Washingtonburg Chapter Meeting and Elections

Past Chapter President Dale J. J. Leppard with SAR Flag

Washingtonburg Chapter conducted its Quarterly Meeting and Annual Elections August 17th, 2024 at the USAHEC in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Officers elected were President Dr. Jeffry Peter La Marca, 1st Vice President and Chaplain The Most Rev. William Martin Sloane, 2nd Vice President TSgt Eric Nolan “Dutch” DeVries, USAF (Ret.), 3rd Vice President Dr. Steven Pearson Messner, Secretary/Treasurer Steven Scott Burd, Chancellor MAJ James Bryan Oerding, USA (Ret.), Registrar/Genealogist Dale John Joseph Leppard, Sergeant at Arms and Historian Douglas Reginald Cubbison.

Attending were Dale J. J. Leppard, William M. Sloane, William S. Sloane, Charles L. Brackbill, Steven P. Messner, Douglas R. Cubbison, Samuel L. Russell, James B. Oerding, Sandra Oerding, Gregory T. O’Brien, Raymond A. Mowery IV, Todd A. Hockensmith, Jeffry P. La Marca, Douglas H. Reagan, Alexander Rushton. “Dutch” DeVries provided technical support and Steven S. Burd provided reports by proxy.

In addition to the Washington handshake tradition, which is an unbroken line of transmission of a handshake beginning with George Washington through Chapter founder and first Chapter President, John Cecil Fralish, Jr., outgoing Chapter President Dale J. J. Leppard instituted a new tradition of a Chapter sword which will be passed from Chapter President to Chapter President for use as a symbol of office during their incumbency.

Washingtonburg Chapter Earns Gold Level America 250th Anniversary Streamer for 2023

Chapter Gold Level America 250th Anniversary Streamer

Washingtonburg Chapter earned the prestigious Gold Level Chapter Streamer for the America 250th Anniversary Program. As originally presented, the program provided for Chapters to receive Bronze, Silver, or Gold Level Streamers for each year of the America 250th Anniversary Cycle. The original criteria were based on the average percentage of the membership who attended America 250th Anniversary themed events during the course of the year. The criteria were changed in 2024 to allow any chapter hosting or sponsoring such an event to receive a generic Streamer Award, presumably as a one-time honor.

Lafayette Fairwell Tour Cruise

(L-R) Reenactor portraying the Marquis de Lafayette,
1st Vice President of Washingtonburg Chapter Dr. Jeffry Peter La Marca

1st Vice President of Washingtonburg Chapter, Dr. Jeffry Peter La Marca, represented the Chapter at the opening segment of the Lafayette Farewell Tour at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, which reenacted the view that the Marquis had of America as he landed upon his return. The view was afforded through a dinner cruise attended by Dr. La Marca wearing the attire of a Continental Soldier of the Pennsylvania Line. The Bicentennial of the travels of the Marquis de Lafayette during his return visit to the United States is being commemorated and celebrated at various points corresponding to his original journey in 1824 and 1825. For more information see:

Lafayette 200 – Bicentennial of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour 2024–2025 the Nation’s Guest

H.M. Queen Maria I of Portugal, Patriot Ancestor

H.S.H. Dom Filipe Alberto Folque de Mendoca, Count of Rio Grande, a member of the Constitutionalist branch of the Royal House of Portugal, Compatriot of Washingtonburg Chapter, was approved for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution in 2019 by virtue of his descent from HM King Carlos III of Spain and the Indies. In 2023, through a supplemental application, for the first time, his ancestress HM Queen Maria I of Portugal and the Algarves was approved as a Patriot ancestor. The event was marked by a Resolution of the Pennsylvania Legislature sponsored by Representative Thomas Kutz. Dom Filipe was presented the SAR International Medal in June of 2023 at the Penn Harris Convention Center in Camp Hill by Former President General Davis Wright. Among many other acts, Queen Maria gave support to a crew of American sailors captured by the British and dropped off on the Azores Islands. She provided them with food and shelter and transported them to Lisbon where they could board friendly ships and rejoin the fight. Regardless of compensation, that act alone would have qualified her as a Patriot, however, when Benjamin Franklin later offered Her Majesty recompense, she refused. At that time, she ruled over a vast Kingdom that included Brazil, parts of Africa, and Portuguese India. Dom Filipe is proud of the connections of his ancestors to the founding of the United States of America and his membership as a Compatriot of Washingtonburg Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution.

