At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 11, Chattanooga and Hamilton County residents will commemorate Veterans Day with a special ceremony, organized by Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter #203, and the Chattanooga Area Veterans Council, at the Hubert Fry Center at the Riverpark. From the honor guard's flag presentation to the keynote speech given by Gen. B.B. Bell, U.S. Army [Ret.], attendees will reflect on the debt of gratitude owed to those who have served in our armed forces. Later that same day, the Chattanooga Regents Council, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), will host its own event, including a tribute to our nation's veterans.
NSDAR was organized in October 1890, as the United States was witnessing a renewal of patriotism and a new interest in the founding of the nation. A small group of women in our nation's capital chose to "perpetuate the memory of ancestors who fought to make this country free and independent," and the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was born. During the past 130 years, more than 1 million women have become members and have carried the torch for patriotism, historical preservation and education.
The history of Chattanooga and Hamilton County's NSDAR chapters demonstrates a continuing commitment to honor veterans, beginning with the Spanish-American War.
The Chickamauga Chapter, organized on Oct. 7, 1894, at the home of Amelia Morrow Chamberlain, was Chattanooga's first DAR chapter. History lovers will note that the date chosen for organization was the anniversary of the Battle of King's Mountain, a decisive Southern battle of the Revolution. Among the first projects sponsored by the membership was support for a memorial to 13 nurses who died during the Spanish-American War.
By 1915, interest in membership had grown and two new chapters - Nancy Ward and Judge David Campbell - were organized. Flora Clarke Huntington, organizing regent for the Nancy Ward Chapter, and the charter members took their name to honor Nancy Ward, a Cherokee "Beloved Woman" who had repeatedly sent warnings of impending Cherokee attacks to the Watauga settlers during the American Revolution.
The Judge David Campbell Chapter, organized only weeks after the Nancy Ward Chapter, met for the first time at the home of Sue Cleage Johnson in St. Elmo as 20-year-old Helen Massengale Johnson was installed as the organizing regent. Interestingly, eight of the 20 charter members were direct descendants of Judge David Campbell, a Revolutionary War veteran who had served with Gen. Nathaniel Greene, practiced law under a license issued by Virginia Gov. Thomas Jefferson and later moved to Rhea County, Tennessee.
The Chief John Ross Chapter was organized in 1922 with Sarah Divine Cooke as the organizing regent. The name, Chief John Ross, was chosen to honor Chattanooga's founder and the longest-serving principal chief of the Cherokee Nation who accompanied the majority of his nation's members on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma Territory and continued to serve until his death in 1866.
In November 1953, the Moccasin Bend Chapter was organized for "professional women," with meetings scheduled for evenings. Named for one of the most prominent geographic features of the region, the peninsula formed by the route of the Tennessee River through Chattanooga's western lands, the chapter and its members immediately joined the other four in promoting the goals of the NSDAR.
Their combined commitment to our nation's veterans is evidenced by a glimpse through their preserved and archived minutes. During the Great War, local DAR members purchased and promoted the sale of Liberty Bonds, knitted socks for soldiers and afghans for Fort Oglethorpe's trainee troops and joined the Red Cross to support the war effort. In the months following Pearl Harbor, members again raised funds for the war efforts, cultivated Victory Gardens, wrote hundreds of letters monthly to members of the military, including their own husbands, sons and daughters, and stepped in to serve in local leadership positions vacated by the men. Following the Korean and Vietnam conflicts and again after the conflicts in the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan, members advocated for innovative medical treatment options for disabled veterans, donated supplies to the local VA clinic and Tennessee's York VA Hospital, and organized public ceremonies honoring our veterans. Current projects include participation in the Quilts of Valor project, veteran oral history recordings, Wreaths Across Chattanooga, Chattanooga Armed Forces Day activities and more.
On Wednesday, members of the five Chattanooga chapters, Daughters of the American Revolution, will meet together and, while honoring their patriot ancestors, will pause to say "thank you" to our veterans.
Linda Moss Mines, the Chattanooga and Hamilton County historian, is secretary of the Chattanooga Area Veterans Council and regent, Chief John Ross Chapter, NSDAR.