Three Revolutionary War patriots honored with grave marking in historic Madison County cemetery

MADISON COUNTY – Three Patriots of the American Revolutionary War, who are buried in the same historic Madison County cemetery, were honored at a special grave-marking ceremony this past Saturday.  The event was held at the Mt. Paran Cemetery near New Market.  This cemetery, perhaps the oldest in Madison County, is the final resting place for Revolutionary War veterans – Jacob Caulk, Samuel Davis, and Moses Poor.

According to Jess Brown with the Tennessee Valley Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, among the three honored Patriots, Jacob Caulk is of special note.  “He served with George Washington during the famous winter encampment at Valley Forge,” Brown said. “Patriot Caulk also participated in the strategically important battle at Cowpens, South Carolina, under the command of General Daniel Morgan for whom Morgan County, Alabama, is named.  Unlike most soldiers in the Revolutionary War, Caulk served for several years during the Revolutionary War.”

The event was sponsored jointly by five organizations whose members are bloodline descendants of Patriots from the Revolutionary War.  These groups were the Descendants of Washington’s Army at Valley Forge (DVF), the Tennessee Valley Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), the John Hunt Society of the Children of the American Revolution, and two area chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).  Those two chapters were Twickenham Town and Maple Hill.

Because Caulk, a veteran of Valley Forge, was being recognized, the Commander-in-Chief of the national DVF, Susan Gillette Meer, was in Huntsville for the ceremony.  Other leaders of patriotic groups also in attendance included Patrice Donnelly, State Regent, Alabama Society Daughters of the American Revolution; Tammy Clemons, Vice President General, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution; Susan Royer, Alabama Brigade Commander of the DVF; and Bob Sapp, Georgia Brigade Commander of the DVF.  Several descendants of the three honored Patriots were in attendance.

Caulk, Davis and Poor were among America’s first veterans.  They sacrificed blood and treasury between 1775 and 1783 to create the United States.  They later became early settlers in Madison County and died there between 1820 and 1845.