Jeferson High School U.S. Air Force JROTC Cadet Dakoda Moore plays "Taps" at the end of the ceremony in Elmwood Cemetery on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The “250th Anniversary of the Bee Line March Wreath Laying Ceremony” was held in Elmwood Ceremony on Saturday morning.

The ceremony was organized by the Pack Horse Ford Chapter America 250! Committee of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), which began planning it last October, according to chapter regent Cindy Nicewarmer.

“We’re so grateful for the committee that set this up,” Nicewarmer said. “We are so thankful for all of those who have joined us from across the town and across the state and, even, all across the country.”

The General Adam Stephen Chapter of the National Society Sons of the American Revolution Color Guard, led by past president Marty Keesecker, kicked off the ceremony, with a presentation of the colors in front of the Bee Line March Monument. Their silent action was then followed by an invocation given by committee chairperson and Pack Horse Ford Chapter Chaplain Kathy Sholl.

“We gather to honor and pay loving tribute to the soldiers of the Bee Line March of 1775,” Sholl said, referring to Captain Hugh Stephenson’s Company of Riflemen. “Help us not to forget the past, and make us ever mindful of the courage and self-sacrifice of those who have gone before us.”

The General Adam Stephen Chapter, NSSAR Color Guard leads the processional at the 250th Anniversary of the Bee Line March Wreath Laying Ceremony in Elmwood Cemetery on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

Her prayer was followed by the recitation of the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance, singing of the national anthem, Posting of the Colors by the color guard and the wreath dedication ceremony.

“Nothing is really ended until it is forgotten,” Nicewarmer said. “Whatever is kept in memory still endures. Therefore we, the members of Pack Horse Ford Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, conduct this wreath-laying ceremony in grateful recognition for the courage and sacrifice of the soldiers of the Bee Line March of 1775. May it help to keep alive an appreciation of our heritage.”

Nicewarmer then announced each of the 24 individuals, representing various historical organizations, who laid a wreath in front of the Bee Line March Monument.

“We come together to pay the highest honor to the soldiers of the Bee Line March of 1775. By this honor, we are paying tribute to all the heroic men and women who lived with honor and devotion to the cause of freedom,” Nicewarmer said. “As our forebears were inspired with faith and hope in their struggles for liberty and independence, it is our hope that every one of us today may emulate the achievements of former times. May we be ever faithful in preserving these freedoms for those who come after us.”

One of those who laid a wreath at the monument was NSDAR Insignia Committee National Vice Chair, Honorary West Virginia State Regent and Shenandoah Valley Chapter Treasurer Barbara Frankenberry, who said she was also a descendant of Bee Line March First Lieutenant William Henshaw.

Society of the Descendants of Washington's Army at Valley Forge representative Darla Courtney places a wreath in front of the Bee Line March Monument in Elmwood Cemetery on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

“Now, I’ve walked where he walked. The reason why I joined DAR was for that reason — because they took a chance on their lives,” Frankenberry, who lives in Inwood, said of her ancestor and his fellow soldiers, before making a joke. “It’s obviously not for all of the pins.”

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution member Patsy Atkins places a flag-shaped wreath in front of the Bee Line March Monument in Elmwood Cemetery on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

Pack Horse Ford Chapter Regent Cindy Nicewarmer leads the dedication ceremony for the wreaths at Elmwood Cemetery on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston