VIRGINIA SAR COLOR GUARD
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LATEST NEWS
Congratulations to Dave Cook on his selection as VASSAR Color Guardsman of the Year for 2020. Dave's selection was first announced during our Color Guard workshop on 4 February by then VASSAR President Bill Schwetke. In this picture, Dave is physically receiving his award during the NSSAR Special Congress on 13 March - from left to right, VASSAR Color Guard Commander Ken Bonner, VASSAR Color Guardsman of the Year Dave Cook, and NSSAR Color Guard Commander Lou Raborg.
COLOR GUARD SCHEDULE
RESOURCES
July 24, 2021 Saturday (2 pm) – Patriot Grave Marking - Five Patriots
Muster time - 1:15 pm
Location: New Jerusalem Lutheran Church, 12942 Lutheran Church Road, Lovettsville, VA 20180
Details: This Chapter - level event hosted by the Fairfax Resolves Chapter, VASSAR and honors four Revolutionary War Patriots buried here. We plan to have Color Guard from both State Societies, elements of a fife and drum corps, and musket fire. Participants will have the opportunity to earn five (5) more grave markings towards the Grave Marking medal. Reply to Chapter President Dave Cook cook006@verizon.net with copy to Ken Bonner at ken.l.bonner@gmail.com by 17 July, indicating if you will attend (yes/no), present a wreath (yes/no) and/or participate in Color Guard (yes/no).
Weather:
Attendees: Carrigan, Christensen, Cook, Corey, Daniel, Embry (MDSSAR), Hall, Harris (MDSSAR), Jameson, Kelly, Moyer (MDSSAR), Osborn (Andrew and Brett), Robinson (Marc), Schwetke, Schwoerer (Barry and Jacob), and Weyler
Muster time - 1:15 pm
Location: New Jerusalem Lutheran Church, 12942 Lutheran Church Road, Lovettsville, VA 20180
Details: This Chapter - level event hosted by the Fairfax Resolves Chapter, VASSAR and honors four Revolutionary War Patriots buried here. We plan to have Color Guard from both State Societies, elements of a fife and drum corps, and musket fire. Participants will have the opportunity to earn five (5) more grave markings towards the Grave Marking medal. Reply to Chapter President Dave Cook cook006@verizon.net with copy to Ken Bonner at ken.l.bonner@gmail.com by 17 July, indicating if you will attend (yes/no), present a wreath (yes/no) and/or participate in Color Guard (yes/no).
Weather:
Attendees: Carrigan, Christensen, Cook, Corey, Daniel, Embry (MDSSAR), Hall, Harris (MDSSAR), Jameson, Kelly, Moyer (MDSSAR), Osborn (Andrew and Brett), Robinson (Marc), Schwetke, Schwoerer (Barry and Jacob), and Weyler
August 13 - 14, 2021 Friday - Saturday - Atlantic Middle States Association (AMSA)
Location: Crowne Plaza Annapolis, 173 Jennifer Road, Annapolis, MD 21401
Details: This is a Mid-Atlantic Region event. Tour sites include MD State House (ca 1774), MD Archives, Harwood Hammond House, and the William Paca House.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
Location: Crowne Plaza Annapolis, 173 Jennifer Road, Annapolis, MD 21401
Details: This is a Mid-Atlantic Region event. Tour sites include MD State House (ca 1774), MD Archives, Harwood Hammond House, and the William Paca House.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
August 21 - 22, 2021 Saturday - Sunday – 32rd Annual Nansemond Pow Wow
Location: 1001 Pembroke Lane, Suffolk, VA
Details: Date, time and agenda to be confirmed. This Chapter - level event hosted by the Nansemond Indian Patriot Chapter, VASSAR.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
Location: 1001 Pembroke Lane, Suffolk, VA
Details: Date, time and agenda to be confirmed. This Chapter - level event hosted by the Nansemond Indian Patriot Chapter, VASSAR.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
August 28 Saturday (10 am) - 247th Commemoration of the New Bern Resolves
Location: Hybrid - virtual and at Christ Episcopal Church, Outdoor Colonial Chapel, 320 Pollock Street, New Bern NC
Details: This Chapter - level event hosted by the New Bern Chapter NCSSAR.
