The Twentieth Star Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution are set to host two events in Hattiesburg to honor veterans of the Revolutionary War: Wreaths Across America and The Liberty Tree.
Wreaths Across America coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at more than 37,000 locations across the United States – as well as at sea and abroad – while The Liberty Tree commemorates a famous elm tree that stood in Boston, Massachusetts before the American Revolution. DAR Member Mary Dryden recently came before Hattiesburg City Council to get approval for the events, which will be held later this year.
Dryden is working with several individuals and organizations to coordinate the event, including the Boy Scouts and Ted Tibbett, who serves as chairman of the Hattiesburg Veterans Committee.
“With Camp Shelby just outside of our city, and our beautiful Veterans (Memorial) Park downtown near City Hall – where Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day programs take place annually – Hattiesburg has a long history of support for those who have served in our nation’s military to ensure our freedom,” said Dryden, who also previously served as Ward 4 Councilwoman. “What we do in the DAR is promote patriotism, preserve American history and securing America’s future through better education for children.
“We do things for veterans every year. Many (of us) enjoy learning about history, researching genealogy, serving our community, sharing traditions and preparing commemorative events.”
As a national event, Wreaths Across America has its origins in 1992, when the staff of Worcester Wreath in Harrington, Maine, found themselves with a surplus of wreaths nearing the end of the holiday season. With the aid of Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, arrangements were made for the wreaths to be placed at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., in one of the older sections of the cemetery that had been receiving fewer visitors with each passing year.
By 2008, more than 100,000 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves with the help of more than 600,000 volunteers. That year, Congress established Wreaths Across America day; the laying of more than 2.7 million wreaths now takes place on the second Saturday of each December.
Hattiesburg’s Wreaths Across America event will take place on December 16 at Highland Cemetery on West 7th Street in Hattiesburg.
“Last year, a local group sold 1,250 (wreaths), and they went to Biloxi because we didn’t have a designated cemetery here – there really are just a handful across Mississippi, so Biloxi and Brandon were the closest ones at this point,” Dryden said. “So the city allowed us to get Highland Cemetery designated; it’s the city’s largest cemetery.
“There are 2,100 veterans buried at Highland, and there are 400 at Roseland (Park Cemetery). We’ve also got a large number of veterans at Riverview (Cemetery).”
The Liberty Tree project is designed to remember the elm tree that stood near the distillery in Boston where John Adams and other Founding Fathers met to oppose Britain’s Stamp Act, which required that American colonists pay a tax on nearly every document they created. During that time before the American Revolution, the elm became a symbol of Massachusetts’ revolt against Britain.
For Hattiesburg’s recognition of The Liberty Tree, an elm tree will be planted during a November 1 ceremony in the grassy space adjacent to the Center for Military Veterans on campus the University of Southern Mississippi. That effort is being spurred along with the help of USM president Joe Paul, Major General Jeff Hammond – who serves as director of the center – and other individuals.
“(This will be) a place for reflection and remembrance,” Dryden said. “(Hammond) and the center have generously agreed to donate the official plaque that will be a permanent reminder of the noble patriots who believed in the cause of liberty and fought to found our nation.”
