* Walter Jervis Sheffield, Esq…………………………………….…...Chancellor1314 Sophia St., Fredericksburg, VA 22401-3742 540-371-2370

wjs@wshefflaw.com

Brent D. Morgan…………………………………………………...…….Registrar8091 Pantego Ln., Mechanicsville, VA 23116-5837 804-550-3039

brentster1@comcast.net

Larry Aaron…………... ………………………………………...……….Historian185 Martindale Dr., Danville, VA 24541 434-792-8695

larry.aaron@gmail.com

Rev. Henry N. F. Minich…………………………………………….…..Chaplain3115 Dundee Rd., Earlysville, VA 22936 434-975-0569

nm2n@virginia.edu

W. McKenzie Wallenborn, MD……………………………….……….....Surgeon700 Rugby Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22903 434-293-6779

kenwallenborn@gmail.com

Robert L. “Bob” Bowen ……………….……….........…………..National Trustee78 Smithfield Way, Fredericksburg, VA 22406 540-374-1720

semperfibob@cox.net

* Mark S. Brennan, Sr, Esq. ………………………...Alternate National Trustee2120 Christendom Drive, Midlothian, VA 23113 (H) 804-379-6363 (O) 804-237-8804

mbrennan@vanblk.com* Executive Committee

The on-line Virginia Bulletin is published quarterly by the Virginia Society, Sons of theAmerican Revolution. Editor: Robert L. “Bob” Bowen, 78 Smithfield Way, Fredericksburg,VA 22406 EMAIL: semperfibob@cox.net Chapters wishing to report on their activities,should send their reports to the Editor. Email submissions preferred, to Bob Bowen –EMAIL: semperfibob@cox.net

Fredericksburg Hosts 2011 VASSAR Semi-Annual MeetingThe Colonel Fielding Lewis and James Monroe Chapters organized our Semi-Annual Meeting last month. ThirteenCompatriots and 10 guests of the two Chapters registered and helped coordinate the two-day conference. Among thehighlights of the conference were workshops dealing with genealogical issues and one focusing on Administrative andDatabase responsibilities at the Chapter level.

(L-R) Don Jennings of the Culpeper Minute Men Chapter checks in at the Registration Desk. VASSAR Registrar BrentMorgan conducts a Genealogical Workshop. VASSAR Secretary Bob Carr, Treasurer Rick Elofson, and AssistantSecretary-Treasurer Wayne Rouse conduct an Admin/Database Workshop

Delegates to the Conference gathered for a group photo at Market Square following the parade and formal “welcome tothe city” by Mayor Thomas Tomzak, and other city officials.

(L-R) James Monroe Chapter President Art Buswell and Colonel Fielding Lewis Chapter President David Hazel welcomedthe attendees during the Board of Managers Meeting held in the old City Council Room where General Lafayette wasfeted during his visit to Fredericksburg in 1824. VASSAR President Mark Brennan conducted the meeting.

(L-R) George Waller Chapter President Bob Vogler received the Madison Medal for Andy Doss. Ben Fegan received theMadison Medal. Bob Bowen received a Certificate of Distinguished Service. Jim Robeson, Ed Truslow, Walt Sheffieldand Peter Davenport received their commissions in the Virginia Regiment. Wayne Rouse and Walt Sheffield receivedMadison Medals.

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Skip Nolan and Greg Fisher received Certificates of Appreciation for their interpretiveprogram that focused on Generals George Washington and George Weedon at the time ofthe troop buildup for the Battle of Yorktown.

Diane Nolan, Missy Pixton, BJ Simpson and Julia Carr received Certificates ofAppreciation for their work on the Semi-Annual and/or AMS Conferences.

(L-R) Wink Rouse received the Daughters of Liberty Medal. Laura Hazel received theMary Washington Medal. Virginia C.A.R. President Joshua Wilson brought greetings onbehalf of his organization.

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CFL Registrar Skip Nolan portrayedGeneral George Weedon and GregoryFisher portrayed General GeorgeWashington during a skit at the Saturdayluncheon.

Bernard Baker (left) won the raffle for apiece of original art depicting aFredericksburg scene.

Kenneth Wood (right) won the raffle foran original piece of art depicting a cabinin Westmoreland County.

President Mark Brennan presents C.A.R.President Joshua Wilson a check for hisproject to rehab the Blockhouse at theVirginia Natural Tunnel State Park.

