America 250!
Background
As explained on the NSDAR website, "The National Society has established the America 250! Special Committee to plan DAR’s involvement and maximize its visibility during our nation’s upcoming 250th birthday. Much like the 1976 Bicentennial celebration, this observance provides an exceptional opportunity for community involvement, positive public relations and – most important – membership growth throughout DAR." You can learn more about Phase I and II plans for 2026 on the Members' Only Section of the website here.
March Revolutionary War Flashbacks
April 6, 1776 - Continental Navy loses the Battle of Block Island
April 8, 1782 - Captain Joshua Barney wins the Battle of Delaware Bay
April 12,1776 – North Carolina is the first state to call for independence—The Halifax Resolves.
April 13, Birthday - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was born in Albemarle County, Virginia. He was an author, inventor, lawyer, politician, architect, and one of the finest minds of the 1700's. He authored the American Declaration of Independence and later served as the 3rd U.S. President from 1801 to 1809.
April 14, 1775 - In Philadelphia, the first abolitionist society in American was founded as the "Society for the relief of free Negroes unlawfully held in bondage. "'Massachusetts Governor Gage is secretly ordered by the British to enforce the Coercive Acts and suppress "open rebellion" among colonists by using all necessary force.
April 18, 1775 - General Gage orders 700 British soldiers to Concord to destroy the colonists' weapons depot. The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere and William Dawes occurred as the two men rode out of Boston about 10 p.m. to warn patriots at Lexington and Concord of the approaching British. Revere reaches Lexington about midnight and warns Sam Adams and John Hancock who are hiding out there.
April 19, 1775 - At dawn in Massachusetts, about 70 armed militiamen stood face to face on Lexington Green with a British advance guard unit. An unordered 'shot heard around the world' began the American Revolution. A volley of British rifle fire was followed by a charge with bayonets leaving eight Americans dead and ten wounded. The British regroup and head for the depot in Concord, destroying the colonists' weapons and supplies. At the North Bridge in Concord, a British platoon is attacked by militiamen, with 14 casualties. British forces then begin a long retreat from Lexington back to Boston and are harassed and shot at all along the way by farmers and rebels and suffer over 250 casualties. News of the events at Lexington and Concord spreads like wildfire throughout the Colonies.
April 23, 1775 - The Provincial Congress in Massachusetts orders 13,600 American soldiers to be mobilized. Colonial volunteers from all over New England assemble and head for Boston, then establish camps around the city and begin a year long siege of British-held Boston.
April 28 Birthday - James Monroe (1758-1831) was born into a planter family in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. After studying law under Thomas Jefferson from 1780 to 1783, he served as a delegate in the Continental Congress. He served as the 5th U.S. President for two terms from 1817 to 1825 and is best known for the Monroe Doctrine which declared the U.S. would not permit any European nation to extend its holdings or use armed force in North or South America
Patriot Stories
Patriot Spotlight
Interested in sharing your patriot's story and having it shared below or on our social media page? Download the template here and send it to Lenna Wilson, America 250! Vice Chair, l.wilson868@gmail.com
Ezekiel Stone, Patriot of Dorothy Biard, Eleanor Wilson
