The NSSAR Fire Safety Commendation Medal was presented to Battalion Chief Brad Beam by Chapter President Roger Cross in a ceremony at the Williamsburg City Fire Department.  Beam was thanked for all he does for the Williamsburg Fire Department and this community.  President Cross made the following remarks in commendation:  “This medal is awarded in recognition of your accomplishments and outstanding contributions to protect human life and property by preventing injuries or casualties due to fires.  While serving as the EMS chief, you have been instrumental in the COVID-19 pandemic response and efforts to reduce its spread in Williamsburg and throughout the region.  You are also active with fire emergency management, fire prevention, and are the lead for a new program called Mobile Integrated Health providing an additional level of support and service to those most needy in our community.”
 
Fire Chief David Eagle thanked the Williamsburg Chapter for recognizing one of his worthy members.  Chief Eagle then announced that he had received this same Fire Safety Commendation Medal from the Dan River Chapter SAR in about the year 1999 and still wears it on his dress uniform with pride. 
 
Photo by:  Barbara Ketchum
 
Submitted by:  Harley Stewart   

     Today in Yowell Meadow Park, Culpeper Virginia, the Town of Culpeper and the Culpeper Minutemen Chapter dedicated a joint Culpeper Minutemen / Charters of Freedom monument and display before a crowd estimated by the local paper as nearly 200..  The Culpeper Minutemen Chapter has worked on this project for over five years, and the Charters of Freedom display was added two years ago.  The project was initially conceived by late compatriot Lon Lacey, Jr., and was kick started by a significant commitment from the Virginia SAR Knight Patty Fund.  It was brought to completion with significant effort by Culpeper Minutemen Member and Town Councilman Keith Price.
      Dignitaries attending the ceremony were Culpeper Mayor Michael T. Olinger, Virginia SAR President and Culpeper Minutemen Chapter Member Bill Schwetke, Virginia DAR Regent LeAnn Turbyfill, Virginia C.A.R. President Catie Wasenko, and Virginia C.A.R. Senior President Stacey Wajciechowski.
     Thirty-one SAR compatriots attended the ceremony, representing nine Virginia SAR Chapters.  Eighteen participated in the Color Guard, and ten fired in the musket volley.  Virginia Chapters attending included Col William Grayson, Col James Wood II, Culpeper Minutemen, Fairfax Resolves, Fort Harrison, George Mason, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Williamsburg.
     Kieth Price of the Culpeper Minutemen Chapter lead the effort for this display for the past two years and was the Master of Ceremonies for the dedication.  The Prelude to the ceremony was Revolutionary Fife and Drum Music by Lon Lacey III and Alan Lacey.  VFW Post 2524 Color Guard presented the National Colors and fifteen SAR Color Guardsmen carried SAR and Historic flags.  Rev Ludwell Brown of Mount Cavalry Baptist Church in Haywood gave the Invocation and Culpeper Sheriff's Deputy Melvin White sang the National Anthem.  Remarks were delivered by Mayor Michael Olinger, Culpeper Minutemen Chapter President Charles Jameson, Culpeper Minute Men Chapter NSDAR Regent Carol Simpson, Virginia DAR Regent LeAnn Turbyfill, and Virginia SAR President Bill Schwetke.  Then the Charters of Freedom were presented by Foundation Forward Founder Vance Patterson to the Town of Culpeper.
     The program concluded with  the raising of flags (Grand Union and Culpeper Battalion Flag) at the monument, with a musket volley as they reached the tops of the flag poles, and then an overhead flight by four WWII aircraft from the Commemorative Air Force.

Harley Stewart, a member and past president of the Williamsburg Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, attended the dedication of a monument to the Culpeper Minute Battalion on October 24, 2020 at Culpeper, Virginia.  On the monument was engraved the name of one of his patriot ancestors, John Chilton, a captain in the Fauquier County company.  Chilton was already recognized by a gold star on Stewart’s ribbon of chapter presidency.
 
The Battalion was formed in August 1775 as an elite militia unit, it did a lot of training, and, having passed through Williamsburg, fought in the battles of Hampton, Great Bridge, and Norfolk.  Those battles ended British presence in Virginia until 1781. The Minute Battalion included a special unit of riflemen (not muskets) that were used with deadly effect at the battles.
 