Chapter Presidents Report

Bill King for James Monroe; Col. George WallerPresident Bob Vogler; Fincastle Resolutions

President Spurgeon Keith

George Washington President Bob Carr; ColWilliam Grayson President Bill Collier; Kirk Sheap

for Ft. Harrison

Fairfax Resolves President Darrin Schmidt; Col.Fielding Lewis President David Hazel;

Williamsburg President Ed Truslow

Norfolk President Matt Hogendobler; RichmondPresident Jim Robeson; Thomas Nelson, Jr.

President Joe Shipes.

Bernard Baker for Dan River; Thomas JeffersonPresident Pat Kelly.

General Officer Reports

Treasurer General Joe Dooley; Registrar GeneralLindsey Brock and Mid-Atlantic District Vice

President General Larry McKinley.

Certificates of Appreciation for their work to organize and support the Semi-Annual went to (L-R) David Hazel, Bill King, Bill Simpson, Marv Pixton, and BrentMorgan.

Virginia Society Officer Reports

(L-R) President Mark Brennan, 3rd

VP Bill Broadus; Treasurer Rick Elofson

(L-R) Chancellor Walt Sheffield, Secretary Bob Carr, 1st

VP Phil Williams

(L-R) 2nd

VP Kent Webber, Historian Larry Aaron

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Julie Basic of the Jamestown-YorktownFoundation spoke at the General Membershipmeeting and told the members of plans andprograms in effect for the present and future.

Conferees gathered during a tour of George Washington’s home on Saturday.

Atlantic Middle States ConferenceFourteen State Societies, represented by 138 Compatriots and guests,gathered at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Alexandria, Virginia, to attendthe 2011 Annual Conference of the Atlantic Middle States Association.The Conference was a busy one, hosted by the Virginia Society.Conference Chairman was Virginia's own Vice President General ofthe Mid-Atlantic District, Larry McKinley. The two-day program gotunderway Friday afternoon with a wreath laying at the Tomb of GeorgeWashington at Mount Vernon. The rest of the two-day conferencefocused primarily on Youth Programs.

(L-R) VASSAR President Mark Brennan welcomed those attending the Friday Nightreception while VPG Larry McKinley outlined the program for the two-day gatheringand President General Larry Magerkurth (dual member of the Virginia Society)discussed progress with the SAR’s Center for Advancing America’s Heritage.

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Short Rounds

Kings MountainSecond Vice President Kent Webber (R)represented the Virginia Society at theAnnual Kings Mountain program. He joinedwith fellow Virginia red, white and blue menatop the mountain for this photo. (L-R) PeterDavenport, President of the George MasonChapter, Andy Johnson and Mid-AtlanticDistrict VPG Larry McKinley.

Norfolk Chapter toOrganize Color GuardRetired Navy Captain Chris Melhuish isorganizing a Color Guard for theNorfolk Chapter. When established, itwill become the nucleus of a Tidewater-area color guard that will respond tocolor guard need in the eastern part ofthe Commonwealth.

Shockoe Hill CemeteryRichmond, Virginia

November 11, 2011 1:00 p.m.

Join the Virginia Society, RichmondChapter, the Society of the War of 1812 inthe Commonwealth of Virginia, the NationalSociety United States Daughters of 1812and the Virginia State Society United SatesDaughters of 1812 in a wreath layingceremony to dedicate the newly erectedmonument to honor the Revolutionary WarPatriots and War of 1812 Veterans buried atShockoe Hill Cemetery.

Among those to be honored will be PeterFrancisco, “Hercules of the Revolution”.

Virginia Youth Shine at National Level

(L-R) Kirsten Bowers (2010 Rumbaugh Orations winner). C.A.R. NationalPresident Mary Lib Schmidt. Amanda Schanz (2011 George & Stella

Night Essay winner).

Great Bridge

The victory at the Battle of Great Bridge in Chesapeake, Virginia in December 1775-January 1776, and resulting capture of the strategic port of Norfolk demonstrated thatAmerican militiamen could face and defeat one of the best trained, well equippedarmies of the British Empire. The importance of this engagement is often overlooked,even in Virginia. It led directly to Virginia’s total separation from Great Britain and theestablishment of a new government in 1776. This in turn led to the recruitment of newtroops, furnishing of troops and supplies to the American cause, and ended in thedefeat of British tyranny at Yorktown over five years later.

