The DAR - Why They Matter Today

One of the most misunderstood organizations in America today is the Daughters of the American Revolution. Most people think of the group in a very narrow frame of reference, usually the unfortunate incident in 1939 when Marion Anderson was denied the role of singing at Constitution Hall before an integrated audience.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt arranged another concert on Easter Sunday at the Lincoln memorial, where she sang to a crowd of 75,000 people and millions more on radio. The DAR has long since renounced their mistake, and today the DAR is a rainbow coalition which represents the America we have become over the centuries since the Revolution.

Why is this important? To put it in its simplest form; as the demographic make-up of our country changes; through inter-marriage, adoptions, etc. the DAR strives to reflect that change while still retaining the integrity of those families who actually fought in the Revolution.

As the demographics change, many times the past gets lost in the jumble. The DAR is a way of stopping that loss. For instance, if you are of Chinese descent, and marry into an American family having roots going back to colonial times, your daughters are eligible to become members. The same holds true for the Sons of the Revolution. There is no color line anymore. It’s all in your family tree.

The point is this; though the DAR does not support any particular political party; through their work in preserving our nation’s heritage, they are the Keepers of our past. They are the ones who place the monuments and trace the history of our unique nation. It is largely through their efforts that so many of the monuments we all take for granted, are there in the first place.

But, the most important function of all performed by the DAR is the tracking of family histories in relation to the American Revolution. The ethnic make-up America of today is vastly different from Colonial times and the struggle for Independence. But the rainbow color of today’s DAR reflects the truth of the principles upon which we were founded. Even Marion Anderson would have to smile at that.

So, why am I so big on the DAR? Simple; both my wife Sue, and our daughter Sarah, are members. Sue's great grandfather; several times removed; was named Henry Pensinger and he fought at the Battle of Ticonderoga, loosing a leg in the process. You can look him up. He has a blog page at;

http://henrypensinger.blogspot.com/p/background-bartlyme-bentziger-spelling.html

And if you, or anyone you know, is eligible to join the DAR, please use the following link to start the application process. No matter what your ethnic background or nationality may be, if the ancestors on either side of your family fought for the freedom which we enjoy today, then the DAR hopes to reflect that difference.

http://www.dar.org/natsociety/ 

Surrender at Yorktown - 1781

Unlike Vietnam; where we won just about every battle, but lost the war; the American Revolution was the complete opposite. We managed to lose almost every battle, and still win the War for Independence. There is a lesson in that. When people fight; on their own soil; for their own freedom; it is virtually impossible to beat them.

John Trumbull’s painting “Surrender at Yorktown” epitomizes the strength inherent in a just cause. Had the Americans lost the war, England would have faced a hostile colony for centuries; much in the same way that Indo-China was a “thorn in the side” to the Koreans, French and eventually the Americans who tried to rule it. But that’s another discussion.

The subject of this post is the surrender of the British at Yorktown in 1781. In spite of a lack of adequate provisions, George Washington was able to lead the Continental Army to a decisive victory over the British forces for the simple reason that they were fighting on “home turf”, for their families as well as their own futures.

In September, Lord Cornwallis had been reinforced with about 7,000 new troops in a last ditch effort to stamp out the revolutionaries. He took these troops to Yorktown, where he established a fort, hoping for relief from the British Navy, which never arrived.  Washington deployed more troops and artillery, with the result that by October; with the help of the French fleet, under the command of Admiral Compte de Grasse; Cornwallis found himself caught between the land forces of the Continental Army, and the French Navy; which had come to our aid through the efforts of Benjamin Franklin in Paris. Those vessels repelled the British fleet, keeping them from rescuing Lord Cornwallis and his men. With all hope of escape gone, he had no choice but to surrender.

The British, and the Germans fighting with them, were eventually forced from their fort under threat of further bombardment, and instructed to bring their colors with them. The British military band played "The World Turned Upside Down"; a popular song of the era; as a way of displaying their disbelief in their loss to the colonies. Cornwallis elected to remain indoors, rather than face his adversary in defeat. Even his second in command, General O’Hara, tried to surrender to the French rather than to the Americans, but he was rebuffed in this effort, leaving him no choice but to surrender to the Continental Army, thus recognizing the new nation it represented. This was the reason which compelled General Washington in his decision to have General O’Hara surrender his sword to General Lincoln instead of himself. He was merely returning the snub by Cornwallis.

So, the painting of the surrender is not exactly what many Americans think of it as being. That is not General Washington mounted on his horse accepting the sword of surrender. It is, rather, General Benjamin Lincoln who is extending his right hand toward that sword, which is not carried by Lord Cornwallis, but is borne by General O’Hara instead.

Depicted in Trumball’s painting, the British troops are in a line which extends into the background. The troops on the left are the French officers, mustered under the banner of the Bourbon family. To the right are the American officers with the flag of their new republic. In that group are the Marquis de Lafayette and Colonel Jonathan Trumbull, who is the brother of the artist who captured it all on canvas. General Washington is in the background, astride a brown horse, keeping an ever watchful eye on the events, just as he had guided the colonies to victory over the course of the war.

But, in spite of these proceedings, the war did not come to a formal end until sometime later, when the British and Americans signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The painting itself was not completed until 1820 and hangs in the Rotunda of the capitol in Washington, D.C. today.