Columbia travels in time to revolutionary America

Dressed in authentic military attire, a member of Sons of the American Revolution shows a musket, bayonet and other weapons from the Revolutionary War to students at Columbia Elementary School. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Soldiers in red coats and white britches took students at Columbia Elementary School on a trip through time to the Revolutionary War period.

Representatives of the Alabama Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), Tennessee Valley Chapter, visited the school. These re-enactors wore authentic uniforms from the 1776 era.

The soldiers brought along replica muskets, flags and historical snippets about life and the battlefield, John Peck said. Peck is public relations manager for Madison City Schools.

“Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Dee Fowler joined Columbia Principal Jamie Hill and teachers in learning with students about America’s War for Independence,” Peck said. A SAR members showed a musket and bayonet to Fowler for his inspection.

The SAR re-enactors were dressed in uniform as militia soldiers. One ‘soldier’ showed a fife, similar to a contemporary flute that a musician played during marches. SAR members demonstrated the way to load a rifle, the components of their uniform and other aspects of military life in that era.

As a requirement for social studies, Columbia fifth-graders designed posters for the National Americanism Elementary School Poster contest. SAR members judged 140 posters from schools throughout Madison, Morgan and Limestone counties.

Columbia submitted the most posters and won the top three awards in the contest. The historical personality featured on the posters was George Rogers Clark, a Virginian and top-ranking American revolutionary in the northwestern frontier.

Sarah Guo earned first place. Her parents are Meng Wei Guo and Anlan Zhao. Joshua Murphree was the second-place winner. Josh’s parents are Jay and Karyn Murphree.

Samanvi Vootukuri took third place. Samanvi’s parents are Ravikanth and Suneetha Vootukuri. The winners received $100, $75 and $50, respectively.

“This poster was extremely important because it provided my students with an opportunity to dig deeper into what we were learning about in class,” Columbia social studies teacher Savannah Demeester said.