Cincinnati Chapter Sons of the American Revolution Cincinnati PATRIOT Volume 31, Issue 3, April 2017 On March 18, 2017 five members of the Cincinnati Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (CCSAR) joined with one other member of the Ohio Society SAR in attendance at the 236th Anniversary of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina. At 10:00 AM the six members posted colors, presented wreaths and marched with the NSSAR Color Guard inside the Visitors Center of the National Military Park at Guilford Courthouse. The event honors the Patriot Soldiers who fought and died here more than two centuries ago. 1 P a g e Guilford Courthouse was the first National Park to be established on a Revolutionary War site and preserves 230 acres of historic fields, forests, monuments and gravesites. More than 45 members of the Sons of the American Revolution participated with the National Color Guard in this anniversary event of a pivotal action towards the winning of the war with Britain. (continued on page 2) 1 P age
2017 CCSAR Officers John H. Bredenfoerder President Jack.b@fuse.net Turner Lee Wilkerson III 1 st Vice President leewilkerson@cinci.rr.com Larry W. Collins 2 nd Vice President Gary L. Duffield Secretary Michael J. Blum Treasurer mblum@fuse.net Franz B. Ott, II Registrar remingtnstorm@gmail.com George H. Stewart, Jr. Historian Shaun P. Smith Webmaster Kenneth G. Carpenter Chaplain BOM Members Gregory D. Ballman Jeffrey M. Hartman James H. Houston Bradley Jarard And All Living Past Presidents General Nathaniel Greene defended the ground here in North Carolina with 4500 American militia and Continentals, against a smaller British army of 1900 veteran regulars and German allies commanded by Lord Charles Cornwallis. After an intense and often brutal battle lasting over two hours, Cornwallis forced his opponent to withdraw from the field. However, this victory cost him over 25% of his army. Weakened by this encounter with General Greene, Cornwallis abandoned the Carolinas for Virginia where he lost the war at Yorktown. CCSAR members: Turner Lee Wilkerson, Kenneth Carpenter, Shaun P. Smith, John Bradley Jarard and Michael B. Gunn were joined by William Robert Hill of Hocking Valley Chapter in representing Ohio as one of the four States of SAR Members who attended this year s ceremony. The Ohio SAR members held their own ceremony at the Major General Nathaniel Green Memorial Monument to honor the brave men who fought and died at this site in 1781. CCSAR Members with President General Michael J. Tomme Michael B. Gunn, Ph.D. Past President, Patriot Graves Chair Cincinnati Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution 2 P age
Presidents Message Dear Fellow Compatriots, Our chapter is truly honored to have our Nolan Carson Memorial Color Guard Commander, Paul M. Wilke, named as the 2017 NSSAR Color Guardsman of the Year! Paul became a compatriot of our chapter in 1998. Shortly thereafter, he joined the Nolan Carson Memorial Color Guard. He has honorably served since then in the Color Guard and later in 2009 he became our commander. Paul has been involved in many aspects of the SAR at the local, state and national levels. He has served as Cincinnati Chapter President, OHSSAR President, Vice President General of the Central District and has received the prestigious Minuteman Award. He is extremely dedicated to the promotion of patriotism, especially within our adult and youth education programs. He has championed the display and presentation of the Howard Miller Flag Collection. He, along with wife Valerie and granddaughter Anna, make regular revolutionary life presentations to many youth groups in our area. Each state society and chapter Color Guard may nominate one compatriot each year who best exemplifies both the spirit of the Sons of the American Revolution and the use of Color Guards to display that spirit. OHSSAR Color Guard Commander Tony Robinson nominated Paul at the 2017 NSSAR Spring Leadership meeting. For the year following his induction, Paul will carry the National SAR flag at all NSSAR events. Paul will receive his Gold Color Guard Medal at his induction during the upcoming NSSAR 2017 SAR Annual Congress in Knoxville, Tennessee July 7 13, 2017. Paul has requested that the Nolan Carson Memorial Color Guard be his escort at this important ceremony. This is an exceptional honor for our chapter since it is usually reserved for leaders of the NSSAR Color Guard. We are honored to accept Paul s request and we are sure many Cincinnati and Ohio Society compatriots and Color Guardsmen will want to attend his induction. Please join me in the praise and support of Paul s outstanding accomplishments and his upcoming service as NSSAR Color Guardsman of the Year! Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah! Congratulations, Commander Wilke! Yours in patriotism, Jack John H. Bredenfoerder President, Cincinnati Chapter SAR 3 P age
