Command Briefing -   Medals of the SAR.  As a member of an old and established Patriotic organization, Compatriots of the SAR may earn a number of awards and medals while serving their community.  The medals pictured here are presented in roughly the order they would typically be earned.  Descriptions are from the SAR Handbook, Volume III -  Insignia, Medals and Awards

Opposing Views

"Another such victory would ruin the British Army!"
   
 





Charles James Fox
Leader of the British Parliament Whig opposition to the continuation of war in America, upon hearing of the casualties at Guilford Courthouse
 "Time will not permit me to be very particular, and therefore I shall only Confirm the account of there having been an action on the 15th. The battle was fought near Guilford Court House. It was long and severe. We gave up the ground and were obliged to leave our artillery, all the horses being killed. We retreated in good order....The Enemy loss is very great, much more than ours."



 Nathanael Greene
 Writing of the Battle at Guilford Courthouse

                         Active Roster   Patriot Index
      Clarence David Williams (known simply as "C.D.") joined the Blue Ridge Chapter of the NCSSAR in 1969 and has called that his home Chapter in all the ensuing years.  He has served the state in a number of capacities, including President of the Blue Ridge Chapter, Vice President for the Western Area, Vice President of the  NCSSAR, and Vice President General of the South Atlantic District (his current position).

      It is in the Western part of the state that C.D. has done some of his best work.  He has been instrumental in starting up a number of  SAR Chapters in that region, and has become legendary for the advice and support he has given to every Chapter in the Western mountains over the years.  At the same time, he served on many key committees for the State of North Carolina, including Awards Chairman and the head of the George Washington Fund among others.   For this unwavering support, C.D. was awarded the Patriot's Medal.

    C.D. relates that his happiest memory while a member of the SAR was working with Elmer Dorsey, then President of the Blue Ridge Chapter, to plan the NC Annual Convention at Grove Park, Ashville NC in 1985.  He admits to many other fine memories too.  As he puts it, "I have never left an SAR gathering without thinking that this is the finest group of men that I have ever worked with."  We feel the same way about you, C.D.
      Thomas "Tommy" Thomas was born in 1761 in Burlington Co., New Jersey.  During the American Revolutionary War, Tommy fought as a militiaman;  he would join the army for a three month stint, then be released to go home and tend the farm, only to be called up months later when some serious fighting needed to be done.  After the war, Tommy married Mary Ann Grimes in Burlington Co. New Jersey in 1783.  A few years later, the U.S. Congress began rewarding land tracts to the veterans of the Revolutionary War.  Among the first of these were tracts in Monogahela, Pennsylvania.  By that time, Tommy had two children and two horses.  He placed the two children in saddlebags and mounted them on one horse, then  placed his wife on the other horse;  after that , he walked from New Jersey to Monongahela.  One of his daughters,  Mary Thomas married David Williams in 1818.  Clarence David Williams (C.D.) is descended from that union.

  
Bloodlines




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