Ask Ron column ASK RON: Q: Did Route 222 [PA] play an important role in the American Revolution?

NY Daily News ^ | September 6th 2012 | Ron

[Pharmboy]

The road from Reading to Easton, now Route 222, was called King's Highway in 1776.

It was a critical artery for the movement of troops and supplies during the American Revolution. Indeed, there's strong evidence that Gen. George Washington himself traversed the road on his way to upstate New York in 1782, stopping off in the Moravian town of Bethlehem.

Revolution, however, was not on the minds of most colonists when the Reading-to-Easton road was proposed by Conrad Weiser, William Parsons and other leaders in 1753; Indians were.

There had been massacres of settlers pushing north from Philadelphia to settle what was then a frontier region. Weiser was an Indian agent who had a general store on what is now Penn Square in Reading.

Parsons, Pennsylvania's surveyor general, was responsible for much of Reading's layout and is considered the father of Easton.

[Pharmboy]

Interesting regional history.

[Marine_Uncle]

For many years I worked at a few AT&T facilities in Allentown PA.. Lived for the most part in Whitehall. Many a day I found myself riding on parts of RT 222. Obviously the region is rich in it’s pre and post Revolution history.

[Pharmboy]

The RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington ping list

So much great history...so little time.

[Pharmboy]

Yep...and the General, his officers and his troops were on that same stretch of road about 200 years before you got there. Excellent.

[Vendome]

Not that I recall....

[Marine_Uncle]

And then we can switch to the little building just off Generals Highway leading many years ago from say 301 to Annapolis, in your state. I lived in that area as I worked for many years at Westinghouse AeroSpace/Defense plant in Friendship MD..
Where French General Lafayette boarded as his troops came to the aid of our Revolutionary forces.
Was born and raised in Philly. So obviously, got a lot of the early history of the birth of our nation from that area as well.
Valley Forge, Washington Crossing. So many places that the young ones should be able to visit and absorb. Just what it took to give birth to this nation, through sacred honor, and blood. No response required. I sense where on the same wave length when it comes to the honor and sacrifices so many from those early days onward have committed to.
The travesty taking place in Charlotte NC, the past few days is like pissing on George Washington's grave.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks Pharmboy. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[bert]

We are National Historic Trail followers. We plan to drive the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail in late October when the leaves are near peak. It is a long weekend trip.

http://www.nps.gov/ovvi/index.htm

[Pharmboy]

Thanks for the link...this past spring, we drove down to Ft Benning to attend my son's graduation from Ranger Training. On the way back, we stopped at King's Mountain. They did a terrific job there...Ferguson's marker was one highlight.

If you are so inclined, you might want to write up your trip and post it as a vanity; I will ping the list for that.

[larryjohnson]

I too enjoyed Philly public and private school drumming Penna history in my head. Calif kids and Maine Gkids never got it. Went to your homepage and wondere,did you Work on Westinghouse DMSP (milweasat) sensors? I had four AF DMSP assignments between 62 and 81.

[Marine_Uncle]

I received an empty mail from you as well. That is ok.
Answer. Westinghouse AeroSpace/Defense facility. The plant was the large complex along side the Baltimore and Washington Intl airport. Many very interesting programs. Between 66 thru 79. Got offer to join a Poly Cell ASIC IC design group at Bell Labs in Allentown. Could not pass the offer up. I scrubbed the mention of many projects I worked on in my profile.
Though all projects have been de-classified at this point to the best of my knowledge.

[Marine_Uncle]

Whoops: "did you Work on Westinghouse DMSP (milweasat) sensors? I had four AF DMSP assignments between 62 and 81."
No I did not. Think original ALQ-119 ECM pods, F16 Fire Control Radar Computer, Harpoon Cruise Missle Computer.

[jan in Colorado]

"If you are so inclined, you might want to write up your trip and post it as a vanity..."

I second that. It would be great to see the pics and hear about your trip!

[bert]

FYI.... here is a piece in today's paper describing events commemorating the Over Mountain Men. Since the recent designation of the trail as a National Historic Trail, the titles are now designated Over Mountain Victory trail. The dates have always been noted but it seems since the recent NHT designation and signs marking the route, the various locals have made an effort to intensify the remembrances.

We have become NHT followers. Finding and following a NHT from beginning to end is a fairly cheap and enormously interesting endeavor. Visiting the various smaller towns and tons of local museums is the real America. We always write up our adventures and I will be sure to post what we see.