An observance of the 1st North Carolina Provincial Congress will be held by the New Bern Chapter on Saturday, 28 August 2021 in New Bern, NC in order to recognize and honor the bravery of the 71 delegates and mark the importance of the 1st NC Provincial Congress in North Carolina and American history, especially for its significance toward the outcome of the American Revolution.
The first Provincial Congress held in America in open defiance of the British Royal Crown was conducted in the Craven County Court House, New Bern, NC during 25-27 August 1774. The courthouse was located at the current intersection of Middle & Broad Streets until destroyed by fire in 1865. Seventy-one (71) delegates representing 30 of 36 counties and 6 of 9 boroughs met at the 1st North Carolina Provincial Congress to discuss the grievances against numerous taxes and laws imposed on the colonists by the Royal Crown and the British Parliament. Twenty-eight (28) resolves were issued in response to the unjust taxes and laws. Richard Caswell, William Hooper and Joseph Hewes were elected as delegates to the 1st Continental Congress and were instructed to present the resolves to the 1st Continental Congress as actionable redress of grievances against the Royal Crown.
To kick off the commemoration, a fifteen (15) minute procession involving members of the Sons of the American Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution, St. Johns Masonic Lodge #3, the Continental Line and Fife & Drum Corps of the North Carolina History Center at Tryon Palace, Boy Scouts of America, numerous local schools and other patriotic and civic organizations will move south on Middle Street from the Centenary United Methodist Church parking lot (crossing Broad Street) to the outdoor Colonial Chapel of Christ Episcopal Church.
A one-hour ceremony will be held at the Colonial Chapel and will include a keynote address by Dr. Joseph Beatty, Research Supervisor, Historical Research and Publication Office, NC Office of Archives and History. The ceremony will conclude with a rendering of honors for the 71 Delegates and Resolves of the 1st North Carolina Provincial Congress.
In the event of inclement weather, the procession will be canceled, and the ceremony will be moved inside the Harrison Center, which is located across the street at: 311 Middle Street, New Bern NC.
This is a Hybrid event and Zoom link will be sent out by Friday, 27 August for registered virtual participants. Pre-registration for the face-to-face and virtual event, which includes: lunch, hotel information, and directions, can be found at the following URL: https://forms.gle/VQpVgbdPhu2fBXCF8
Direct all questions/comments to newbernresolves@gmail.com
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
Location: Hybrid - virtual and at Christ Episcopal Church, Outdoor Colonial Chapel, 320 Pollock Street, New Bern NC
Details: This Chapter - level event hosted by the New Bern Chapter NCSSAR.
An observance of the 1st North Carolina Provincial Congress will be held by the New Bern Chapter on Saturday, 28 August 2021 in New Bern, NC in order to recognize and honor the bravery of the 71 delegates and mark the importance of the 1st NC Provincial Congress in North Carolina and American history, especially for its significance toward the outcome of the American Revolution.
The first Provincial Congress held in America in open defiance of the British Royal Crown was conducted in the Craven County Court House, New Bern, NC during 25-27 August 1774. The courthouse was located at the current intersection of Middle & Broad Streets until destroyed by fire in 1865. Seventy-one (71) delegates representing 30 of 36 counties and 6 of 9 boroughs met at the 1st North Carolina Provincial Congress to discuss the grievances against numerous taxes and laws imposed on the colonists by the Royal Crown and the British Parliament. Twenty-eight (28) resolves were issued in response to the unjust taxes and laws. Richard Caswell, William Hooper and Joseph Hewes were elected as delegates to the 1st Continental Congress and were instructed to present the resolves to the 1st Continental Congress as actionable redress of grievances against the Royal Crown.
To kick off the commemoration, a fifteen (15) minute procession involving members of the Sons of the American Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution, St. Johns Masonic Lodge #3, the Continental Line and Fife & Drum Corps of the North Carolina History Center at Tryon Palace, Boy Scouts of America, numerous local schools and other patriotic and civic organizations will move south on Middle Street from the Centenary United Methodist Church parking lot (crossing Broad Street) to the outdoor Colonial Chapel of Christ Episcopal Church.
