I am immensely pleased to share that we have planted a ceremonial tree in Yorktown, Virginia, to signify the new location of the DAR Pathway of the Patriots! We were honored to plant this native “Chionanthus Virginicus” in memory of Commander-in-Chief George Washington to honor his pivotal victory here – and the final culmination of our ancestors’ pathway to independence. Huzzah!
American Battlefield Trust Board of Trustees Vice Chair Dr. Mary Abroe, Virginia State Regent LeAnn Turbyfill and local DAR members participated in the ceremony under the bright Virginia sunshine. We are grateful to the American Battlefield Trust for its partnership on this America 250 project and to the donors who have supported these trees to honor individual Patriots. We also thank the members of the Comte de Grasse Chapter for allowing us to plant the tree on the grounds of their historic Yorktown Old Custom House in order to launch the full grove of 250 trees that will be planted nearby in the future.
Originally planned for Pennsylvania, the project was moved to Yorktown following an affirmative vote at a Special Meeting conducted on December 8, 2021. The DAR Pathway of the Patriots is a living memorial featuring 250 trees that will commemorate America’s 250th anniversary and those who fought for independence. Learn more about the Pathway and the 250 Patriots honored here.
The outstanding ceremony was one of five in which I had the honor of participating this week – all of which were conducted in beautiful June weather. Please visit my DAR President General Facebook page to view many more photos of these events.
Honoring a Patriot of Color
Wednesday was a grand day to honor the memory of Plymouth Freeman, an African American Patriot who served for six years with the Third Connecticut Regiment. His discharge papers were signed by Gen. Washington, and he came to upstate New York after he left the service on June 8, 1783 — 239 years to the day after a marker was dedicated to his memory. Erected by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, it was sponsored and submitted to the foundation by the Fayetteville-Owahgena DAR Chapter of Fayetteville, who dedicated it before a large crowd.
Freeman received a soldier’s pension and a land bounty grant; he was also awarded the Military Badge of Merit. Chapter Regent Donna Wassall researched his life and service and then convinced the homeowners of a charming 1850 home to welcome the marker to their beautiful property, which is located in the vicinity of Freeman’s home. I was honored to attend and to help unveil the plaque in honor of a man who served Brigadier General Jedediah Huntington for a significant portion of the war. His name appeared as “Plymouth Negro” upon his enlistment in 1777; but by January 1783, he appears as Private Plymouth Freeman. What a privilege to honor his extraordinary life!
Saluting the Marquis de Lafayette
I am grateful to New York State Regent Patrice Birner for inviting me to take part in three ceremonies this week to honor the 1824-1825 reunion tour of the Marquis de Lafayette; Mrs. Birner will place 14 such markers to support The Lafayette Trail as part of her State Regent’s Project. The Lafayette Trail, under the leadership of Julien Icher and through the auspices of the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, will ultimately place at least 150 such markers throughout all of the 24 states that Lafayette visited a half century after the Revolution to raise awareness of his visit.
U.S.M.A. at West Point: Lafayette visited West Point, the longest continually operated military post in the nation, twice during his return tour. The new marker sits outside the USMA Visitor Center and will be viewed by the tens of thousands of visitors who tour these grounds annually. Jérémie Robert, consul general of France in New York, helped to unveil the historical marker during a ceremony that was led by Col. Bryan Gibby and his West Point History Department colleague, Professor Rob McDonald. Mrs. Birner and I were honored to address those assembled and to place a memorial wreath to Lafayette. The ceremony concluded with a minute of silence in recognition of D-Day and the West Point Band’s rendition of George M. Cohan’s 1917 song, “Over There.”
Beacon, NY: I was overjoyed to help unveil a marker on the Hudson River shoreline of my current hometown of Beacon to commemorate Lafayette’s stop in our community in 1824 to visit with Caroline DeWindt, the granddaughter of President John Adams. The marker was placed on our Hudson River waterfront, where thousands pass daily going to/from our busy commuter train station and to enjoy the magnificent vista of the Hudson Highlands. Now, they will know its connection to Lafayette, hero of the Revolution!
We are proud of Beacon’s history, including its connection to the American Revolution, as it is named in honor of military signal fires ordered by the Second Continental Congress as part of a warning chain that stretched from Boston to Philadelphia. Many thanks to Beacon Mayor Lee Kyriacou and the Beacon Public Works Department for approvals and installation. And deep appreciation to the Beacon Historical Society (of which I am a past president and current trustee) for its collaboration on the project, which also included an evening lecture about Lafayette at our high school
Troy, NY: It was very special for me to help unveil a marker in downtown Troy, as I was born here in this historic city along the Hudson, where generations of my father’s family have lived. We were delighted to welcome Troy Mayor Patrick Madden, City/County Historian Kathy Sheehan, two of my sisters and a cousin to the ceremony at the corner of River and First streets. Lafayette visited Troy twice – once when it was a small village and secondly when it had grown into a manufacturing hub. More than 6,000 inhabitants turned out to welcome Lafayette during his balcony remarks at the Troy House hotel here (before he visited the Troy Female Seminary, subsequently called Emma Willard School, established in 1821 as the first in the country to provide young women with an education comparable to that of college-educated men).
Historic signs like these help to keep alive the memory of the men and women who achieved American independence and progress. I am delighted to share that the Historian General’s office has confirmed that, thanks in large part to our America 250 program, our administration has placed more historic plaques than any other in the history of our National Society.
Huzzah, ladies – you have, indeed, done your ancestors and yourselves proud!
Today's DAR
