The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
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28 SAR MAGAZINE GEORGIA SOCIETY Patriot Jacob Highsmith was honored for his service as a soldier in the Revolutionary War during a grave-marking ceremony on March 22. About 60 people, many of them Highsmith descendants, turned out for the ceremony at the Highsmith Cemetery in Waynesville in Brantley County, Ga. The exact location of Highsmith's grave is not known, but a marker was placed in the Highsmith Cemetery, which, according to records, was laid out on the northeast corner of Highsmith's plantation. The Altamaha, Marshes of Glynn and Gainesville, Fla., chapters of the SAR sponsored the ceremony. Altamaha Chapter President Jason Deal served as the master of ceremonies. Chapter Secretary-Treasurer R.M. Beaver Jr. led the Pledge of Allegiance. Marshes of Glynn President Jimmy Boatright offered the invocation, and Gainesville Chapter Immediate Past President Roger Cox offered the benediction. Randy Highsmith, the fourth great-grandson of Jacob, read his ancestor's biography. Randy joined the Gainesville Chapter under Jacob Highsmith's lineage and discovered that his grave was unmarked. Randy then launched a yearlong effort to mark Jacob's service. Jacob Highsmith served in the Pitt County, N.C., militia during the Revolutionary War. Born in North Carolina in 1758, Highsmith moved to Georgia after the war, eventually settling in what is now Brantley County, Ga. Highsmith owned a large plantation, where he and his wife, Sarah, raised 13 children. He died in 1829. Many of his descendants still live in southeast Georgia. The GASSAR Color Guard presented the colors and fired a musket volley. Randy Highsmith and other members of the Highsmith family unveiled the marker. Boatright also performed the sacred soils ceremony, scattering soil collected from Georgia's 28 Revolutionary War battle sites. More than a dozen representatives of the SAR, DAR and C.A.R. presented wreaths. Atlanta Chapter Chapter Memorializes Sub Inventor The culmination of months of research and planning took place on June 28 at Warrenton City Cemetery. It was a beautiful day that made the display of Revolutionary War battle flags and other historic flags and those of the GASSAR Color Guard a sight to see. More than 200 people gathered for the dedication of a new monument to honor the military service of Capt. David Bushnell, the inventor of the first wartime submarine, "The Turtle." In attendance were Mayor Pro Tem Chris McCorkle and newly elected Regent Dorinda Clark of the DAR. She also arranged for a representative of U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss to present a letter of "Special Congressional Recognition of the Captain Bushnell Monument" and for a proclamation from the Warren County Commissioners. The ceremony began with Atlanta Chapter President Terry Manning describing the events that led to the chapter placing the monument. Research by Manning for a lecture on naval power during the Revolutionary War led to the interesting story of Bushnell's invention and the cruel trick of fate that prevented the submarine from fulfilling its destiny. Further research pointed out that Bushnell had changed his name to Bush after the war and moved to Georgia, where he was active with Patriot Abraham Baldwin in establishing teaching academies. Bushnell ultimately went to Warren County, serving as a physician for 14 years before his death. A field trip to Warrenton confirmed that there was no marked grave or other monument to Bushnell. Manning shared the story with Registrar David Noble, which resulted in a research effort by David and his wife, Alice, to confirm that the gravesite could not be identified and in a plan by the Atlanta Chapter to recognize Bushnell/Bush with a cenotaph or monument in the cemetery by agreement with city leaders. Rev. Jerry Wolfe of the Warrenton First United Methodist Church gave the invocation, followed by the entrance of the GASSAR Color Guard's Flag Unit under the command of Ed Rigel Sr., a dual member of our Atlanta Chapter. Nine SAR members of the Flag Unit in matching blue and buff Continental Line uniforms, including Atlanta Chapter Color Guard Commander Jim Hankins, participated, along with members in militia attire. The Elijah Clarke Militia Unit, also members of the State Color Guard and under command of Bruce Maney, another dual member of the Atlanta Chapter, trailed the Flag Unit, each sporting a Brown Bess musket or other Colonial-era firearm. The procession included dual member and Metro Region Vice President Jim Lynch. Greetings were then provided by GASSAR Senior Vice President Bill Hay of Columbus on behalf of GASSAR State President Roger Coursey, followed by greetings from McCorkle and C.A.R. State President Walker Chewning Jr. Warren County Commissioner Cindy Rivers read a proclamation thanking the Atlanta Chapter for dedicating the Bushnell monument in recognition of this son of Warren County. Manning then highlighted the story of Patriot Bushnell's invention of the one- man underwater machine and the history of The Turtle's naval exploits. To unveil the monument created by Memorial Design, a third cousin five- times-removed, Dr. E. Scott Bushnell, attended with his wife and their son The GASSAR Color Guard with James Stallings, Thomas Owens, VPG Bill Hay, James Hankins, Amberlee Allmond of the Georgia State Society C.A.R., Bill Ramsaur, Rob Lear, Steve Ford, Paul Prescott and Charlie Newcomer. The Captain Bushnell Monument.