A one-hour ceremony will be held at the Colonial Chapel and will include a keynote address by Dr. Joseph Beatty, Research Supervisor, Historical Research and Publication Office, NC Office of Archives and History. The ceremony will conclude with a rendering of honors for the 71 Delegates and Resolves of the 1st North Carolina Provincial Congress.
In the event of inclement weather, the procession will be canceled, and the ceremony will be moved inside the Harrison Center, which is located across the street at: 311 Middle Street, New Bern NC.
This is a Hybrid event and Zoom link will be sent out by Friday, 27 August for registered virtual participants. Pre-registration for the face-to-face and virtual event, which includes: lunch, hotel information, and directions, can be found at the following URL: https://forms.gle/VQpVgbdPhu2fBXCF8
Direct all questions/comments to newbernresolves@gmail.com
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
September 4, 2021 Saturday (11 am) – 240th Commemoration of the Battle of the Capes
Location: Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse Statue, Fort Story, Virginia Beach, VA.
Details: This is a Chapter - level event, hosted by the Norfolk Chapter VASSAR. Please see the attached event flyer for more details, and RSVP by August 2nd to Gary Pridgen at gpridgen@cox.net or by phone at (757) 301-2862.
The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September, 1781. The combatants were a British fleet led by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves and a French fleet led by Rear Admiral Francois Joseph Paul, the Comte de Grasse. The battle was strategically decisive, in that it prevented the Royal Navy from reinforcing or evacuating the besieged forces of Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. The French were able to achieve control of the sea lanes against the British and provided the Franco-American army with siege artillery and French reinforcements. These proved decisive in the Siege of Yorktown, effectively securing independence for the Thirteen Colonies.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
Location: Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse Statue, Fort Story, Virginia Beach, VA.
Details: This is a Chapter - level event, hosted by the Norfolk Chapter VASSAR. Please see the attached event flyer for more details, and RSVP by August 2nd to Gary Pridgen at gpridgen@cox.net or by phone at (757) 301-2862.
The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September, 1781. The combatants were a British fleet led by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves and a French fleet led by Rear Admiral Francois Joseph Paul, the Comte de Grasse. The battle was strategically decisive, in that it prevented the Royal Navy from reinforcing or evacuating the besieged forces of Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. The French were able to achieve control of the sea lanes against the British and provided the Franco-American army with siege artillery and French reinforcements. These proved decisive in the Siege of Yorktown, effectively securing independence for the Thirteen Colonies.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
| 2021_battle_of_the_virginia_capes_flyer.docx |
September 10 – 11, 2021 Friday - Saturday - VASSAR Semi-Annual Meeting
Location: Berry Hill Resort & Conference Center, 3105 River Road, South Boston, VA 24592
Details: This is a State - level event, hosted by the Virginia Society SAR.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
Location: Berry Hill Resort & Conference Center, 3105 River Road, South Boston, VA 24592
Details: This is a State - level event, hosted by the Virginia Society SAR.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
~ September 18, 2021 Saturday - SAR Vigil at Washington's Tomb
Location: George Washington's Mount Vernon, Alexandria, VA
Details: This is a National - level event, commanded by the National Color Guard Commander.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner, Behnke, Raborg
Location: George Washington's Mount Vernon, Alexandria, VA
Details: This is a National - level event, commanded by the National Color Guard Commander.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner, Behnke, Raborg
~ September 18, 2021 Saturday – 241st Gathering at Sycamore Shoals
Location: Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park, 1651 W Elk Avenue, Elizabethton, TN
Details: This is a National - level event, hosted by the Kings Mountain Chapter TNSSAR. The year was 1780. The tide of the Revolution had turned against the colonists. The British, forced out of New England, gained new allies in the divided South and won victory after victory in a bloody civil war. Charleston had fallen, and American forces had crumbled at the battle of Camden. But then the impossible occurred ... the frontiersmen of the western mountains began a long march, gathering an army along the way, from the highlands of Virginia to the hills of South Carolina. At a place called King’s Mountain, they destroyed British forces and opened the way for the final American victory at Yorktown.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
Location: Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park, 1651 W Elk Avenue, Elizabethton, TN
Details: This is a National - level event, hosted by the Kings Mountain Chapter TNSSAR. The year was 1780. The tide of the Revolution had turned against the colonists. The British, forced out of New England, gained new allies in the divided South and won victory after victory in a bloody civil war. Charleston had fallen, and American forces had crumbled at the battle of Camden. But then the impossible occurred ... the frontiersmen of the western mountains began a long march, gathering an army along the way, from the highlands of Virginia to the hills of South Carolina. At a place called King’s Mountain, they destroyed British forces and opened the way for the final American victory at Yorktown.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
September 23 – 26, 2021 Thursday - Sunday – NSSAR Fall Leadership Meeting
Location: TBA
Details: This is a National - level event, hosted by the NSSAR
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
Location: TBA
Details: This is a National - level event, hosted by the NSSAR
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
October 2, 2021 Saturday (1 pm) – Patriot Grave Marking for William Watters
Location: Watters - Adams Family Cemetery, 6430 Linway Terrace, McLean, VA 2101
Details: This is a Chapter - level event, hosted by the Fairfax Resolves Chapter, VASSAR. William Watters (1751-1827) was the first American-born itinerate Methodist minister in the American colonies. He started his ministry in 1772. He took an oath of allegiance to the American Revolution. The obelisk at his gravesite has a D.A.R. brass plaque noting his devotion to the cause of American independence. Fairfax Mayor and new Chapter member Compatriot David Meyer established the William Watters Foundation in 1995, which raises funds to preserve this historic cemetery, and he currently serve as the Foundation’s Vice President.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner, Cook
Location: Watters - Adams Family Cemetery, 6430 Linway Terrace, McLean, VA 2101
Details: This is a Chapter - level event, hosted by the Fairfax Resolves Chapter, VASSAR. William Watters (1751-1827) was the first American-born itinerate Methodist minister in the American colonies. He started his ministry in 1772. He took an oath of allegiance to the American Revolution. The obelisk at his gravesite has a D.A.R. brass plaque noting his devotion to the cause of American independence. Fairfax Mayor and new Chapter member Compatriot David Meyer established the William Watters Foundation in 1995, which raises funds to preserve this historic cemetery, and he currently serve as the Foundation’s Vice President.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner, Cook
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~ October 7, 2021 Thursday (11 am – 2pm) – 241st Commemoration of the Battle of Kings Mountain
Location: 2625 Park Road, Blacksburg, SC 29702
Details: This is a National - level event, of interest to the VASSAR and co-hosted by the SCSSAR and NCSSAR. The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took place on 7 October, 1780, 9 miles (14 km) south of the present-day town of Kings Mountain, North Carolina in what is now rural Cherokee County, South Carolina, where the Patriot militia defeated the Loyalist militia commanded by British Major Patrick Ferguson of the 71st Foot. The battle has been described as "the war’s largest all-American fight".
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
Location: 2625 Park Road, Blacksburg, SC 29702
Details: This is a National - level event, of interest to the VASSAR and co-hosted by the SCSSAR and NCSSAR. The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took place on 7 October, 1780, 9 miles (14 km) south of the present-day town of Kings Mountain, North Carolina in what is now rural Cherokee County, South Carolina, where the Patriot militia defeated the Loyalist militia commanded by British Major Patrick Ferguson of the 71st Foot. The battle has been described as "the war’s largest all-American fight".
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
~ October 9, 2021 Saturday – 247th Commemoration of the Battle of Point Pleasant (Battle of Kanawha)
Location: Tu-Endie-Wei Park, Point Pleasant, WV 25550
Details: This is a National - level event, of interest to the VASSAR and hosted by the Point Pleasant Chapter, WVSSAR.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
Location: Tu-Endie-Wei Park, Point Pleasant, WV 25550
Details: This is a National - level event, of interest to the VASSAR and hosted by the Point Pleasant Chapter, WVSSAR.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
October 19, 2021 Saturday (9 am) – 240th Commemoration of the Battle of Yorktown
Location: Yorktown, VA
Details: A National - level event sponsored by the VASSAR. The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German Battle, ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virginia, was a decisive victory by a combined force of American Continental Army troops led by General George Washington and French Army troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British army commanded by British peer and Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis. The culmination of the Yorktown campaign, the siege proved to be the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War in the North American region, as the surrender by Cornwallis, and the capture of both him and his army, prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the conflict.