On December 3, 2011, VASSAR will commemorate the Battle of Great Bridge in themorning and then gather to dedicate a monument to Norfolk area patriots, or, moreaccurately, to patriots buried in Norfolk in the churchyard of St. Paul's Church. At 2:30p.m. on December 3, a bronze plaque will be dedicated on the South Tower Wall of St.Paul’s Church recognizing twenty seven (27) Revolutionary War patriots who areinterred in the historic Churchyard. This dedication is one of two of my presidentialcommemorations, the first to take place on November 11, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. todedicate a monument to the Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Shockoe HillCemetery in Richmond. The Norfolk Chapter worked very hard on the St. Paul’sproject, employing the talents of VASSAR’s finest genealogists. A twin War of 1812Society plaque will also be dedicated, honoring the veterans of that war buried at St.Paul’s. The ceremony promises to be a great and memorable affair, and I encourageall Virginia compatriots to attend.

VASSAR is also poised, through its Culpeper Minute Men and Norfolk Chapters, tocontribute to the erection of monuments at the site of the Battle of Great Bridge. Inparticular, there is an effort underway to fund the erection of a “Marshall Memorial” tohonor battle patriots Major Thomas Marshall and his son, Lieutenant (and later UnitedStates Supreme Court Chief Justice) John Marshall. It is anticipated that the MarshallMemorial will be the first of several to be erected and dedicated at the battle sitethrough the efforts of VASSAR and its chapters. This again is in keeping with anotherpresidential goal this year to heighten awareness of the significance of the GreatBridge Battle, at both VASSAR and NSSAR levels.

President Mark Brennan

Thomas Nelson, Jr. Chapter marks the grave ofPatriot George Booker at Langley Air Force BaseSeveral VASSAR Chapters were on hand to pay their respects to George Booker, acounty court justice and Revolutionary War patriot. Booker is buried on what’s nowLangley AFB in Newport News. VASSAR President Mark Brennan, TNJ President JoeShipes, Norfolk Chapter President Matt Hogendobler and Williamsburg ChapterPresident Ed Thruslow were in attendance.

Fort Harrison PresentsEagle Scout CertificatesThe Fort Harrison Chapter is excited aboutits program to recognize Eagle Scouts in theHarrisonburg-Rockingham County area. TheChapter has presented five Eagle ScoutCertificates of Recognition so far this yearand will be presenting at least seven morebefore the year ends. Two of the five werepresented in person at their courts of honor.Chairman Hank Almond promises to sendsome photos for his next report.

Warrenton-FauquierHeritage Days Parade

The Culpeper Minute Men Color Guardstood tall during the annual Warrenton-Fauquier Heritage Day Parade onSeptember 24. (L-R) Larry Alexander, DonJennings, President Lance Lyngar, FrancisLay, and Commander Lon Lacey.

Bassett Heritage Festival

Andy and Lori Doss and Chaplain GaryHollandsworth of the Col. George WallerChapter set up an encampment and did 18

th

century demonstrations at this year’sHeritage Festival in Bassett, September 10.

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Battle DaysPoint Pleasant, WV – October 8-9

President General Larry and First Lady Barbara Magerkurthserved as Parade Marshall while Secretary General SteveLeishman enjoyed the ride and Treasurer General Joe Dooleywalked alongside.

Joe Dooley tripped the light fantastic at the Governor’s Ball.

(L-R) Treasurer General Joe Dooley, Sam Powell, DarrinSchmidt, President Mark Brennan, VPG Larry McKinley, PeterDavenport, PG Larry Magerkurth, First Lady Barbara, ColorGuard Commander Mike Tomme, Secretary General SteveLeishman, Registrar General Lindsey Brock, VASSAR TrusteeBob Bowen. Carter Lance attended but not present for the photo.

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Culpeper Minute Men Mark the graves ofRevolutionary War and War of 1812 soldiersThree Chapters, Culpeper Minute Men, Fincastle Resolutions andCol. William Grayson, sent representatives to participate in themarking of Revolutionary War soldier Daniel Colvin and War of1812 soldier John Stevens at the Masonic Cemetery in Culpeperon August 20. (L-R) Don Jennings, Bugles Across Americarepresentative, Dennis Fritz, Mike Lyman, Bill Broadus, ThadHartman, Francis Lay, Lance Lyngar and Spurgeon Keith.

