Virginia's State Regent, Mrs. Mary Jane Davis, chose as her State Project to build a proper monument to the brave men who fought in the Battle of Great Bridge.

The Battle of Great Bridge, fought on December 9, 1775, is recognized as the first land battle in the South of the American Revolution. The significance of the battle, a resounding colonial victory, was that the British were prevented from occupying the trade route from North Carolina to the Port of Norfolk.

It is fitting that a suitable monument be dedicated to the Patriot forces that participated in the battle.

The Patriots include the Norfolk and Princess Anne County Militias, Culpeper County Minutemen and the North Carolina Volunteers. Colonel William Woodford of Caroline County commanded the Second Virginia Regiment. Among the Culpeper Minutemen from Fauquier County were Major Thomas Marshall and his son John, who later became the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The design chosen is distinct -- an obelisk topping tiered granite blocks rising to a height of eighteen feet. The four sides of one of the blocks will be inscribed with the four groups which fought at the site. The second riser will be carved with the dedication to the Virginia DAR. The third riser will have the words BATTLE OF GREAT BRIDGE on all four sides. The monument will be located in a historical park planned for the original battlefield site.

• Mayor William E. Ward of Chesapeake is President of the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways History Foundation . Under his leadership, the City of Chesapeake has purchased property on both sides of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal for an historical park located on the original site of the Battle of Great Bridge.
  
  
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is constructing a new drawbridge across the canal, which will return much of the battlefield to the way it looked in 1775.
  
  
• Plans for the park include reconstruction of a portion of the historic causeway and the American defensive positions.
  
  
• A visitor center containing related exhibits and information will be located nearby, and both parts of the complex will be accessible by land or water traffic.
  
  
• City Officials project that the Park will be dedicated by the year 2004.
  
  
• Our monument will be dedicated when the general area is cleared, perhaps as early as 2003, and will be the first structure in the park.
  
  
• The eighteen-foot high obelisk will be visible from the water and from the highway. It will have its own general area, not too far from the Visitors Center.

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Our monument will be a fitting tribute to these brave men.
The anticipated cost of the monument is $30,000
and has been a worthy cause for the Virginia Daughters.

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Funds for the project were raised in part through the sale of fine porcelain pins. These pins, depicting a cardinal perched on a dogwood branch, were designed by Janet S. Platz. They were introduced at the June 2001 State Board of Management Meeting, and will be on sale at District Meetings and at the State Conference in March 2002.

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Two other projects have been adopted as well.

• The Daniel Boone Monument in Cumberland Gap Historical National Park has been severely damaged since it was unveiled in 1915. The Monument honors the Gateway to the West and is now located in Kentucky at the confluence of Virginia, North Carolina, and Tenessee. Working with the National Park Service, these four state organizations jointly erected the DAR monument and will share the cost of its repair and relocation. Our share is estimated to be about $4,500. Members of District IV are working closely on this project.


• As Westmoreland County celebrates its 350th anniversary, it is fitting that Virginia DAR marks the 1758 birthplace of James Monroe, our fifth President, there. We plan a bronze marker to be placed in their Visitor Center grounds, located near Montross in District II.







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