On Friday & Saturday July 26th and July 27th, there will be a Memorial Service for the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier.  This will be in Bolivar Ohio in north central Ohio.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers at Fort Laurens

In addition, the Ohio SAR and Ladies Auxiliary will have their annual Summer Board of Management meeting.

Fort Laurens is the only Revolutionary War era fort built in Ohio. On-site is a museum with artifacts and history of the Ft. Laurens site. Also on location are the graves and the Unknown Tomb monument of those revolutionary war soldiers who died in the battles which occurred at the fort.

Fort Laurens Historical Site

Current efforts are underway to construct a altered replica of the fort on the open grounds adjacent to the original footprint of the fort and the present day museum building. SAR is very involved in the efforts to move forward on this project.

What is happening?

Friday morning through mid afternoon (9:00AM – 3:00PM) will be the day when the Guard Duty will occur. Participants are expected to dress in Revolutionary War military attire. There will guard assignments lasting about 15 minutes where Color Guard members will rotate on assigned shifts. Participants can march one shift or more, depending on the number of participants. Instructions will be provided by SAR representatives prior to the start of the event. If you are interested in participating and getting on the assignment calendar, please reach out to Bob Bill at leeslegiondragoon@gmail.com. Muster time for the start of the tomb guarding is 8:15AM. The first shift will start promptly at 9:00AM.

Color Guard – prior event

Friday evening is the start of the Ohio SAR Board of Management meeting. Dinner will be served and a guest speaker Todd Knisley will share his knowledge of rev war era glassware.

Saturday morning will start with a Board of Management meeting (9:00AM) followed by a transition to the Fort Laurens Historical site for the memorial service (11:00).

Entrance to the Fort Laurens site

Saturday noon and early afternoon – after the conclusion of the memorial service, the event will move back to the Wilkshire Event Center for lunch and an awards ceremony.

Hotel rooms are available and there is a SAR preferred room rate that you can take advantage of.

Attached is a registration form where you can get additional information. This registration form will need to be completed and submitted to the Ohio SAR Treasurer Mike Blum by July 14th.

Fort Laurens 2024 registration

Note that the Friday Guard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is modeled after the Arlington Cemetery guarding of the unknown soldier event. Very moving experience!

Please show your support by participating as a guard, as a participant, as a visitor. Guests, spouses, young folks are all welcome.

We look forward to your participation.