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/604650
32 SAR MAGAZINE NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY Lt. Col. Gary O. Green presented a historical look at the American Revolution based loosely on the Newberry Honor book, My Brother Sam is dead! by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. He spoke to the eighth-grade classes of South Brunswick Middle School on Constitution Day, Sept. 17, and covered the clothing of the militia and Continental Line, the Intolerable Acts that led to the Mecklenburg and eventually the Halifax Resolves, and two weapons of war, the Brown Bess and the Espontoon. He discussed the relationship to the American Revolution of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, the Federalist Papers and finally the Bill of Rights. In describing the American Revolution to the classes, he included references to the three Revolutionary War flags of North Carolina, the Mecklenburg Flag, the Bladen- Brunswick Militia flag and the Guilford Courthouse flag and tied the Revolution to the North Carolina flag as well as the U.S. flag. The presentation also involved the students in learning some drill activities using the technique developed by Baron von Steuben; he taught a small squad of students who then taught another group of students and eventually all 260 students participated in the drill activity. The 45-minute presentation ended with Green presenting a Flag Certificate to Principal David Ruth and the three eighth-grade students who raise and lower the flag daily. Green also presented three "America's Heritage, an Adventure in Liberty" CDs to the eighth-grade teachers to be used in their presentation of the American Revolution. Ruth remarked, "I learned more about the American Revolution in 45 minutes than I had learned in 20 years as a teacher." PPP America's Revolutionary War included Patriots with different ethnic backgrounds, although the diversity of the first American Army has not been well-publicized. Many of these early American heroes have been honored and remembered through gravesite markings, ceremonies and patriotic remembrances. But there was a small group of Patriots in eastern North Carolina who, until last year, had been largely forgotten for their bravery and contributions to American independence. On Aug. 8, NCSSAR hosted a ceremony honoring the first male descendant of several of those previously forgotten Revolutionary War Patriots of the North Harlowe community by inducting Edward Earl Carter as one of its newest compatriots and the second African- American compatriot of the NCSSAR. Carter is from North Harlowe, but lives in Greenville, N.C., where he is a retired pharmaceutical executive and a former mayor. He is married to the former Evelyn Jean Simpson; they have three daughters and eight grandchildren. Many of his family and friends attended the ceremony along with compatriots from across the state. While not widely known, families of Free Persons of Color settled the Harlowe communities of Craven and Carteret counties before the Revolution and many of their descendants still live in the area. "These families furnished at least 14 of their men to fight for the cause of liberty throughout the Revolution," said Jim Wood, former state president. "They fought from the battles around New York and New Jersey in the early part of the war, through Valley Forge, where the American Army was truly born, the battles in Pennsylvania, both sieges of Charleston, and the battles of the Southern Campaigns that ended the war." With Carter's induction, there are now both male and female descendants of these previously forgotten Revolutionary War Patriots of North Harlowe who are members of the both the SAR and DAR. Blue Ridge Mountains Chapter On June 27 the chapter conducted a Patriot grave dedication for Henry Parks. Independence Day was celebrated at the First United Methodist Church of Union County with musket firings and the display of the traveling trunk and flags. A new feature of the traveling trunk was the use of constructed games so that children could play games used by our ancestors. The church event was for the public and expanded the county's July 4th celebration with the public invited to the festivities and to watch the Union County fireworks. On Aug. 22, the chapter participated in the 11th annual Hogsed Youth Conservation Day at Brasstown, N.C. This event was organized to show children the beauty and opportunities of the outdoors, especially children ages 5-18. The chapter's display of the traveling trunk, period games and musket demonstrations were a perfect match for the two organizations' objectives. A new feature of the traveling trunk was a small zip-close bag of material samples showing the use of wood, sassafras, beeswax and wampum given to each of child. Col. Alexander Erwin Chapter At the historic McDowell House in Morganton, N.C., the NCSSAR convened to charter its newest chapter, which is named in memory of Revolutionary War hero Col. Alexander Erwin, a combatant at the Battle of Kings