Members of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) held onto their hats as the wind blew through the crowd gathered at Old Colony Burying Ground on May 31.
People of all ages filled the crowd for the patriot grave marking for Private Hiram Rose and a memorial stone dedication honoring all 23 known Revolutionary War veterans buried in the Old Colony Burying Ground in Granville.
Hiram Rose, of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment, was one of the founding fathers of Granville. He arrived in 1805 as a part of the Licking Land Company, and he is buried in Old Colony Burying Ground alongside 22 other known Revolutionary War veterans.
Steve Kaplan of the Richard Montgomery Chapter SAR explained that the grave marking ceremonies combine the SAR’s three main goals: patriotism, history and education.
“Recognizing those patriots is important, getting together as a community and celebrating that is just as patriotic as you can get,” Kaplan said.
The ceremony and memorial stone dedication included speeches from Ohio Senator Tim Schaffer, President of the Ohio Society SAR David Lupien, Greta Blegvad from the Granville Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Lyn Boone and keynote speaker Todd Kleismit, executive director of the America 250-Ohio Commission, among others.
Color guard commander Bob Hill led the grave marking with Thomas Hankins of the Hocking Valley Chapter of the SAR. Hill’s first grave marking after joining the SAR was in 2013. It was for Timothy Rose, brother of Hiram Rose. This was the first grave marking at Old Colony Burying Ground. Now over a decade later, all the known patriots are named in the cemetery.
Read more: Sons of the American Revolution honor Granville revolutionary war vets
Rob Pruitt played the fife for the color guard. Occasionally his sharp, high-pitched notes were accompanied by the beat of the drum.
“Rob is really integral in making a lot of our events have a proper ambiance,” Hill said.
The grave marking proceeded with the laying of the flowers. DAR representatives Susan Leininger and Nancy Wright formed a single file line behind the musket escort. Pruitt followed behind Leininger and Wright, keeping in tune and marching on beat. Attendees swiveled in their chairs or slowly trail after the group for the best view as Leininger and Wright lay the flowers on the resting place of the patriot and his wife.
Boone, a member of the Granville Union Cemetery Board which oversees the graveyard, was awarded the Martha Washington medal and certificate in recognition of outstanding service to the SAR. This was due to her assistance in locating and verifying all the known patriots’ graves since the first grave marking at the cemetery in 2013.
During the ceremony, she shared the history of Old Colony Burying Ground. It’s no longer an active graveyard. Boone describes it as “an outdoor museum of Granville’s history.”
“Nothing contributes more to the hollowed historic aura than the knowledge that this is the final resting place of the 23 veterans who came here in the early 19th century,” she said in her speech.
Boone and Hankins unveiled the memorial stone by slowly rolling up the American flag which had previously shielded it from view.
The stone is part of the Hocking Valley Chapter’s project to try and mark every patriot grave in their five counties– Fairfield, Hocking, Licking, Perry and Knox county.
“We know there are around 7,400 Revolutionary War graves in Ohio. I’m guessing probably closer to 8,000,” Hankins said.
Hankins works to verify the patriots and where they are buried through records and historical documents.
“For a lot of years we thought there were only 22 patriots in this cemetery, but last year we discovered Hiram, he was added before the monument or memorial stone was finished,” Hill said.
Currently all known Revolutionary War graves in the Old Colony Burying Ground are marked. Yet, Hankins and Hill think there may be another grave somewhere for a 24th patriot.
Hill explained that they know the patriot died in Granville, therefore his logical place of burial would be the Old Colony Burying Ground. Hill said it will require more research and might require poking around in the cemetery to look for a stone that has been overgrown.
“We might be back if we find that 24th one, we will be back and do a ceremony for him. But this is like the climax after all these years of grave markings. All the known patriots that we have been able to for sure verify are here,” Hill said.
If another patriot is found to be buried in Old Colony Burying Ground, their name will be added to the memorial stone.
At the conclusion of the event, a few of the members of the color guard grabbed their muskets and fell into formation. The drums beat and the tension increases in the crowd. The words, “make ready” pierce the air, the color guard lifts their muskets.
“Take Aim.”
With their bodies turned away from the crowd, they aim for the trees.
“Fire.”
This repeats three times. The shots echo through the cemetery followed by silence and a cloud of smoke.
Ella Diehl writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.