Lt. William Broadus Tombstone Dedication

4/29/2017

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29 Apr 2017 Harper's Cemetery, Harper's Ferry, WV

Tombstone as it was found in the Spring of 2016

The SAR Marker is unveiled.

SAR Marker & Tombstone Restoration in progress

Video of The Ceremony

     On Saturday, April 29th, at 4:30 PM, in the beautiful cemetery overlooking the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, the West Virginia Society SAR and the Virginia Society SAR joined to honor a patriot who was born, raised, and served from Culpeper County, Virginia; and died and was buried in Harper's Ferry, now West Virginia.
     Last Spring, workers at Harper's Cemetery in Harper's Ferry, WV, discovered a tombstone that had been knocked over, broken, and buried. When it was uncovered it was discovered to be the tombstone of Lt. William Broadus, who fought at Barren Hill and at Monmouth. He enlisted in 1776 and served in the Virginia State Marines, then in Colonel George Gibson's 1st Virginia State Regiment and also, for a time, in General Wayne's Light Infantry. Broadus was born in Culpeper, VA in 1755, and late in life moved to Harper's Ferry, VA, where he died in 1830. His first wife, Martha Slaughter Jones, was from a prominent Culpeper Family.
     The name Broadus, is, of course, familiar to the Virginia Society. Our Society President in 2014-2015 was Bill Broadus, a relative, though not direct descendant of Lt. William Broadus. Our Bill Broadus was actively engaged in the effort to restore this tombstone.
     The restoration, not yet complete, is being done by Robert Mosko, an expert in tombstone restoration. Professor Mosko owns Mosko Cemetery Monument Services in Hanover, PA, which is wholly devoted to monument restorations. The West Virginia and Virginia Societies have shared the cost and time for the tombstone restoration and planning the ceremony.
     The Knight Patty Fund provided the majority of the funding from the Virginia Society. They can provide significant help with your project - put the State Society to work for you through the Knight Patty Fund.

President Mike Elston led the Virginia delegation to the dedication ceremony. Six Virginia SAR Chapters participated: Colonel Fielding Lewis, Colonel James Wood II, Colonel William Grayson, Culpeper Minutemen, Fairfax Resolves, and George Washington. Six members of the Virginia SAR Color Guard participated in the Combined Color Guard and the 21 Gun Salute.
A total of eleven state societies and chapters from the SAR, DAR, and CA.R., representing three states, participated in the program. Also participating were the Mayor of Harper's Ferry, the Superintendent of the Harper's Ferry National Historic Park, and the President of the Harper's Cemetery Board of Trustees.