The Thomas Jefferson Chapter held its annual Fall Garden Partyon September 11. (L-R) Patrick Bond, VASSAR President-electPhil Williams, VASSAR and Chapter Chaplain Minich, ChapterPresident Pat Kelly, Sharon Steo, Regent, Montpelier DARChapter, Betty Edgecombe, Regent, Albemarle DAR Chapter,Mary Lib Schmidt, National President C.A.R., her mother andfather, Lois and Ret. Army Colonel, Rodney Schmidt, HonoraryNational Senior President C.A.R.

Captain Benjamin Head RememberedOn Saturday, 15 October 2011, the Culpeper Minute MenChapter conducted a dedication of the family cenotaph andheadstone for Revolutionary War Patriot Captain Benjamin HeadSr. at Westover United Methodist Church Cemetery nearRuckersville, Virginia. Guests included a a large gathering of theHead Family descendents; Sharon Steo of the MontpelierNSDAR, Jim Parker of the Lyman Hall Chapter GASSAR, RichardGrant of the James Huey Chapter LASSAR, Jim Mitchell of thePiney Woods Chapter TXSSAR and Mark Day of the ThomasJefferson Chapter VASSAR

On October 20, the top five State Societies, by

membership strength, were Texas, Florida,

Virginia, Pennsylvania, and California.

Yorktown on a Rainy Day

Inclement weather forced some major

changes to the annual Yorktown Day Observance onOctober 19. The traditional parade was cancelled; thegrave marking ceremony for Governor ThomasNelson, Jr., was moved inside the Grace EpiscopalChurch; and the ceremony by the monument wasmoved to the nearby Coast Guard Station.

The Yorktown Fife and Drum opened the Gov. Nelson Program.

The VASSAR Color Guar, although greatly reduced in ranks,performed in its usual exemplary fashion.

Yorktown Day Chairman Walter Neville officiated.

A good crowd, SAR, DAR, C.A.R, and interested Yorktownresidents attended the program and were treated to an excellentpresentation by VASSAR President Mark Brennan.

President Brennan spoke of the sacrifices Gov. Nelson madeduring his lifetime and retired Navy Commander Thomas Nelson,Jr., a great grandson of the Revolutionary War hero spoke of hisgrandfather attending church in the very church we were using tocommemorate his life.

Color Guardsmen Pat Kelly, Darrin Schmidt and Jim Mitchellanchored the left-hand side of the altar. Kelly is President of theThomas Jefferson Chapter. Schmidt is President of the FairfaxResolves Chapter. And, Mitchell is a dual member of theCulpeper Minute Chapter. He was visiting Virginia from his homestate of Texas where he belongs to the Piney Woods Chapter.

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Battle of Great Bridge and Norfolk Marking

December 3. BE THERE Details: Page 7

VASSAR ChaptersCommemorate theAnniversary of 9/11

The Ft. Harrison Chapter presented awreath at the 9/11 memorial in theStonewall Memorial Park in Elkton, VA."We Remember 9/11" was a memorialservice held on September 11th and co-sponsored by the Shenandoah Chapter,NSDAR. The cross beam is an iron beamtaken from the Twin Towers.

CMM President Lance Lyngar (R), JerryHubbard , and CMM DAR ChapterPresident Pat Lattin attended the 9/11program in Culpeper.

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The Patrick Henry Chapter and GeneralJoseph Martin Chapter of the DAR andthe Colonel George Waller Chapter of theSons of the American Revolution held ajoint memorial service at the PatrickHenry Leatherwood Plantationmonument located on Old Liberty Drive.

Colonel George Waller Chapter PresidentBob Vogler recalled driving by the site ofthe attack on the Pentagon and visiting“Ground Zero” twice and beingoverwhelmed by the size of the pit wherethe towers once stood and by the stillvisible damage.

The Fairfax Resolves Chapterparticipated in a 9/11 Memorial Ceremonyon Patriot Day 2011 at Westfield HighSchool. The ceremony, co-sponsored bythe Fairfax Resolves Chapter and theSully Station II Neighborhood Watch, Ithighlighted the impact of the FirstResponders on 9/11/01. Attendees werewelcomed by local Boy Scouts and sawUS flags lining the stadium field -- one foreach Police, Fire, and EMS personnelkilled during the attacks in New York,Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

The Norfolk and Thomas Nelson, Jr.Chapters joined to observe the 10

th

anniversary of 9/11 by gathering at themonument erected to recognize the firstlanding in Virginia by British settlers in1607. The monument is located at FortStory.

