The SAR Founders Circle—a legacy society—has been
established to recognize and thank those who notify the
SAR Foundation, in writing, that their will or trust
includes a bequest of $10,000 or more in their estate plan.
A form for recognition is available upon request. The first
members—seven in total—were recognized at the SAR
1000 Breakfast on March 7, 2015. It is a good time to do
some planning, and while it may not be at the top of a
to-do list, creating or updating an estate plan is important.
A bequest can be made by including the following
suggested words in a will or trust: "I give, devise and
bequeath to the SAR Foundation, 809 West Main Street,
Louisville, KY 40202 (insert dollar amount, percentage of
estate, or describe property) to be used for its purposes
(or specify use)."
The story of Compatriot Joe Ramsey and his wife, Betty,
who in 2014 bequeathed a substantial amount to five
different SAR activities, is of interest. Joe, a retired
Merchant Marine officer, was president of the
Pennsylvania Society in 1992 and passed away in 2000.
Betty passed away in 2013. Their estate plan took care of
family first and enriched 35 different charities, including
NSSAR, with significant amounts. The Ramseys created a
marvelous legacy.
20 SAR MAGAZINE
T
his year, the National Park Service brings together
national parks, national heritage areas, national
trails, national rivers and national programs in the
Northeast Region to share the Revolutionary story as the
reconstructed French frigate L'Hermoine arrives for its East
Coast tour.
The voyage began in April, when L'Hermoine set sail for
America. The journey started from the mouth of the River
Charente, in Port des Barques, France, where the Marquis
de Lafayette boarded on March 10, 1780. The transatlantic
crossing was expected to take 27 days, making landfall at
Yorktown, Va.
In 1780, L'Hermoine took Lafayette from France to Boston,
where he met with Gen. George Washington and informed
the general of the alliance with France. The frigate joined
French Admiral de Grasse's fleet for the Battle off the Capes
on the lower Chesapeake and the siege at Yorktown. It then
sailed to Philadelphia in 1781, where the Continental
Congress visited and paid tribute to it.
As L'Hermoine moves up the Eastern seaboard this spring
and summer, it will be accompanied by a range of pier-side
activities. These include, in some ports, a traveling
exhibition and a heritage village that will be open to the
public. The Hermione Voyage 2015 is part of an expansive
outreach program with cultural events, exhibitions and
educational programs that celebrate the trip and mark its
progress. A digital activation for the voyage expands the
reach of the project to millions of people.
The NPS will provide funding to develop a mobile
display, publications and educational materials, and to have
its staff stationed at ports where L'Hermoine will dock.
L'Hermoine's East Coast tour will stop at the following ports:
June
5, 6, 7-Yorktown, Va.
9-Mount Vernon, Va. (ship at anchor)
10, 11, 12-Alexandria, Va. (city dock)
16, 17-Annapolis, Md. (city dock)
19, 20, 21-Baltimore, Md. (adjacent to the USS Constellation
and Pride of Baltimore)
25, 26, 27, 28-Philadelphia, Pa. (with Tall Ships
America/Independence Seaport)
July
1, 2, 3, 4-New York, N.Y. (with educational ships from the
U.S. East Coast)
6, 7-Greenport, N.Y. (with Tall Ships America)
8, 9-Newport, R.I. (with Oliver Hazard Perry – Fort
Adams)
11, 12-Boston, Mass. (Rowe's Wharf)
14, 15-Castine, Maine
18-Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
— Courtesy of www.nps.gov
The hermione Voyage 2015
The SAR Founders Circle
The 2015 SAR Annual Conference on the American
Revolution will be co-sponsored and hosted by George
Washington's Mount Vernon on June 12-14. The topic is
"The Marquis de Lafayette and the European Friends of
the American Revolution."
The Conference is scheduled to coincide with the
arrival in American waters of the reconstructed
L'Hermione, the flagship of the Marquis de Lafayette.
In addition to American scholars, this year's
conference will feature European scholars, including
Professor Patrick Villiers of the Universite du Littoral,
Cote d'Opale. Villiers also is a member of the Historical
Research Team of the French Society of the Sons of the
American Revolution.
You may register for the conference at: www.
mountvernon.org/library/events-programs-calendar/the-
marquis-de-lafayette-and-the-european-friends-of-the-
american-revolution/.
If you are coming from out of town, you may stay any
place you like, but Mount Vernon has reserved a block
of rooms for the SAR Annual Conference at a nearby
Hampton Inn. From the website, on the right, scroll
down to the box that reads "Conference Schedule" on
top and "Accommodations" on the bottom.