The Battalion was disbanded in October 1776 to become part of the army of George Washington, who had appealed for troops from the various states.  Chilton found himself a captain in the 3rd Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army. He fought in the battles of Harlem Heights, Trenton, and Brandywine Creek.  At Brandywine he was wounded and died on the battlefield.  He left five orphaned children, one of which led to a grandchild named Lucy Chilton.  Lucy married a Hiram Stewart.  Lucy and Hiram were the grandparents of Stewart’s grandparents.
 
Stewart’s Revolutionary War ancestor, John Chilton, is the subject of a book by Mike Cecere, a Williamsburg resident and recipient of the Virginia Society SAR Outstanding Teacher of the Year award in 2005.  The book, entitled They Behaved Like Soldiers, is a collection of the diary entries and letters home of Chilton while he served.
 
Submitted by:  Harley Stewart
                      

​On October 24, the George Washington Chapter memorialized three patriots of the American Revolution, John Longden, John Sloan, and Joseph Smith, at a grave marking ceremony at Trinity United Methodist Church Cemetery in Alexandria.  Pastor Grace Han delivered the invocation.  Paul Walden, Grave Marking Chairman, served as Master of Ceremonies.  Wreaths were presented by the following SAR and DAR chapters:  George Washington VASSAR, Kate Waller Barrett VADAR, Col. William Grayson VASSAR, George Mason VASSAR, and George Mason VADAR.   The markers were then dedicated by VASSAR Historian, Thomas M. Roth, III.  Andrew and Jack Mills served as Color Guards by posting the colors.
 Submitted by Paul Walden.  Photos by Tom Roth.  

Photo on left:  Ronald Adolphi (at center), shown with his membership certificate, was inducted into membership on October 21, 2020 in an outdoor ceremony at the Magazine in Colonial Williamsburg.  The induction was performed by Chapter President Roger Cross (on left).  Accompanying Adolphi was his wife, Celia (on right), who is regent of the Williamsburg Chapter DAR.
 
Photo on right:  Williamsburg Chapter President Roger Cross congratulating Ronald Adolphi and welcoming him as a new compatriot of the chapter.
 
Photos by:  David Westenberger
 
Submitted by:  Harley Stewart

​Pictured is Frank S. Walker as he spoke to the Williamsburg Chapter Sons of the American Revolution in a zoom meeting on October 10, 2020.  His topic was “George Washington and His Women” – four ladies who contributed enormously to the development of the George Washington of history.  The four were his mother,  Mary Ball; his wife Martha Custis; his sister, Betty Washington; and his good friend, Sally Fairfax.  Much new and very interesting information was presented on the ladies and their influence.  Walker is a historian associated with the Orange County Historical Society and the James Madison Museum.  
Submitted by:  Harley Stewart

​George Corbett, chapter flag recognition chairman, presented three Flag Recognition Certificates for exemplary patriotism in proper display of the American Flag.
Photos, left to right:
    1st:     Corbett, Linda and David Westenberger
    2nd:    Corbett, Joni and John Stevens
    3rd:     Glenda Wade, Corbett
 
Photos Credit: Karen Corbett
 
Submitted by: Harley Stewart             

Edmund Davidson, Chapter President,   presented a Flag Certificate to Gary Argenbright of Churchville, VA on September 26.  

​In a ceremony at Freedom Park, James City County, on September 26, 2020 George Corbett was presented an Oak Leaf Cluster for his Silver Roger Sherman Medal in recognition and appreciation of outstanding services rendered to the Sons of the American Revolution.  He was also presented with a Certificate of Appreciation by the Virginia Society for his service as Chairman of its Partners in Patriotism and Veterans Affairs Committeee.
 
George Corbett is a past president of the Richmond Chapter and chairman of the Williamsburg Chapter’s Flag Recognition Program.  Pictured, left to right, are Corbett and Roger Cross, Chapter President, who presented  the awards.  In the background are Color Guards William Greaf and Bob White.
 
Submitted by:  Harley Stewart