The Color Guard musters at 8:30. Pictures will be taken immediately following the wreath laying. Included below are overhead and ground pictures of the muster sites for Nelson's tomb and Grace Episcopal Church.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
Location: Yorktown, VA
Details: A National - level event sponsored by the VASSAR. The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German Battle, ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virginia, was a decisive victory by a combined force of American Continental Army troops led by General George Washington and French Army troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British army commanded by British peer and Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis. The culmination of the Yorktown campaign, the siege proved to be the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War in the North American region, as the surrender by Cornwallis, and the capture of both him and his army, prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the conflict.
The Color Guard musters at 8:30. Pictures will be taken immediately following the wreath laying. Included below are overhead and ground pictures of the muster sites for Nelson's tomb and Grace Episcopal Church.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
November 11, 2021 (Thursday) - Veterans Day Commemoration
Location: George Washington's Mount Vernon.
Details: This is a National - level event, organized locally by the George Washington Chapter, VASSAR.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
Location: George Washington's Mount Vernon.
Details: This is a National - level event, organized locally by the George Washington Chapter, VASSAR.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
December 11, 2021 Saturday (11 am) - 246th Commemoration of the Battle of Great Bridge
Location: TBA
Details: This is a National - level event, commemorating the Battle of Great Bridge was fought 9 December, 1775 in the area of Great Bridge, Virginia, early in the American Revolutionary War. The victory by colonial Virginia militia forces led to the departure of Royal Governor Lord Dunmore and any remaining vestiges of British power over the Colony of Virginia during the early days of the conflict. Following increasing political and military tensions in early 1775, both Dunmore and colonial rebel leaders recruited troops and engaged in a struggle for available military supplies. The struggle eventually focused on Norfolk, where Dunmore had taken refuge aboard a Royal Navy vessel. Dunmore's forces had fortified one side of a critical river crossing south of Norfolk at Great Bridge, while rebel forces had occupied the other side. In an attempt to break up the rebel gathering, Dunmore ordered an attack across the bridge, which was decisively repulsed. Colonel William Woodford, the Virginia militia commander at the battle, described it as "a second Bunker's Hill affair". Shortly thereafter, Norfolk, at the time a Loyalist center, was abandoned by Dunmore and the Tories, who fled to navy ships in the harbor. Rebel-occupied Norfolk was destroyed on 1 January, 1776 in an action begun by Dunmore and completed by rebel forces.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
Location: TBA
Details: This is a National - level event, commemorating the Battle of Great Bridge was fought 9 December, 1775 in the area of Great Bridge, Virginia, early in the American Revolutionary War. The victory by colonial Virginia militia forces led to the departure of Royal Governor Lord Dunmore and any remaining vestiges of British power over the Colony of Virginia during the early days of the conflict. Following increasing political and military tensions in early 1775, both Dunmore and colonial rebel leaders recruited troops and engaged in a struggle for available military supplies. The struggle eventually focused on Norfolk, where Dunmore had taken refuge aboard a Royal Navy vessel. Dunmore's forces had fortified one side of a critical river crossing south of Norfolk at Great Bridge, while rebel forces had occupied the other side. In an attempt to break up the rebel gathering, Dunmore ordered an attack across the bridge, which was decisively repulsed. Colonel William Woodford, the Virginia militia commander at the battle, described it as "a second Bunker's Hill affair". Shortly thereafter, Norfolk, at the time a Loyalist center, was abandoned by Dunmore and the Tories, who fled to navy ships in the harbor. Rebel-occupied Norfolk was destroyed on 1 January, 1776 in an action begun by Dunmore and completed by rebel forces.
Weather:
Attendees: Bonner
COLOR GUARD WORKSHOPS - Download the files below for information on suitable Color Guard uniforms and supplies
Information from the 15 Sep 2017 & 09 Feb 2018 Color Guard Workshop. Includes how to join the Color Guard, uniform options, basic drill, weapons & safety, and medals.
PowerPoint
| 2017-color_guard_workshop_pp-2.pptx |
| cg_workshop_9feb18.pptx |
Keynote Version
| cg_workshop_9feb18.key |
VASSAR Color Guard Recruitment Video - for broad Chapter use (e.g. Facebook, Websites, etc)