Living Legacy Tree Planting George Stewart, Chapter Historian On April 25, 1988 two native Ohio trees were planted at Lake Isabella to commemorate the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution and the Northwest Ordinance. Ohio Society President Edwin Smith represented the Ohio Society and President General Nolan Carson represented the Cincinnati Chapter during dedication ceremonies. These trees were part of a larger tree-planting project sponsored by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, in which 200 trees would be planted in each of the fifty states as a living legacy, and as a reminder to all Americans of the importance of these two documents. During the writing of the United States Constitution in 1787, Bartram s Garden in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania hosted a visit from George Washington, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin who planted various species of trees. Some of these trees remain today, the only living witness to the establishment of our Constitution. In addition to fifty seedlings planted in 1988, the Ohio Nurserymen s Association agreed to donate two trees for each of the 88 Ohio counties. Plaques to mark these memorial trees in each county were funded by the Ohio Bicentennial Commission. With the recent help and support of Mr. Dan Shaw, District Superintendent of Great Parks of Hamilton County, who attended this ceremony, the original Bicentennial plaque for our tree planting was located and is displayed at the wildlife shelter at Lake Isabella. However, Mr. Shaw sadly reports the original trees that were planted are no longer present. Patriots Day honors April 19, 1775, the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the first recorded battle of the Revolutionary War. Patriot Day remembers the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Patriots Day the movie starring Mark Wahlberg recalls the Boston Marathon Bombing that occurred on April 15, 2013. 4 P age
CCSAR March BOM Highlights New Member New compatriot John Thomas Heckman was inducted by Ohio NSSAR Trustee James Shaffer at the March 1st Board of Management meeting. Compatriot Heckman s ancestor is James Raines, a Virginia Private. Congratulations John! President Bredenfoerder presented Lee Wilkerson with a supplemental certificate for his patriot, Plunket Holt. Congratulations, Lee! Fort Laurens Regiment Compatriots George Stewart and Shaun Smith were presented certificates with their rank of Sergeant in the OHSSAR Fort Laurens Regiment Program by President Bredenfoerder (right). Eagle Scouts The winner of the Arthur M. and Berdena King Eagle Scout Award for the Cincinnati Chapter was Cole McNamara. He was presented a certificate and check by Compatriot Scott Snow (left). Tristan Stegman, placed 3rd in the state for the Arthur M. and Berdena King Eagle Scout Award. Compatriot Lee Wilkerson and Compatriot Scott Snow presented him with a state award check and certificate on behalf of the Ohio Society (right). 5 P age
Naturalization Ceremonies Naturalizations continue to keep the CCSAR busy: There were four more inductions this past month. Ceremonies were held on March 10, March 14 and two on March 24. CCSAR President Jack Bredenfoerder; CCSAR Immediate Past President Mike Gunn; and Compatriot Jerry Knight welcomed 70 new US citizens at a naturalization ceremony held at the Southern Ohio District Federal Courthouse on Tuesday, March 14th. The Honorable Karen L. Litkovitz presided. (left) Several international law students from the University of Cincinnati attended the same March 14 th naturalization ceremony. They are pictured here with Compatriots Bredenfoerder, Gunn and Knight. (right) Also on March 14th, we presented our friend Barbara from the U.S. Red Cross with an OHSSAR Challenge Coin. Barbara took photos of Compatriots Bredenfoerder, Gunn and Knight with practically every new citizen and their families, so the new citizens could have a patriotic remembrance of their special day. Thank you Barbara for your patriotism! (above) CCSAR President Jack Bredenfoerder; CCSAR Immediate Past President Mike Gunn; and Compatriot Jerry Knight welcomed 139 new U.S. citizens from 53 countries at two naturalization ceremonies held at the Southern Ohio Federal District Court on March 24th. The Honorable Beth A. Buchanan presided at the 10AM ceremony and the Honorable Stephanie K. Bowman presided at the 2PM ceremony. Our compatriots dedicated an entire day to building patriotism with these 139 new citizens. (above) 6 Page
