Cincinnati Compatriots Jack Bredenfoerder, Lee Wilkerson, Gregg Ballman attended an NSSAR wreath laying ceremony to memorialize Governor Thomas Nelson, Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Revolutionary War soldier on Friday, October 19th in Yorktown, Virginia. They were joined by Cincinnati First Lady Laurie Bredenfoerder and Compatriots Bob Hill, Tom Hankins and Al Gummere of the Hocking Valley Chapter SAR. The compatriots all served in the National Society Color Guard and laid wreaths for the Ohio Society, Germany Society, Cincinnati Chapter and the Hocking Valley Chapter. After the memorial service the compatriots marched in the Yorktown Victory Celebration Parade. The trip was a very patriotic experience for all the compatriots. The previous day, everyone toured the Yorktown museum and dined in colonial uniform at Christiana Campbell’s Tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The Battle of Yorktown was General George Washington’s absolute victory which caused the surrender of Lord Cornwallis’s British army on 19th October 1781 and secured the independence of the United States from British rule. Thomas Nelson, Jr. was an American planter, soldier, and statesman from Yorktown, Virginia . He represented Virginia in the Continental Congress and was its Governor in 1781. He is regarded as one of the U.S. Founding Fathers. He signed Declaration of Independence as a member of the Virginia delegation and fought in the militia during the Siege of Yorktown.