SAR Wreath Laying and Shays’ Rebellion

Saturday, 21 September 2019, was a very satisfying day for me. After months of slow preparation, I was able to pull off a “double event” event. With the help of a number of other people, of course.

It all started in 2017 when the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium’s (NERGC) conference was held in my hometown, Springfield, Massachsetts. I’ll have to admit that since I’ve been heavily involved with NERGC, the choice of Springfield was heavily influenced by yours truly!

One of the founders of Springfield was Deacon Samuel Chapin. The good Deacon is memorialized by a 15 plus foot tall bronze sculpture which sits in Merrick Park in Springfield. Chapin was drawn to the original Agawam Plantation (later to be named Springfield) by William Pynchon. Chapin’s descendant, Chester Chapin, was a wealthy railroad baron and commissioned world famous scultor Augustus Saint-Gaudens for the work. At any rate, several Chapin descendants are family researchers who attended a genealogy conference in Springfield. I invited all of them to meet one block east of the conference where the statue stands for a group family picture. That’s where I met Patty Vitale, a “Chapin Cousin” who lives in Maryland.

I honestly can’t remember exactly how it began, but I learned that Patty has a Revolutionary War Patriot ancestor buried in Springfield Cemetery about a mile or so from the Chapin statue. So, as a member of the Pomeroy Chapter of the Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (MASSAR), I offered to arrange what we call a “Wreath Laying Ceremony” to honor her ancestor. It involves a gathering of the family, representatives of the SAR and the General Henry Knox Color Guard to gather at the cemetery, summarize the patriot’s service, fire off 3 volleys from the Revolutionary War style muskets by the Color Guard and finally the laying of the wreath.

Everything came off without any problems. The General Henry Knox Color Guard showed up on time, Patty and her family were there and several members of the Pomeroy Chapter. Patty was very appreciative of the respect that was shown to her ancestor. Titus Amadon enlisted at age 16 and promptly marched off to West Point. He was in attendance at Major John André’s execution for spying. He served a toal of nearly 2 years and returned home to lead a normal, productive life, marrying Sabra Gilbert and raising 13 children.

After the wreath laying, we moved about a mile away to the Springfield Armory National Histoic Site. There, we heard historian Dennis Picard relate the history and consequences of Shays’ Rebellion. One of the major confrontations of the Rebellion took place at the Armory in 1787 so hearing about it at there was more than appropriate.

Now the question is what do we do for a follow-up event! Any suggestions?