Re: Veterans' Day

Name    : 
E-Mail  : 
Subject : 

Comments:
: ~~~~~~~
: Mike,

: Thank you for this.  What a thrilling opportunity for all of you.  I got a real sense of the event and the photo added the visual I sometimes need.  

: Theresa
: ~~~~~~~~

: 
: : ABOVE: The 3rd Battalion Pennsylvania, The Augusta Regiment, fords a creek on the Provincial Road with Captain Mike Slease and Sgt. Bernie Thomas, the landowner, in the lead.

: : From Seamus:
: :   
: : Veterans' Day in the Susquehanna Valley...
: :   
: : In 1757 a road called The Provincial Road was blazed and cut through the forest from Fort Augusta at the forks of the Susquehanna to the Tulpehocken area by Captain Joseph Shippen and his men, upon orders from Major James Burd, Commandant at Fort Augusta. This made the transport of goods and supplies much easier, as well as easier movement of troops between Fort Augusta and Conrad Weiser's Home in Womelsdorf. The road was laid out and cut by soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Pennsylvania Regiment, The Augusta Regiment. The original road exists today in the form of a modern highway between the two points. It was improved by re-routing in a couple of cases along its length, and its origins and history were mostly lost to the world. However, an original portion, about a mile, still exists south of Sunbury on the farm of Bernard Thomas. 
: :   
: : Bernie contacted me after reading an article about us in the local newspaper, and invited me to come see the road, which he has used as a farm road for 32 years that he has lived there. He told me he had found a stone marker from the road while plowing, and that an old spring was nearby. Upon cleaning it several years ago, he discovered it has walls of laid stone at least 4 feet high, probably more, but the spring has silted in heavily over the years. After viewing all this, I decided that our re-created Augusta Regiment should come and march the road. It was also decided to come in the autumn after the crops and leaves were down.
: :   
: : Sunday, November 11 was chosen as the day to march the Provincial Road. In addition to the fact that this was OUR road, built by our predecessors whom we emulate, today is also Veterans' Day, and a natural tie-in to what we wanted to do. 
: :   
: : I outfitted Bernie in my field uniform and "enlisted" him into the Augusta Regiment for the day. He was so proud! We marched out of his yard to the drum and with our Regimental Colours flying, we entered the road, marched to where Bernie had found the marker stone, stopped to view the stone and take pictures of it, and then moved on to the spring. We could visualize soldiers stopping here so many years ago as we were doing. After all were satisfied at the spring, we re-formed, went on down the road, crossed the creek at a ford, and moved on up a hill and across some fields to a highway which now goes through the gap in the mountains. As we marched along the road toward the farm of neighbor Ed Balsavage, our turn-around point, passing motorists blew their horns and waved to us. After thanking Ed for giving us permission to march his land we began the journey back to Bernie's farm, where a soldier's supper of venison stew awaited us. 
: :   
: : We arrived at the ford and crossed the creek, and then we marched to our "camp" where the stew pot was cooking away on the fire under the watchful eyes of our Distaff. Bernie rejoined us there, and along with the men of the Augusta Regiment and the Distaff, we asked Bernie's family and friends who had come to be with us to join us for a few moments. I then delivered a  tribute to all veterans in the form of a speech, we fired 3 volleys as a salute, and held a Remembrance for every Veteran who has served or is now serving, been wounded or who made the Supreme Sacrifice for America, from the French and Indian War to the present.
: :   
: : We thanked Bernie for his generosity and interest in what we do, and then we ate a delicious venison stew. It was a most delightful way to spend Veterans' Day, and I know it is something that we will do again.
: :   
: : Today it will get big play in our local newspaper...a reporter and a photographer spent the whole day with us...

: : =========

: : See the re-created Augusta Regiment's webpage here:


Optional Link URL:  
Link Title:         
Optional Image URL: