The Silent Revolution

Commissioned in 1776 as a Lieutenant and served until 1777. Amos became a Captain of artillery and served until 1780. His last three years were served on board the brig "Hyder Ally".  They captured the British ship "The General Monk" and converted it to a packet ship renamed "The General Washington". He served on it until 1783 and then retired from service. He is interred at Georgetown cemetery.

Of all the wars that have been fought by and in our country the one that I think about the most is the Revolutionary war. I am fascinated by the people that came together to break the yoke of tyranny. I think of the young men that gave up everything they had and left their homes and families to march into the unknown without modern day weapons or equipment supplied to them. I know the risk of death is high in any conflict but to me this particular risk was greater than any. The outcome of this war proved to be the greatest accomplishment of any of the wars we have ever fought. It established a place in this world that provided the opportunity to be and do the things of your choosing. Not only did it provide freedom but safety as well. The concept that we as an independent group could rule over ourselves and provide for ourselves the means to do so must have drove the Brits mad. 

Every year around the fourth we celebrate this great concept and it's spoils in the way free people should. We have huge white sales, car and truck sales, and we blow up stuff with fireworks in our own backyards. We cook out, swim, shop, travel and work on the things that we love to do. It does not get any better than this. This is what the concept was meant to achieve. People doing the things they want to do. Freedom plain and simple.

I really like the old cemeteries around our area. The sheer beauty and serenity of these places are a welcome relief from the noise of the everyday world. I like looking for out of the way cemeteries, places that are tucked away in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't matter what time or season of the year that I am looking I always seem to stop in my tracks when I come upon a Revolutionary War veteran. Maybe it's just me but I feel indebted to them in some way. After all I am out wondering around goofing off enjoying my day. They on the other hand gave up or put at risk everything they had. It's not a guilt trip that I feel but a tremendous sense of gratitude and respect. I am however grateful for all veterans of all wars but I feel a certain debt that I owe to the men under those markers.

The late Joan Witt assembled a research paper on most of the Revolutionary veterans buried in Columbiana county. The paper can be found on file at the downtown library. She did most of the research in 1998 and 1999. She was a remarkable woman and I am glad she took time to work on this project. She did take some photos of the headstones but I have never seen them. So I thought I would follow her list and go around and find them and post some of the pics here. I also decided to add some that were nearby in other cemeteries even though they were not in our county. While I was doing this I came across a lot more graves and markers that were not listed. I thought it would be nice to photograph some of those markers here. They all will have the location they were at in the caption. Some will have whatever information I have listed with that also.

I often think about these brave souls and what they would think of America today. Most of these veterans lived unusually long lives after the war. Some went on to become great men, while others raised families and farmed the land they were given. I am positive that the culture shock alone would probably be enough to make them want to stay at the place in time that they lived. I can almost bet that if they could see us today out doing the stuff we love with a goofy smile on our faces, they would know that it was worth the fight.

      

 

Served in Fredericktown Maryland starting in 1782. A year later he was marched to Pittsburgh and served at    the garrison there until the army was disbanded in 1784. He moved to Virginia for 5 years in 1821 and returned here in 1826. Interred at Georgetown Cemetery.

      Robert  Anderson West Beaver Cemetery. Born in 1758 in Ireland and died in 1853. Served as a ranger

                   on the frontier 1778 - 1783. Listed in Joan Witt's notes. No marker at grave site.

     Served from June 1775 to September 1775 in New York's 3rd Regiment. One could probably guess that he was injured in some way after 3 months of service. From New Jersey he and his wife moved to Columbiana county around 1814. Listed in MCCord's History of Columbiana county as an early settler from Maryland and of German descent. He is interred at West Beaver cemetery very near where his family farm once was.  

       Located on Wayne Bridge road in Lisbon. With the help and research of Joan Witt the Registrar of the local DAR a new marker was placed here in 2010. Lee served in Boston, Staten Island, And Valley Forge. He was born in Nottinghamshire England in 1745 and died here in 1828.

Johnathan Lodge (on the right) at Jordanville Cemetery in Lisbon. Joan Witt listed them as possibly interred at
                                       Salem. His son Joseph (left) served in the war of 1812.

                Baltzer Young. Interred at Achor Valley Cemetery. Listed by Joan Witt.

      Joan Witt listed two solders buried here at the county home cemetery. There are probably more but until
       records are researched nobody knows. It's a wide open field with no markers. A sad ending for heroes.
Henry Lessier born in Poland in 1748 and died at the county poorhouse in 1845. He served in the French Army.
                 Joseph Applegate born in Ireland 1761 and died at the county infirmary in 1812.

    James Smith  1757 - 1845. He was a private in Captain David Grier's company in Pennsylvania. Interred at Longs Run Cemetery. Listed by Joan Witt.                                              

                                                       Daniel Berbert Longs Run Cemetery.

       Samuel Quigley served as a private in the 1st battalion Cumberland Maryland. Interred at Longs Run.

        In the corner of Longs Run Cemetery is a humble marker with the letters J. G. carved on the top.
This is Jacob Grimm born in Germany in 1761 he was a Hessian fighting for Great Britain. He deserted and joined the 23rd Regiment commanded by George Washington. After the war he took up 160 acres of land on both sides of Beaver Creek. Grimm's Bridge is named after him. He died in 1843. Listed by Joan Witt. Information from Harold Barth's "History of Columbiana County".

                                                             Sandy Springs Cemetery

                                                                 Sandy Springs Cemetery

                   Stephen McBride lies at the top of the cemetery overlooking the others buried there.



In an out of the way cemetery in Hanoverton there are three Revolutionary War solders buried on a hill. The cemetery is named Sandy Springs and sits nearly in the front yard of a home that is now there. At one time it was the family farm of Stephen McBride an early Quaker that converted during the war and settled here. He also constructed a Friends Meeting House out of logs about a mile west of the village. He was the founder of this church.

He was born in Virginia in 1759 and was drafted at the age of 19 for a term of six months. He helped build Fort Laurens near present day Bolivar Ohio. He was marched to Fort Wheeling and served nine more months and left in 1779. He was married in 1780 and became a Quaker. He volunteered for the Continental Army and served as a Private and Drummer for General Washington at Yorktown. The battle at Yorktown basically ended the war in 1781. He was 22 years old at that time and was recorded as a drummer in a non combatant status. Because of his conversion he would never accept his pension. He had legal documents drawn up that not only negated his pension for himself but for any of his descendants also. This was challenged several times throughout the years by his many descendants but to no avail. The federal government honored his legal document. Stephen and his wife Hanna moved here with their 12 children and settled in Hanoverton.  

       Daniel Clapsaddle 1756 - 1813. Was a captain of the Rangers of Cumberland Pa 1778 - 1783. Buried at
       Jordanville Cemetery Lisbon.

                              John Ghuzer interred at Fairfield Cemetery. He is not listed in Joan Witt's notes.

               William Mankin. Interred at Fairfield Cemetery. He is not listed in Joan Witt's notes.

                       A photograph of the typed booklet of the Revolutionary War Veterans of Columbiana County 

                                                                  compiled by Joan Witt.

     Dickey Moses interred at Bowman Cemetery. He shared a headstone with his wife. The date looks like 1945
                                                                          but is 1845.

Of course there are many many more veterans that are not shown here. I tried to look for the people with the most information in her notes but while I was out I would see more flags and markers than I expected to see at any given cemetery. It is amazing how much a headstone with a date inscribed on it and a flag beside it silently tells a story of sacrifice and courage.