Patriot John Wade Keyes designated as Alabama's first Veteran

Jun. 17—The Tennessee Valley Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution in conjunction with the Daughters of the American Revolution conducted a ceremony Wednesday morning, June 14, at the Athens gravesite of John Wade Keyes, to designate Revolutionary War Patriot/Veteran Keyes as Alabama's first U.S. military veteran.

"All of us should remember our heritage. We should remember what it means to sacrifice and pay the sacrifice to this great country and the freedoms that we have," Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks said.

Extensive research in recent months indicates that Keyes was the only person who had an association with Alabama who had enlisted in the first 10 rifle companies of the Continental Army created June 1775. Of the 1,220 Revolutionary War Patriots who had some association with the state, no Revolutionary War veteran has demonstrated service which predates Keyes, making him Alabama's first veteran.

Records indicate Keyes enlisted in the Continental Army almost 13 months prior to the issuance of the Declaration of Independence.

The date June 14 was chosen for the ceremony as it is considered the birthday of the U.S. Army and the beginning of the armed forces for the United States. On June 14, 1775, a resolution of the Second Continental Congress created the first 10 rifle companies of the Continental Army, the precursor of the U.S. Army.

John Wade Keyes was a member of Captain Hugh Stephenson's company, one of the two rifle companies formed in Virginia as a result of the resolution by the Continental Congress. After a very brief training period, the company undertook a 600-mile march to Cambridge, Mass., where Keyes and colleagues joined the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief George Washington. Folklore says Washington shook the hand of every soldier who made the march.

A new marker was unveiled at the grave of Patriot Keyes by the John Wade Keyes Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution and Senator Tom Butler presented a joint resolution by the state legislature was also presented recognizing Keyes as a member of one of these first rifle companies in the nation's armed forces.

"I pray that generation after generation of future Americans will organize events like this. These events remember a very, very special group of people — patriots who changed the world by creating the United States of America," Butler said.

Several wreaths were placed June 14, including one by Congressional Medal of Honor recipient (Ret.) Capt. Mike Rose and another by Ann Vaughn Phillips, a descendant of Keyes and DAR member who traveled from Arkansas for the ceremony. The ceremony concluded with the firing of Revolutionary War muskets by the AL State SAR Color Guard to salute Patriot Keyes.