The Col. Fielding Lewis and Col. WilliamGrayson Chapters, along with the thePrince William Resolves DAR and LightHorse Harry Lee C.A.R. gathered at theLiberty Memorial outside the McCoartGovernment Building in Prince WilliamCounty to observe 9/11.

9/11 Remembered

I was in Washington on the day of the attacks. I was there for the annual testimony ofThe American Legion National Commander before a joint session of the House andSenate Veterans Affairs Committees. We were to begin at 10 a.m. The attackschanged all that, as the Hill was quickly vacated as rumors of the Capital being thetarget of another attack began spreading like wildfire. As we awaited instructions tovacate the Cannon House Office Building where we had gathered, we could clearlyhear the muffled explosion of American Airlines Flight 77 as it slammed into thePentagon about three miles away. Three years later Helen and I paid our respectsat Ground Zero (above) when we visited New York City. – The Editor

Continued from Page 2

Was it worth risking and then losing hislife and every material, earthly possession,especially when Virginia would not or couldnot repay him and his political enemiesrelentlessly attacked him after he served asgovernor over some petty matters, of whichhe was ultimately exonerated. I did not haveto look far, because General Nelsonanswered the question himself near the endof his life with eloquent simplicity when hesaid “I would do it all again.”

I believe that Nelson, from the verybeginning, understood that the worth of aman, and the esteem in which he will be laterheld if at all, is not measured by his successin accumulating position, power, and moneyduring his lifetime or even by how loving hemay have been to only those who love him,but rather by how he lived his entire life andthe causes he served for the welfare andbenefit of his fellow man. For this reason,Thomas Nelson, Jr. really died the wealthiestof men and he had the satisfaction ofknowing it. He certainly knew that he lived agood life in the selfless service of a uniquelynoble and just cause, such as the world atthat time had never seen. How many of uscan or will be able to say that of ourselveswhen the time comes for us to depart? Aswe go forth today, to commemorate thevictory at Yorktown, and then to the rest ofour days, let the noble example of ThomasNelson, Jr. inspire each of us to live a betterand more selfless life in the service of acause, or a principle, or others, or justsomething much larger than ourselves.

In closing, I believe that Thomas Nelson,Jr. was best summarized by his friendColonel Innes, who, upon the occasion ofNelson’s death, wrote:

“His life was gentle: and the elementsso mixed in him, that nature might standup And say to all the world—this was aman”

God bless you General Nelson, theCommonwealth of Virginia, and the UnitedStates of America.

Mark S. Brennan, SrVASSAR President

The Georgia Governor and Mammy Kate

VASSAR Secretary Bob Carr officiated at the grave marking for his patriot ancestorsand Mammy Kate and Daddy Jack, Compatriots from Virginia and Georgia attended theceremony. Juiia Carr and daughters Ann and Pam show off their finery.

On October 15, 2011, more than 150 descendants, Compatriots from the Georgia andVirginia Society SAR, Daughters from Georgia and Virginia DAR Chapters, HistoricalSociety members, federal, state and local government representatives, and guestgathered to pay tribute to Governor Stephen Heard, Capt John Darden, Capt DionysiusOliver, his son Peter Oliver, Mammy Kate, the first African American woman Patriot tobe recognized in Georgia and Daddy Jack, Revolutionary War Patriots. Each in theirown way had a major impact on the History of the American Revolution and the state ofGeorgia.

Bob Carr, State Secretary and President of the George Washington Chapter, a,descendant of Governor Heard and Capt Oliver said, “We are gathered here to honorpeople whose lives, because of social standing, should have never been intertwined,but because of fate, were drawn together.”

He was, of course, referring to these patriots who served their country during theAmerican Revolution and the two slaves of Governor Heard who also becamedistinguished as patriots by rescuing Governor Heard from Fort Cornwallis, a Britishprison in Augusta Georgia.

Governor Heard was captured at the Battle of Kettle Creek where he foughtalongside Colonels Andrew Pickens, John Dooley, and Elijah Clark. He was one of 23Americans wounded and captured by the Tories. He was taken to the prison in Augustawhere he was to be hanged for treason. One “local legend” maintains that Heard wouldhave been executed had it not been for the courage of one of his female servants,Mammy Kate, who traveled on horseback from Fort Heard near Washington Georgia toAugusta to free her master.

Kate befriended the guards by taking them food and ironing their clothes until shegained their confidence. On the day before Governor Heard was to be executed, sheasked to take clean clothes to her master for his execution and the guards agreed. Itwas during this visit that she placed Heard in her large clothes basket and carried himpass the guards and out of the prison on her head. Her husband Daddy Jack, theHeard gardener, was hiding in the woods with Captain Heard’s two Arabian horses onwhich they escaped.