CCSAR Store Now Open Compatriots, These are just a few of the many items available at our new CCSAR Store. A large variety of custom color selections are available. All the items feature our chapter logo. 12% of all sales come back to the chapter. Orders of $100 or more are shipped free of charge. Many thanks to Compatriot Shaun Smith for setting this up. Here's the store link: or use the link on the CCSAR website. Patriots Day Memorial There will be two Patriots Day Memorial Services on Saturday, April 20 th in Colerain Township. The first will be at Olive Branch Cemetery on Blue Rock Road at 11:00 am. Due to the hazardous nature of the location of the cemetery only a small attendance will be permitted. We will perform an honorable ceremony for Patriot Henry Loar, a Revolutionary War soldier buried there. The second ceremony will be at Dunlap Cemetery, 11459-11573 East Miami River Road, Cincinnati, OH 45252 at 12:30 pm. All are invited to this special memorial. For more information, please visit CincinnatiSAR.org or our Facebook page. Don t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here. Captain John Parker Commander of Lexington, MA Militia 7 P age
Compatriot Profile Gordon E. Stokely, Jr., Past Chapter Secretary 1. Career: Medical IT (Systems administration) 2. Current position: Sr. Systems analyst 3. How long have you been a SAR Member? 5 ½ years 4. What Committee Positions have you held? 2016 Chapter Secretary 5. Where did you grow up? Florida 6. What is your current residence and family? Married and Father of two (one former Navy and one in Collage) and Grandfather of two. 7. What other Lineage Societies do you belong to? AGP (Association of Professional Genealogist). ETHS (East Tennessee Historical Society) among others. 8. What is your best family history discovery? My Paternal lineage and how many were in the military. 9. What is your best genealogical advice? 1st Don t expect your research to be a weekend project. 2nd Cite (list) your source s. For More Information about the CCSAR, please visit our website at: CincinnatiSAR.org Our Facebook page also has many more photos of the events that you see highlighted here. https://www.facebook.com/cincinnati.sar/?fref=nf 8 P age
For the Good of the Order 2017 COMING CHAPTER EVENTS Wed Apr 5 th CCSAR BOM Meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 6 PM dinner, 7 PM meeting Fri Apr 7 Naturalization 1:00 PM Cincinnati State Tech and Community College Tues Apr 18 Honor Flight 9:30 PM CVG Sat Apr 22 nd Patriot s Day Grave Ceremony Fri Apr 28 Naturalization 2:00 PM USDC Room 842 Wed May 3 rd CCSAR BOM Meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 6 PM dinner, 7 PM meeting May 5-7 OHSSAR 128 th Annual Conference Crown Plaza, Blue Ash Fri May 12 th Naturalization 10:00 AM St. Veronica School, 4475 Mt.Carmel-Tobasco Rd., Cin. 45244 Thur May 25 th Marietta Chapter OHSSAR Memorial Service 10:00 AM Marietta, OH State Color Guard Event May 26-27 Spirit of Vincennes, Vincennes, IN Membership Any man of age eighteen (18) years or over, who is a lineal descendant of an ancestor who supported the War for American Independence is eligible for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution. Men under eighteen (18) may join as junior members. If you are interested in membership or need help with your application please do not hesitate to contact the Chapter Registrar, Franz B. Ott, II, at 513-384-7411. remingtnstorm@gmail.com Editor Jeff Hartman 3020 Shaker Road Franklin, OH 45005 flintlockjeff@gmail.com Facebook Compatriots, when you view our Facebook page, please hit LIKE on the articles that are posted, even if you do not LIKE the article. When you LIKE a posting, it is now able to be read by all of your Facebook friends. This will help spread the word and promote all of the activities that we participate in. 9 P age