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/374815
38 SAR MAGAZINE Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, Fla., and is meeting with officials at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center in St. Petersburg. Many of our wounded warriors have a long road to recovery, and this program allows them some time to not only take their minds off their rehabilitation but also to discover themselves through family history. Jacksonville Chapter There was a grand opening March 3 for the 846-acre Seaton Creek Historic Preserve owned by Jacksonville, Fla. The Thomas Creek Battlefield site had been located using scientific methods in the Seaton Creek Park area in 2004- 05 near where the grand opening ceremony took place. Seven members of the Jacksonville Chapter Color Guard participated in the ceremony, along with one Georgia Society member. City Councilman Ray Holt championed the idea of preserving this land seven years ago when it was rezoned for a large housing development. He had been previously approached by Susan Grandin of the Trust for Public Land for permanent land preservation. With her assistance, $5.3 million of the $7.1 million purchase price came from funds received by the U.S. Forestry Service from offshore gas and oil leases. This money can be used only to purchase conservation land. An additional $1.5 million was received from a city-owned environmental fund, $200,000 came from city park funds to be reimbursed over time with timber sales, and $100,000 was from the Trust. More than 40 years ago, the late Jacksonville Chapter members Judge Barton Barrs and Congressman Charles Bennett identified this battle as the "southernmost battlefield of the American Revolution." Bennett stated in his book that "it seems proper that we plan a wilderness- type park at Thomas Creek." David Ramseur, former FLSSAR and Jacksonville Chapter president, has been working for the last three years with the Jacksonville Mayor's Office, City Council, Parks Department and, most importantly, with the Trust for Public Land to achieve Bennett's dream. Ramseur currently is working with the city Parks Department to obtain approval to place a Florida Department of Transportation Historic Marker (see below) near or in the park. BATTLE OF THOMAS CREEK: THE SOUTHERNMOST BATTLE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR Spain controlled the wilderness of Florida up to 1763, when Great Britain traded Cuba to Spain for East and West Florida. In May of 1777, Col. Samuel Elbert, with 400 South Carolina Continentals and Lt. Col. John Baker's 165 Georgia horsemen, organized at Sunbury, Ga., for an expedition into British East Florida in retaliation for raids by Florida Loyalists into Georgia. Baker's horsemen went by land; Elbert's Continentals traveled by water and encountered British troops at Amelia Island, delaying their rendezvous with Baker's forces. Baker did not wait for Elbert's troops and moved his remaining 109 horsemen to a strategic location off Thomas Creek. On the morning of May 17, 100 British Regulars plus Col. Brown's Rangers (Loyalists) and Indians under Maj. Mark Prevost made a surprise attack on Baker's forces. Patriot forces responded, but were defeated, with eight killed, nine seriously wounded and 31 captured, with 15 of those immediately killed by the Rangers and Indians. Baker and 41 of his men survived the battle, with a few escaping to inform Elbert at Amelia Island on May 19th. In June of 1778, another unsuccessful Patriot invasion into East Florida occurred at Alligator Creek, a few miles north of this location. SPONSORED BY THE FLORIDA SOCIETY SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, IN COOPERATION WITH THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Miami Chapter On May 5, a "Passing of the Colors" ceremony was held at the U.S. Southern Command Headquarters (SouthCom) in Miami (Doral), Fla. The annual event is held to honor invited Gold Star families, who lost immediate family members on active duty in the military. The majority of the more than 200 families gathered at the Conference Center of the Americas at SouthCom had lost family members in the Iraq War and in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan). David B. Mitchell, past president of the Miami Chapter, FLSSAR, and current commander of the Thomas Paine Color Guard, represented in uniform the American Revolution, while other re-enactors represented the U.S. military in the War Between the States, World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm (the Gulf War). In the Passing of the Colors, the American flag is ceremoniously passed from one soldier to the next in historical order, symbolizing the continuity of the United States and our military traditions through the centuries. The ceremony was hosted by Marine Corps four-star Gen. John Kelly, commander, SouthCom, who is pictured in the center of the gathering of the military re-enactors. Director of the Military Museum & Veterans Memorial of South Florida, Florida International University professor Dr. Anthony Atwood, is kneeling in front at center left of the picture, above. St. Petersburg Chapter The St. Petersburg Chapter hosted a reception and dinner in honor of President General Joseph W. Dooley on Saturday, March 22, at the St. Petersburg Country Club. The event was designed to be festive as well as refective of the dignity associated with a President General's visit. More than 80 attendees visited with friends and enjoyed the fellowship of compatriots, DAR leaders and C.A.R. members in a setting of camaraderie and celebration of our nation's heritage. GEORGIA SOCIETY Marquis de Lafayette Chapter Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Bloise A. "Bo" Hill, a member of the Marquis de Lafayette Chapter and an avid parachute jumper, had the good fortune to jump into Normandy, France, during the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Europe by Allied Forces on June 6, 1944. He was part of the World War II Airborne Demonstration Team (WWII ADT) based in Fredrick, Okla. More than 100 parachutists from 21-plus countries and up to 10 C-47 vintage aircraft