******* Area events commemorate Overmountain Victory

By Staff Reports | Thursday, September 6, 2012 | Categories: History, Region

Sept. 25, 1780, several hundred frontiersmen mustered at Sycamore Shoals in current day Elizabethton. From there, they crossed over the Blue Ridge and dropped into the Piedmont of North Carolina in pursuit of British Major Patrick Ferguson, who had warned these Overmountain Men that if they didn't lay down their arms, he would "march his army over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay waste the country with fire and sword." The patriots finally caught up with Ferguson and his troops on the afternoon of Oct. 7 atop Kings Mountain in South Carolina. When the smoke cleared, every Tory soldier had been killed or captured, and the battle became known as the turning point of the Revolutionary War. In 1980, Congress appropriated funds for the establishment of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, which follows the original marching route of the Overmountain Men from Abingdon, Va., fording the Watauga River at Sycamore Shoals, crossing the Doe River twice near both Hampton and Roan Mountain, and ascending over the Great Smoky Mountains to the site of the Battle of Kings Mountain, now within Kings Mountain National Military Park. This month, a number of area events will be held along the Overmountain Trail to commemorate the Overmountain Men's march to victory. ELIZABETHTON On Saturday, Sept. 15, the Tennessee Society Sons of the American Revolution will celebrate the 232nd Gathering at Sycamore Shoals with a memorial and wreath laying service beginning at 10 a.m. at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area in Elizabethton. The following week, on Sept. 22 and 23, the Elizabethton park will host an encampment of the Overmountain militia as part of its annual Overmountain Victory Trail Celebration. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 22 and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 23. Re-enactors in period clothing will be on hand throughout the weekend to share stories of this exciting and tumultuous time in America's history. At approximately 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 25, members of the Overmountain Victory Trail Association will recreate the Overmountain Men's historic march to Kings Mountain -- just as they have done each year since 1975 -- by crossing the Watauga River at Sycamore Shoals, following in the footsteps of the Overmountain militia 232 years earlier. Call the park at (423) 543-5808. ABINGDON Prominent scholars, historians and authors will shed light on Virginia's participation in the campaign and battle of Kings Mountain during the Overmountain Victory Trail History Symposium 2012, to be held from 4 to 9 p.m., Sept. 21 at the Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon. Author and storyteller Randell Jones will focus on Col. William Campbell and his involvement in the Revolution and the Kings Mountain campaign. Author Joe Epley will talk about the role of the Virginians during the campaign and Battle of Kings Mountain, and archaeologist Ken Robinson will give a presentation about archaeology and the Abingdon Muster Grounds. Their lectures will be followed by a panel discussion. A light dinner will be served. Following the dinner break, the authors will be available for book signings. The OVT History Symposium 2012 is sponsored by the Overmountain Victory Trail Association and the Town of Abingdon. Registration is $20 and may be completed online at ovt-history-symposium2012.brownpapertickets.com. The following day, on Sept. 22, the Town of Abingdon and the National Park Service will unveil new exhibits at the Abingdon Muster Grounds during an Overmountain Celebration and Exhibit Dedication. The exhibits, two years in the making, focus on life in backcountry Virginia in 1780, the Overmountain Men and the Battle of Kings Mountain. In 2007, the Town of Abingdon purchased the Muster Grounds property, the northern trailhead of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, before it could be sold for development, forever preserving this piece of America's history. In partnership with the Overmountain Victory Trail Association and the National Park Service, the town constructed the W. Blair Keller Jr. Interpretive Center to tell the story of 1780. The celebration will begin at 12:30 p.m. Colonial interpreters in period dress will be on site for demonstrations. The new exhibits will be dedicated and unveiled at 3 p.m. Artifacts from the era will be displayed in cases provided by Patricia Hatfield's Virginia Society Daughters of the American Revolution State Regent's project. Fife and Drum Corps from Marshall University, Guilford Courthouse and Watauga Valley will perform throughout the day and during the evening retreat program, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Call (276) 525-1050 or email lhunter@abingdon-va.gov. PINEY FLATS Rocky Mount Living History Museum will host its own Overmountain Victory celebration on Sept. 24. The Overmountain Men camped on William Cobb's property the night of Sept. 24, 1780, and he helped supply the patriots with gunpowder, horses, blankets and food on their way to the Battle of Kings Mountain. Members of the Overmountain Victory Trail Association will make a stop at Rocky Mount during their annual march in the footsteps of those Overmountain Men, and visitors can join them around the campfire beginning at 7 p.m. to hear stories about some of the region's famed patriots, including Cobb and his sons. Admission is free. Call (423) 538-7396 or visit www.rockymountmuseum.com.

[Pharmboy]

Thanks for this...now I will be able to look at this through Google maps.