Carlisle Declaration of Independence

The First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle and Historic Carlisle, Incorporated, kindly invited Washingtonburg Chapter to join with them on July 1st, 2024, to recreate the historic Carlisle Declaration of Independence. Under the leadership of luminaries such as James Wilson (signer of the Declaration of Independence) and Ephraim Blaine (later Commissary General of the Continental Army), the citizens of Carlisle gathered on July 12th, 1774, to renounce the actions of the British in Boston and New England and to show their support. The reenactment 250 years later underscored the significance of the event and included key historical figures represented by members of the present congregation as well as members of Historic Carlisle, Incorporated, who with Washingtonburg Chapter, also provided local extras in 18th century attire. Awards were presented to Historic Carlisle and the First Presbyterian Church by Washingtonburg Chapter in recognition of this important and extraordinary effort, and a wreath was placed in the Church in honor of the courageous members who blazed a trail to independence in 1774.

Sword from the 134th Congress of the Sons of the American Revolution

One of the display vendors at the 134th Sons of the American Revolution Congress in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was a company owned by Compatriots from the New Jersey Society (NJSSAR), who specialize in reproductions of historical swords, particularly from the period of the American Revolution. The sword and baldric above were purchased from this vendor by the President of Washingtonburg Chapter, Dale J. J. Leppard, and worn during the week with colonial attire. The Lion’s head pommel caps a green dyed camel bone handle wrapped in wire.

First Time Delegates Attending 134th Annual Congress

Washingtonburg Chapter Joins Wreaths Across America

WASHINGTONBURG’S
WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA CEREMONY
SATURDAY DECEMBER 14, 2024 — 10:00 am
Middle Spring Presbyterian Church & Cemetery
(135 Middle Spring Rd – Shippensburg, PA)

To sponsor a wreath:

  1. Visit this website:  https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/pages/181029/Overview/?relatedId=180890
  2. Click the red “Sponsor Wreaths” button in the top right corner
  3. Select the number of wreaths you would like to sponsor
  4. Click the red “Review My Sponsorships” button
  5. Complete the payment information
  6. Email me to make a grave-specific wreath sponsorship:  raymondmowery@hotmail.com  

* Your sponsorship is tax deductible, so print your receipt.

Our goal is to sponsor 100 wreaths to cover all veterans’ graves in the Lower, the Upper, and the Modern Cemeteries. For every 2 wreaths that are sponsored, we receive a 3rd free wreath. All wreaths that we sponsor above 100 will be donated to other Wreaths Across America locations, like Spring Hill Cemetery or Locust Grove Cemeteries across town.

The Revolutionary War in Beaufort, South Carolina

Sources:
Sea Islander, “A View of Thomas Heyward, Jr.”, by Robert E. H. Peeples, August 1975, pp. 9-11.
The Revolutionary Soldier 1775-1783, by C. Keith Wilbur, Rowman & Littlefield, Guilford, pp. 10-12, 14, 19, 40-42.
https://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/revolution_beaufort.html
https://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/revolution_fort_lyttleton_1.html
https://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/revolution_fort_lyttleton_2.html
https://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/revolution_port_royal_island_1.html
https://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/revolution_port_royal_island_2.html
https://www.hussarsaddlery.com/rev-war-american-copy
https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/declaration/bio19.htm
https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/declaration/bio43.htm

India and the American Revolution

Washingtonburg Chapter 1st Vice President, Dr. Jeffry Peter La Marca, at Fort Ligonier in Pennsylvania, wearing 18th century style chain mail from India, courtesy of the museum staff, who were explaining that chain mail was still worn in India during the 18th century to protect the wearer from the swords and bladed weapons which were in common use at the time. India was a theatre of operations during both the Seven Years’ War (known in America as the French and Indian War) and the American Revolution. With the entry of France and Spain into the struggle for American Independence, the War became a global conflict. The final Battle of the American Revolution was a Naval engagement fought between the French and the British on 20 June 1783 off the coast Cuddalore in India. Dr. La Marca was part of the Delegation from Washingtonburg Chapter, including President Dale Leppard, 3rd Vice President Eric “Dutch” DeVries, and District Deputy COL Samuel L. Russell, who attended the PASSAR Board of Management Meeting in Ligonier, Pennsylvania on August 3, 2024.