Barbara Frankenberry, Jane Larke and Cheryl Brown stand beside the newly unveiled marker dedicated to Revolutionary War Patriots at Morgan’s Grove Park on Saturday. Photo by Toni Milbourne

SHEPHERDSTOWN — As the United States heads into the 250th anniversary of the its founding, different events are currently taking place as a precursor to more celebrations in 2026. One of those events included a Patriot Marker Dedication presented by the West Virginia State Society, National Society Daughter of the American Revolution on Saturday at Morgan’s Grove Park in Shepherdstown.

Jane Larke, State Regent, West Virginia State Society, NSDAR, traveled to the event to share remarks, saying that the group gathered to “honor brave men and women whose courage, sacrifice and vision laid the foundation for the freedoms we cherish today.” Larke went on to say that the marker will serve as a lasting tribute to the spirit of those who fought for independence during the American Revolution.

Larke specifically recognized Honorary State Regent Cheryl Brown whose State Regent’s project made the marker possible. Brown, along with Barbara Frankenberry, past curator general, NSDAR and Honorary State Regent, unveiled the marker following the scheduled comments from guest speakers.

Another who made remarks was Shepherdstown Mayor James Gatz who expressed his appreciation to all who made it possible to place the marker at Morgan’s Grove, a park that is central to town activities.

It was the historical perspective of the day, presented by Darla Treat Courtney, state historian, that encompassed a personal connection to the placement of the marker.

“For me, our celebration is personal,” Courtney said. “Not only am I a member of the Bee Line Chapter of DAR, but one of my Patriot ancestors, Pvt. William Dollar, was an early recruit in the 2nd Virginia Regiment.”

That regiment, she said, was authorized just a few weeks after the Bee Line March set off toward Boston from the Shepherdstown area.

“My William was a Berkeley County farmer who volunteered from Winchester, where that other half of the Bee Line March had formed under Daniel Morgan,” she said.

Courtney went on to say that the event Saturday was about so much more than the Bee Line March — it was about the overall contributions of Mecklenburg, later known as Shepherdstown, to the Revolutionary cause as a whole. She spoke of the many who marched off to war — what was likely as many as 100 of the 1,000 residents of the town at the time.

“It’s said that the town had the highest per capita number of men under arms in the state of Virginia – and two thirds of these would make the ultimate sacrifice,” she said.

Added to those human offerings, residents provided material aid in great abundance to the war effort. She spoke of Brown’s ancestor, James Verdier, who provided supplies and who established the Rockland Farm just outside of Shepherdstown. She also spoke of Frankenberry who descends from Lt. William Henshaw, who served under Capt. Hugh Stephenson during the Bee Line March, adding that for these individuals, the day’s celebration as truly personal.

“We are here today because Captain Stephenson’s company of riflemen assembled in this place, during the summer of 1775 — just before they undertook that 24-day, 600-mile trek to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Just before they undertook the Bee Line March. And because of that march, history remembers Morgan’s Grove as a birthplace of the 1st Virginia Regiment, the Continental Army, and subsequently the United States Army,” Courtney said, adding that the marker will continue to honor not only the Patriots of Mecklenburg and the Bee Line March, but all those who served and contributed to the founding of the nation. “We are all truly their beneficiaries. And that legacy is and ought to be person for each of us.”