GEORGE MASON CHAPTER
Virginia Society
Sons of the American Revolution
June 2012 Newsletter
Welcome to New Compatriots
Please join us in welcoming Compatriots Craig
Andrew Dixon, Jeffrey Scott Dixon, Phillip Joseph Kenny and Phillip Joseph Kenny, Jr. to the
George Mason Chapter. Compatriots Craig Dixon, Jeffrey Dixon, Sean Lamb and David Thomas were formally introduced and inducted at
our May meeting.
Ric Murphy receiving the Virginia Society Chapter
Service Medal
President’s Message
May was another busy month. Last month’s
Newsletter included some photos of the Dedication of the Highway Road Marker commemorating the Convention Army’s encampment at
Charlottesville.
New Chapter Members Craig Dixon, Jeff Dixon, Sean
Lamb and David Thomas with their sponsor Joe Dooley
being formally inducted by President Davenport at May
30 Meeting
On May 17 Kent Webber and I were at the Arlington Career Center where I presented the
Sons of the American Revolution Bronze Junior
ROTC Medal to Cadet Benjamin Paddock.
“Ric” Murphy Receives Virginia Society
Chapter Service Medal
At the May meeting, Robert Henricson “Ric”
Murphy was presented with the Virginia Society Chapter Service Medal and Certificate for his
dedicated and distinguished leadership while
serving as a Chapter officer in a series of successive leadership positions, most recently as Vice
President of the George Mason Chapter. In particular, his leadership was instrumental in insuring that the Chapter was able to operate on
the sound financial basis that it enjoys today.
Cadet Benjamin Paddock receiving the Bronze JROTC
Medal from President Davenport
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Cadet Paddock is an outstanding cadet and led
his unit drill team with significant success this
past year in State Competition.
tion in 2005. An estimated quarter of a million
people lined the parade route from its starting
point on 7th Street to its conclusion at Constitution and 18th. It was televised live for viewers on
Fox and by stations in Boston, Chicago and
Philadelphia.
Joe Dooley presenting remarks on behalf of the National
Society at the Blockhouse Celebration
On Friday and Saturday, May 25 and 26, Joe
Dooley, Sherry and I were at the Blockhouse
Celebration at Natural Tunnel State Park near
Duffield, Virginia for a Reception and Buffet on
Friday evening and the Wreath Laying Ceremony on Saturday. In addition to presenting
remarks and a wreath on behalf of the National
Society as the Treasurer General, Joe was
drafted to pull double duty with the Color
Guard.
2012 National Memorial Day Parade
In addition to our welcoming four new members to our chapter, those attending the May 30
meeting at the Elks Lodge were treated to an
entertaining and informative presentation by
Marc Leepson on the Marquis de Lafayette and
the American Revolution. More specifics concerning that presentation appear separately in
the Newsletter.
Color Guard at the Blockhouse
Former Virginia Society President Bob Bowen presenting
Pete Davenport with the Ezra Brooks Revolutionary Soldier Collector’s Edition Decanter
There were numerous events throughout the
Nation and the Commonwealth to celebrate
Memorial Day; however, a number of us participated in the National Memorial Day Parade in
the District of Columbia. The SAR has participated in the Parade every year since its incep-
Virginia Color Guard Commander Pete Davenport also received a surprise presentation of a
collector’s edition of an Ezra Brooks Revolutionary Soldier Decanter for his contributions to
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the Virginia Society Color Guard by Former
Virginia Society President Bob Bowen.
was skillfully related to those attending the May
30 meeting by Marc Leepson, a journalist, historian and author who resides in Middleburg,
Virginia.
Born into a family of French warriors, Lafayette
was made a lieutenant in the French Royal
Guard at 14 and married into the royal family at
the age of 16. He was recruited by Silas Dean to
serve in the American cause. Promised and given a commission as a Major General in the
American Army, motivated by the ideals of the
American Revolution and hatred of the British,
at the age of 19, he defied his king and family,
and traveled to America at his own expense to
fight for freedom and democracy. While other
foreign officers complained, Lafayette wrote often of how much he loved the American people.
President Davenport presenting Joe Dooley with the
Chapter’s sponsorship check
The George Mason Chapter responded to a request for financial sponsorship support of the
2012 Conference on the American Revolution
with a donation of $1,000, a check for which was
presented to Joe Dooley at the May meeting.
Additional details of that Conference appear
elsewhere in the Newsletter.
With the arrival of warmer weather, we will be
taking our summer break and not be meeting
again until August. The August meeting will
depart from our usual Wednesday night meeting date and be on Saturday, August 25. Sherry
and I will be hosting an informal social gathering and cookout at my home at 8625 Cherry
Drive, Fairfax, Virginia. There will be no speaker. Please wear casual clothes.
Marc Leepson
Embraced by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and James Monroe, in
addition to purchasing equipment clothing and
provisions for his troops and lobbying the Continental Congress, American governors and his
own French government for support of the
American cause, Lafayette proved himself to be
an ingenious planner and capable staff officer.
Once given command, he avoided early mistakes, demonstrating a degree of sound judgment and maturity rarely observed in one so
young. He developed into one of Washington’s
best and most resourceful generals.
As always, your continued support and feedback is appreciated.
Fraternally,
Pete
The May 30 Meeting: The Marquis de Lafayette in
the American Revolution.
The fascinating story of the French aristocrat,
Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette,
Returning to France as both an American and
French hero, he again faced the challenges of
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revolutionary chaos. The author of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, a
document with the overtones of the Declaration
of Independence and our Bill of Rights, he attempted to mediate between revolutionary rabble and an intemperate royalty and worked diligently to move France from an absolute monarch toward a more liberal form of government.
the 2012 SAR Annual Conference will feature
two winners of the Pulitzer Prize.