Kate was more than six feet tall, very strong, and absolutely fearless. In an old letter,written in 1820, she was referred to as, “the biggest, the tallest, the most imposingNegress I have ever seen and she has proven herself to be a strong, a kindly, a neverfailing friend to Heard and his family.”

For a complete report on the marking, click here:

http://gwsar.org/pastevents13.html.

Family and Friends gathered to remember Mammy Kate, her master and others.

Flag Certificate ReportFor the second year in a row, theVirginia Society has achieved100% Chapter participation in theAdmiral Furlong Flag Certificateprogram. It is the 11

thyear straight

year of qualifying for the Furlongstreamer aw2arded each year atthe Annual Congress. You do goodwork Chairman Kirk Sheap.

Members of the Overmountain Men Chapter joined withPresident General Larry Magerkurth for a photo following aprogram on September 15 to commemorate the gathering atSycamore Shoals in Tennessee in 1780. (L-R) RegistrarJames Stallard, 2

ndVice President Bobby D. McConnell, PG

Magerkurth, President Jimmy L. Guinn, pending memberMichael Rhoten

On June 30, 2011, the Martin’s Station Chapter welcomedthree new members, Donnie Brooks, Ronnie Brooks, andFrank Brooks. They are direct descendants of David Chadwell,a Capt. In the Revolutionary War, who later acquired land inPowell Valley, and built the old Block House called Chadwell’sStation. Martin’s Station Chapter President Tom Coker,presented the SAR certificates to the new members. Vice-President Bill Cheak pinned SAR rosettes.

Norfolk Chapter President Matt Hogendobler (R) presents theSilver Good Citizenship Medal to author John Quarstein at theChapter’s monthly meeting on September 10.

Where were you whenthe Earthquake Hit?On Tuesday August 23, 2011, at 1:51 PM ET amagnitude 5.8 earthquake was recorded 2.4 mi (3.9km) SW of Cuckoo on the western bank of IndianaCreek. In 1781, the Cuckoo Tavern stood in that neckof the woods, and it was the beginning of Jack Jouett’sride to warn Virginia’s delegates meeting at ThomasNelson’s Monticello home, of the arrival of BanastreTarleton’s British cavalry. It would become known asVirginia’s own Paul Revere Ride.

I asked our members where they were and what they were doingwhen this year’s quake hit.

The most interesting response came from Dr. Kirk Sheap: “I wasin an examining room with a patient when it hit. The floorbuckled a "wee bit" and the window shades rattled a lotand I heard my staff questioning as to what was happening.I simply opened the door of the room and told them it wasan earthquake and then closed the door and continued myexamination. Many years ago (early 1964) while a studentat UVA, I was up at about 1-2 AM studying and felt a"rumble" come through the dorm. It was a quake centeredin about the same area as today's. An interestingexperience but truly "nothing to write home about". Beenthere and done that.”

Today, the Washington Monument remains closed to visitors,having suffered cracks up to 1 ¼ inches wide when the earthquakehit. It was felt as far north as Canada and as far south at Georgia.

-The Editor

Virginia SocietySons of the American Revolution

CHAPTER DIRECTORY

Clinch Mountain Militia Tazewell areaColonel Fielding Lewis Virginia’s Eastern Piedmont RegionColonel George Waller Martinsville areaColonel James Wood, Jr. Northwest VirginiaColonel William Grayson Prince William County areaCulpeper Minute Men Virginia’s Central Piedmont areaDan River Danville areaFairfax Resolves Fairfax CountyFincastle Resolutions Roanoke Valley areaFort Harrison Harrisonburg areaGeneral Daniel Morgan Staunton areaGeneral William Campbell Abingdon areaGeorge Mason Arlington CountyGeorge Washington AlexandriaJames Monroe Upper Northern NeckLieutenant David Cox Galax/IndependenceMartin’s Station Cumberland GapNew River Valley New River Valley areaNorfolk Norfolk/Virginia Beach areaOvermountain Men Gate CityRichmond Richmond/PetersburgRockbridge Volunteers LexingtonRichard Henry Lee Lower Northern NeckThomas Jefferson CharlottesvilleThomas Nelson, Jr. Newport News/Hampton/YorktownWilliamsburg Williamsburg