The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
Issue link: http://sar.epubxp.com/i/109748
Great Bridge Revisted The NSSAR's 2nd Annual Celebration O n the weekend of Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2012, President General Stephen A. Leishman and First Lady Janet Leishman joined with fellow compatriots of the SAR and DAR and the City of Chesapeake to celebrate the Dec. 9, 1775, American victory at the Battle of Great Bridge, Virginia. Dr. Matt Hogendobler, president of the hosting Norfolk Chapter SAR and chairman of VASSARÕs Great Bridge Observance Committee, deserves special recognition as the primary organizer of this successful combined celebration. Accolades also must be given to Great Bridge NSDAR Regent Catherine Raitt, the Chesapeake city officials and Culpeper Minutemen Chapter President Lance Lyngar, who helped ensure the weekendÕs success in the tradition of the Culpeper MinutemenÕs ÒshirtmenÓ who fought beside Col. William WoodfordÕs 2nd Virginia Regiment to secure the historic American victory in 1775. Those attending included representatives of the NSDAR, SAR, C.A.R., Boy Scouts, other patriotic organizations and the City of Chesapeake, along with worshipers from St. PaulÕs Episcopal Church and the public. SAR participants included the NSSAR Registrar General and Color Guard Commander Michael Tomme, NSSAR Trustee Sam Powell, Virginia Society President Phil Williams and other VASSAR officers, and compatriots from North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia. The Saturday morning formal ceremony combined the Second Annual Historic Celebration of the Norfolk and Culpeper Minutemen Chapters, the Virginia Society, and the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution with the 59th Annual Historic Wreath Laying of the Great Bridge Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Last year was the second year of NSSAR Tier One Observance of The Battle of Great Bridge, an event run in connection with the DAR, the Great Bridge Battle & Waterways Historic Foundation, and the City of Chesapeake. It is the first observance attended by a President General and the First Lady. Compatriots of the Norfolk Chapter have long supported the annual celebrations by the DAR, but the greatly increased participation and enthusiastic support of the Virginia Society and NSSAR are attributable to the visionary efforts of past VASSAR President Mark Brennan and Norfolk Chapter President Hogendobler. (For a historical summary of the battle and its strategic significance, see ÒThe Amazing Complete Victory at the Great BridgeÓ by J.T. Whetstone in the Fall 2011 issue of The SAR Magazine, pp. 18-23.) To welcome President General Leishman, his wife, Janet, From left, VASSAR President Henry P. "Phil" Williams, Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways Historic Foundation Board Member Debbie Ritter, GBB&WHF; Executive Director Lin J. Olsen, and NSSAR President General Stephen A. Leishman. 14 SAR MAGAZINE