2012 Atlantic Middle States Association Annual Conference
The Delaware Society of the Sons of the American Revolution will host the 2012 Atlantic Middle States Association Annual Conference at the
Hilton Wilmington/Christiana on August 10-11,
2012. Details are available from the Chapter Secretary or President.
Ultimately exiled and imprisoned abroad, he
finally was allowed to return to France. Denouncing Napoleon, he assisted in the subsequent restoration of the French monarchy and
in years later was influential in the movement to
a more constitutionally restrained form of government.
Volunteers Still Needed
The Executive Committee of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
recently offered to the National Society of the
Sons of the American Revolution a number of
their duplicate books that may be appropriate
for inclusion in the SAR library collection. As
many of these books are out of print, quite rare
and may be otherwise unobtainable, it
represents a valuable opportunity to enrich the
NSSAR Library Collection.
His legacy of being present on three occasions
over the span of a half century and assisting in
shaping the emergence of democracy and enlightened government each time provided Lafayette with a uniquely revered place in both
French and American history.
2012 Conference on the American Revolution
At 11:00 AM Friday morning, June 22, 2012,
Compatriots are invited to attend a Private
Wreath Laying Ceremony at The Thomas Jefferson Estate at Monticello. National Society President General Larry Magerkurth, Leslie Bowman, President of the Monticello Foundation,
representatives from the DAR, CAR and other
SAR chapters will all be in attendance.
The 2012 Conference on the American Revolution will commence at 2:00 PM following the
ceremony. This year’s topic is ‘Thomas Jefferson’s Lives: Biography as a Construction of History.’ Each of several Jefferson scholars will
discuss a major biography of Mr. Jefferson, beginning with ‘The Life of Thomas Jefferson’ by
George Tucker, published in 1837, and proceeding through Dumas Malone’s multi-volume ‘Jefferson and His Time,’ the last volume of which
was published in 1981. Previous SAR Annual
Conferences have included historians that are
routinely featured on the History Channel, but
Volunteers are needed to spend a few hours or a
day in the basement of the DAR Headquarters
building comparing titles and authors of the
books with the SAR Library online catalog. If
there is a match, and the SAR already has the
volume, the book would go back on the DAR
shelf. If there is no match, the volunteer would
scan through the pages and make a judgment as
to its value for genealogy research and documentation. Books meeting these two criteria
would then be assembled for shipment to the
NSSAR Library in Louisville, Kentucky.
Persons able to assist in this project can contact
Al Lewis for additional information.
Newsletter Topics
News items, photographs and announcements
of events that might be of interest to our chapter
members are always welcome for inclusion in
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the Newsletter. Any submissions can be sent
either to our newly elected Secretary, Howard
Clark at [email protected] or to your president at [email protected]. Should any chapter member want to take on the challenge of becoming the Newsletter Editor, please let us
know.
• September 14-15
VASSAR Semi Annual Meeting, Charlottesville, VA
• September 15
NSSAR Celebration
of the Signing of the U.S. Constitution,
Philadelphia, PA
2012 Upcoming Events
•
• October 6
Point Pleasant Memorial
Service and Ceremony, Point Pleasant,
WV
June 16
Joint CAR/DAR/SAR/SR
Wreath Laying Ceremony, Pohick Episcopal Church, Lorton, VA (1:00 PM)
Celebration of the Battle of Kings Mountain, Kings Mountain National Battlefield Park, NC
• June 22-24 Conference on the American Revolution, Charlottesville, VA
(Special Wreath Laying at Monticello on
June 22 at 11:00 AM)
• October 19 Yorktown
Yorktown, VA
• June 30
Joint SAR/Society of 1812
Grave Marking Ceremony and Plaque
Dedication, Old Presbyterian Church,
Botetourt County, Fincastle, Virginia
(1:00 PM)
Celebration,
• October 24 George Mason Chapter
Meeting, Elk’s Lodge, 8421 Arlington
Boulevard, Fairfax, VA; Public Service
Award Recognition Night; Speaker: Joe
Dooley: The Vandervall-Coots Lineage: A
Case Study in African-American Genealogy
• July 4
Independence Day Events
at Mount Vernon Estate
December 1
• July 7-11
NSSAAR National Congress, Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa,
Phoenix, AZ
Great Bridge Celebration
• December 8 Annual Holiday Luncheon,
Polo Grill, 7784 Gunston Plaza Drive,
Lorton, VA; Installation of 2013 Officers;
Special Guest: Virginia Society President
H. Phil Williams (followed by traditional George Mason Tomb ceremony at
Gunston Hall)
• August 11-12 AMS Conference, Wilmington, DE
• August 25 Informal George Mason
Chapter Cookout and Meeting, 8625
Cherry Drive, Fairfax, VA (No speaker
scheduled)
• September 8 Multi-State Vigil at Tomb of
George and Martha Washington, Mount
Vernon, VA (9:00 AM to 9:00 PM)
Wreath Laying, Arlington Cemetery,
Fort Myer, VA (4:15 PM)
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2012 Chapter Officers
President:
Vice President:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Joseph T. Mertan, Jr.
[email protected]
Registrar:
Joseph W. Dooley
[email protected]
703-534-3054
Chaplain:
Reg Ridgely
[email protected]
Color Guard
Commander:
COL Andy Johnson
[email protected]
Peter M. Davenport
[email protected]
703-407-9321
Allen Lewis
[email protected]
703-385-1728
Howard L. Clark
[email protected]
703-768-9720
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