Commemoration ceremony honoring the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier

On February 21, 2022, the Colonel James Wood II Chapter of the Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution participated in a commemoration ceremony to honor the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier. The ceremony was sponsored by the George Washington Chapter of the SAR, the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Children of the American Revolution.  The ceremony honors an unidentified soldier of the Revolutionary War.

Colonel James Wood II Chapter, standing left to right: Allan Phillips, Paul Christensen, Dave Cook, Bill Schwetke, Mike Weyler, Virginia State President Bruce Meyer, Leamon Duncan, Thomas “Chip” Daniel, Barry Schwoerer, Forrest Crain and Brett Osborn. Kneeling left to right: Sean Carrigan, Dale Corey and Ken Bonner. (Photos courtesy of Thomas “Chip” Daniel)

In 1826, during construction of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, the body of an unidentified man, clothed in a Revolutionary War uniform was unearthed, found in a munitions box. He was reinterred within the cemetery of the Old Presbyterian Meeting House. On February 22, 1928, a temporary wooden marker was placed at the gravesite to coincide with Alexandria’s annual celebration of George Washington’s birthday. The current memorial was placed by the National Society of the Children of the American Revolution and dedicated 19 April 1929, to coincide with Lexington-Concord Day.

Here is the epitaph placed on the stone tablet memorial: “Here lies a soldier of the Revolution whose identity is known but to God. His was an idealism that recognized a Supreme Being, that planted religious liberty on our shores, that overthrew despotism, that established a people’s government, that wrote a Constitution setting metes and bounds of delegated authority, that fixed a standard of value upon men above gold and lifted high the torch of civil liberty along the pathway of mankind. In ourselves his soul exists as part of ours, his memory’s mansion.”

The color guard followed by honor guard retiring the colors.

The commemoration honors this unknown soldier, all of those who rest in unmarked graves and the many other patriots who died in the cause of freedom to create an independent United States of America. We are reminded of the gratitude our citizens owe to all those who have served so the United States can remain a free and independent nation.

Participating in the ceremony were Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution President Bruce Meyer, Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution Regent LeAnn Turbyfill and Virginia Society Children of the American Revolution President Sara Cox who all placed wreaths to commemorate the occasion.

The combined Virginia State Color Guard.

The combined Virginia Society Color Guard presented colors and posted sentinels with participants from George Washington, Colonel James Wood II (CJWII), Colonel William Grayson (CWG), Culpeper Minutemen (CMM), Fairfax Resolves (FR) and Sergeant Major John Champe (SJC) chapters. The guard was commanded by Ken Bonner (SJC) and Brett Osborn (CJWII).

Additional participants from the Colonel James Wood II Chapter were Sean Carrigan, Paul Christensen, Dale Corey, Thomas “Chip” Daniel, Allan Phillips with dual members Dave Cooke (FR), Forrest Crain (FR), Leamon Duncan (CWG), Bill Schwetke (CMM), Barry Schwoerer (SJC) and Mike Weyler (CWG).