Transcript
Chapter 1: Intro
Today is Veterans Day, and I’m here in central Indiana where just a few days ago it was really nice cool fall weather, and we had a snowstorm, and now it’s pretty cold out. But, being Veterans Day, I wanted to go out and visit a few graves of our veterans to pay my respects. And if you followed my channel for a while, you know that I really like the American Revolution period. So today, here in central Indiana, I’m going to be going around to a few small cemeteries to visit the final resting place of some of America’s revolutionary heroes.
Chapter 2: George Washington’s Drummer: Sgt John George
We’re going to begin our journey here at Round Hill Cemetery near Greenwood, Indiana, to visit the final resting place of a man that not only have I never heard of, I actually didn’t even realize he was buried here near Indianapolis. And that is Sergeant John George, who was born in 1758 and died in 1842. And here we see a more modern marker that just says “drummer boy in the Revolutionary War for George Washington in Ogden’s company, New Jersey Continental Line.” So, doing a little bit of research on Sergeant George, based on extensive research that’s been conducted by historians here in Marion County, Indiana, there is a published body of evidence to support the legend that Sergeant John George did indeed serve as the personal drummer boy for George Washington as part of Washington’s headquarters guard during much of the American Revolution, which I think is absolutely fascinating.
John George enlisted on January 1st, 1777, at the age of 17, as mentioned in New Jersey. And as part of the brigade that he fought with, he served in some of the most famous engagements of the Revolutionary War to include Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth Courthouse. It also mentions that he wintered with Washington at Valley Forge in 1777 into 1778, and that his unit was also present at Yorktown when General Cornwallis surrendered in October of 1781. So, what I’ve learned is that he migrated to Kentucky first and received quite a few acres for his service. I believe around 100 acres. And what’s interesting, I actually have revolutionary ancestors who also moved. Many of them moved because they received land grants or anchorage for their service in the revolution. But Sergeant George eventually made his way out to the Marion County area, and that was to live with his daughter and her husband, a man named Peter Stuck. He lived with him until he died on November 28th, 1847.
And here on this side, we see a much older military marker that reads “Sergeant John George, Ogden’s Company, Ogden’s New Jersey Regiment, Revolutionary War,” also with a Daughters of the American Revolution marker there as well. This is an interesting cemetery. There are very many more modern markers, clearly from the past few years. So, it’s fascinating to think. Round Hill Cemetery was founded in 1831, and it looks like it’s still being used today, and that we also have Revolutionary War soldiers buried here amidst the more modern headstones.
But there you have it, the final resting place of George Washington’s personal drummer, Sergeant John George. There’s actually one more Revolutionary War soldier that’s buried here at Round Hill named Edward Hall. But unfortunately, I don’t really have a good map of where he might be laid to rest. And it’s a sizable cemetery, so I don’t think we’re going to be able to find his resting place today. But it is neat to think that there are more than one Revolutionary War soldiers buried in places like this, you know, small cemeteries or moderately sized cemeteries just off a normal country road that people pass by every day. And I haven’t thought about that a lot, especially growing up in this area about those kind of veterans, you know, of the Revolutionary War and, of course, even the Civil War. So, pretty interesting to think about.
But we’re going to press on to the next cemetery to visit a few more graves of the veterans of the American Revolution.
Chapter 3: Pvt Samuel Bryan
All right. Now I am a few miles down the road in historic Southport Cemetery, and there is a really interesting Revolutionary War soldier buried here and his wife, which we’re going to touch on. But I just want to bring up these small cemeteries just tucked away on these small county roads or next to these old historic churches. I’ve just always loved that because you never know who’s laid to rest there, and it’s cool to be able to take some time out of my day to come visit them and pay my respects and just read the names on the headstones. I’ve said that before on this channel in the many other cemeteries I’ve visited, but I think it’s important for us as humans and as Americans to come visit these cemeteries and read the names on the headstones and spend some time in reflection, especially on a day like today, Veterans Day, to pay our respects and remember all of the sacrifice that these men and women have made for our country. But we’re going to go ahead and check out this next Revolutionary War veteran.
This is the final resting place of Private Samuel Bryan and his wife, Mary Hunt Bryan. Samuel was born on May 6, 1756, and died on March 4th, 1837. So Samuel, as mentioned, served in the American Revolutionary War. I don’t have a lot of information about his service, but again, he lived well into his older age here, dying in 1837. His wife, Mary Hunt Bryan, also has some very interesting history. She is considered one of the first American women to actually cross over the Cumberland Mountains around 1776. And again, she’s buried here with her husband, Samuel. They ultimately settled in Perry Township around 1830.
And it looks like here on top is the original headstone for both Samuel and Mary, and that has been placed on top of a newer marker, perhaps to not only preserve the original headstone but also to make the words on it a little more legible and so you know who it is. Because as we all know, with some of these older headstones, over time with wind and weather and everything else, they start to fade, and it gets more and more difficult to read the inscriptions. But there we see Samuel Bryan served as a private in the war and his wife, Mary. And this is a really beautiful cemetery. It’s Southport Cemetery.
This is a little bit more like the ones you would see maybe on the East Coast or New England. It’s next to a small church and not a very big burial ground, and there are a lot of old headstones. Near the edge of the cemetery and right against a very busy road is a marker dedicated to Mary Hunt Bryan. So, I wanted to check that out before I headed off to the next place.
Chapter 4: A Pioneer Woman First
And this reads, “Mary Bryan, pioneer woman. Mary Bryan, one of the first American women to cross the Cumberland Mountains, circa 1776, is buried here with Samuel, her husband, a Revolutionary War veteran who settled in Perry Township in 1830.” And I imagine the other side says the same thing. Yes, it does. Yeah. I’ve never actually heard the story of Mary Bryan, so I’m excited to do a little more research and learn a little bit more about her and her life.
Here is a really cool headstone made to look like the trunk of a tree.
Chapter 5: An Unexpected Discovery: Sgt Alexander Monroe
And what really caught my eye was this belt marked US along with this sword in the stone. And this is the headstone for Joseph S. Michael, who served in Company C of the First Regiment, Ohio Heavy Artillery during the American Civil War. That is really a remarkable headstone. And there are quite a few veterans buried in this pretty small cemetery. A lot of them from the American Civil War. But there’s actually another one down here made of stone, but made to look like a tree trunk. I wanted to look at before I pressed on. Otherwise, I could spend quite some time here. And it is pretty chilly out.
All right, let me see if I can read this. I can’t quite make that out, but it looks like they were born in February 1819 and died in April of 1877. And his wife, Mary, is also buried here. Born 1828, died 1887. And just over there inside the black wrought iron fence were the final resting place of Samuel and Mary Bryan. Like I said, I could probably walk around here for quite some time. A lot of these headstones are getting harder to read the inscriptions. And here I go. One more. We’ll check out one more here behind this small fence. Appears to be another veteran.
Well, here you go. I actually did not know that there was another Revolutionary War veteran buried here. And this looks like the final resting place of Sergeant Alexander Monroe, who served in Ste’s Company, Second Virginia Brigade during the American Revolution. How neat is that? And you never know around each corner, especially at a lot of these older cemeteries, you never know who you’re going to stumble upon and what stories you might learn along the way. So, it looks like I’ve got a little bit more research to do on these amazing veterans who served our nation in its earliest hour. Starting to run out of daylight here, and I have two more cemeteries to visit. This third one.
Chapter 6: Pvt John Parr
Is known as Nolan Cemetery. And as you can tell, it’s right here along the edge of farm fields, which is pretty neat. And I’m here to visit the grave of another Revolutionary War soldier. So, we’ll see if we can find his headstone here this evening. And it’s not a very large cemetery. And most of these headstones look like they’re reading from the mid-1800s or so. A lot of death dates in the 1840s, 1850s.
And I’m not entirely sure. I do recall seeing it should look like a newer military marker that the D put into place. So, we’ll see if we can find it. It might be back here, it looks like. Okay, I actually walked right by it. But here on the edge is a newer military marker for a man named John Parr who served as a private in the Continental line during the American Revolution. And John was born on June 14th, 1759, and died on September 7th, 1850.
And I’ve got a little bit more information on him. He enlisted in February of 1776 out of Roxbury, New Jersey. And after the war, he actually moved to Wils County, North Carolina, where he lived for about two decades before moving to Tennessee and then ultimately moving to Johnson County, Indiana, where he is here buried. And there were also some newspaper articles that popped up online about John which I thought were kind of interesting. One of them, which was from the Harmony News Republican out of Oklahoma, dated January 13th, 1916, reads and is titled, “Find grave of 76 soldier man who served 5 years in revolution buried in cemetery in Indiana.”
And it goes on to say, “In a secluded spot in the Glen Park Cemetery, four miles east of Greenwood, lies the body of John Parr, who, as far as known, is the only Revolutionary War soldier buried in Johnson County. A white stone slab almost covered with weeds and underbrush was photographed by visitors at the cemetery. And the headstone revealed the following inscription: John Parr, aged 92 years, 2 months, and 23 days. He served 5 years in the Army of the Revolution and was in the battles of Monmouth, Brandy Wine, etc.”
That is really interesting. Uh, and of course, like I said, this is a newer marker put into place by the D. And I’m not sure if any of this back here was part of the original headstone or original base. But there you have it, the final resting place of Private John Parr. Again, right here on the edge of these farm fields, which really makes for a peaceful place to be laid to rest. But it looks like I’m about to lose the sun here. And I’m going to boogie down the road a few minutes to one final grave.
Chapter 7: Pvt Peter Imel & Closing Thoughts
All right, for our final stop here honoring the Veterans of the American Revolution, I am at Rocklane Cemetery, which is just down the road from our last stop. And it is going to be a beautiful sunset, it looks like. And thankfully, I was able to quickly find our last veteran we’ll be honoring today. And that is a man named Peter Eml who was born in 1754 and died in 1849. And it’s a very small, looks like perhaps a newer headstone. And it just says a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
And unfortunately, I was not able to find much more information about Mr. Peter Eml, but it does look like he has some other family members laid to rest here. And this is a beautiful and fitting way to end my short journey today, paying my respects to veterans of the American Revolution. So, thank you all for coming along with me. But that’s going to be it for this one. Now, it’s on to the next journey.
