Revolutionary Wars Veterans.....in Illinois????

[Garand69]

Good morning everyone. I have a question for you....

Are you a descendant of a Revolutionary War Veteran? Does the cemetery in your Town or County have a Revolutionary War Veteran laid to rest there??

As you can tell by Illinois' recent desire to host the first ever History Boot Camp, we like our History! We feel it makes the difference whether or not a shooter actually stays off the couch! One of the great methods of setting the "Hook" is to tie the History of 4/19/1775 to today.

Well it isn't as hard as you think. Sure we can point out sacrifices made and compare them to modern times. You can try to get across the significance of getting 14,000 well regulated militia on the scene in such a short time WITHOUT cell phones, instant messaging, fast cars, etc. There are ways to make the younger shooters understand by incorporating the stories of younger participants of the day. The same goes for Women, Veterans, Doctors, etc etc

But what if you mentioned a Revolutionary War Veteran who is less than 50 miles away from the shoot your at?? Maybe it would inspire folks to look up their own family history.... We have a Volunteer among us named Strong, is he related to this fella from Pulaski Co.

PULASKI COUNTY

David Strong
The following information is from the Strong family papers at the Cincinnati Historical Society and Heitman's (1903) "Historical Register of the United States Army" and contributed to us by Mark Wagner:

David Strong from Connecticut reportedly was one of the original Minutemen at the Battle of Lexington, the engagement which started the Revolutionary War. He was taken prisoner by the British at the Battle of the Cedars in Canada on May 19, 1776. He returned to the American Army and was promoted to Sergeant and Lieutenant in the Connecticut troops in 1777. He served in a number of engagements including Valley Forge in 1777 and 1778, being promoted to captain by the end of the Revolutionary War. Family records state that he was a relative of patriot Nathan Hale, who was hung by the British as a spy, as well as a personal friend of the Marquis de Lafayette.

Strong remained in the army after the Revolutionary War, serving as a lieutenant-colonel under General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers against the Indians in Ohio in 1795. In 1796 he was promoted to colonel and made commanding officer of the 2nd Infantry Regiment. In 1799 he was put in charge of establishing a very large U.S. Army Camp in the lower Ohio River Valley called Cantonment Wilkinson. He arrived with approximately 700 soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Regiment at present-day Grand Chain, Illinois, on January 1, 1801 and began establishing a camp of log huts similar to Valley Forge that eventually contained several hundred cabins. Strong died at at the camp on August 20, 1801, after falling from his horse, possibly as the result of a stroke. He was buried in the post cemetery but his grave is now lost. The camp itself continued on until October, 1802, after which the Army abandoned it. SIU archaeologists relocated the site of Cantonment Wilkinson in 2003-2004 and conducted excavations at the site but were unable to find Colonel Strong's grave. The DAR erected a gravestone for Colonel Strong in the 1930s that is still located on the highway leading to the Ohio River Marina at Grand Chain in Pulaski County, Illinois


Wow, Revolutionary War Vets in Illinois. Of course this shouldn't be surprising to you, but I'd be willing to bet it would be surprising to more than not though... Family History is easily lost or distorted in a generation or two, and as you all now, if it isn't written down it didn't happen!!

Where did I find that tidbit of information on Col. Strong?

http://genealogytrails.com/ill/revwarindex.html

If you dig around, you find all sorts of info. Here is a link for Lake Co.

http://lakecountyhistory.blogspot.com/2010/10/revolutionary-war-veterans.html

Of course there are the traditional sources like the Daughters of the American Revolution

http://www.dar.org/

Or the Sons...

http://www.sar.org/

Take the time to look up the Revolutionary War History right in your own backyard, and incorporate it into your History/Benediction. You may be amazed how many of the Shooters will sitting on the edge of their seats wondering about how they may be tied into it.

Just something to think about.

See you on the Trail

[Taylor]

My great Grandfather six generations back, Obadiah Taylor, fought in the Revolution with his five brothers and is buried in Cedar Lake, Indiana. His Father, Adonijah Taylor, also served and was at Lexington on 4/19/1775. The inspiration for my forum name.