Revolutionary War veterans buried in Saline honored with patriotic grave dedications

Between the headstones of Saline’s Oakwood Cemetery, eight men stood in regimental coats and tricorn hats, each boasting a flagstaff in hand and a short sword sheathed at their hip. When commanded, they unsheathed their swords and bowed in salute.

The smoke and smell of gunpowder hung heavy in the air from recent cannon fire, while two young men stood — one playing a trumpet and the other tapping a drum — producing a tune in memoriam of two soldiers who served in the American Revolutionary War.

But it isn’t 1783. It’s 2023, and the descendants of the original patriots around the country are on a mission to recognize their ancestors with new grave markers and patriotic dedication ceremonies in honor of the approaching 250th anniversary of the founding of our country.

The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR) and the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) are two nonprofit, nonpartisan service organizations made up of descendants of Revolutionary War patriots. Both societies are committed to promoting patriotism and preserving American history; each year they give away thousands of dollars in scholarships and spend millions of hours assisting current veterans and military members. Anyone 18 and older who can prove blood lineal descent from an American Revolutionary patriot is eligible for membership.

The Michigan NSSAR now has over 570 members and 12 chapters, while the Michigan NSDAR has approximately 3,000 members among 52 chapters throughout the state.

This Sept. 24 joint grave marker ceremony, hosted by the Sarah Caswell Angell Chapter and Ypsilanti Chapter of the NSDAR, in partnership with the Huron Valley Chapter of the NSSAR, was dedicated to two Revolutionary War soldiers: Samuel Waldron and Archibald Armstrong.

Samuel Waldron was born in 1762 in New Jersey and grew up in the backyard of many significant events leading up to the American Revolutionary War. During the war, Waldron participated in four military engagements within 80 miles of his childhood home. He was wounded several times, including one injury from a musket ball. After the victory at Yorktown, which Waldron was a part of, he attained the rank of first lieutenant at age 19 before being discharged.

Waldron and his wife settled in Ovid, New York, but when she passed away in 1829, Waldron sought a new beginning in Michigan, where he, his two daughters and sons-in-law settled on land along Bemis Road in Pittsfield Township in 1831. There, Waldron remarried in 1835 at the age of 73 and the couple resided on the property until Waldron died in March 1838 at the age of 76.

“It was really interesting to see how far back our roots go,” said Sue Collins, a descendant of Samuel Waldron. “Just hearing the description today, it’s obvious he persevered, even when he was wounded. My dad had the same characteristics in World War II: it was his duty, and it was an honor to be a part of the military.”

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Archibald Armstrong was born in 1765 in German Flatts, New York. At just 10 years old, Armstrong was taught by his father to be a drummer for his father’s militia company. At age 13, Armstrong enlisted as a drummer boy with the American forces and continued to serve for more than six years. He was present during the Battle of Saratoga in 1777 and the Siege of Yorktown in 1781, earning him the rank of second lieutenant.

“It’s particularly remarkable that Archibald Armstrong signed up before it was technically legal for him to sign up as a drummer,” said state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, a speaker at the dedication ceremony. “By doing something like that, that is brave, arguably foolhardy and definitely a little bit illegal, is perhaps the most American thing that this young man could’ve done.”

Armstrong went on to marry and have an estimated 13 children before dying from complications of a rattlesnake bite at his new home on Morgan Road in Ypsilanti in 1847. He was 82.

“The point of learning history is not being stuck in the past but taking it and giving it some meaning in your own life,” said Elizabeth Stratton, an eighth-generation descendant of Archibald Armstrong. “Although it’s pretty cool to be related to someone from this history, it’s also about the fact that this is a history that brings us all together as a nation.”

To honor the two soldiers at the grave marker dedication, the MISSAR color guard presented and posted the colors, followed by remarks and stories from several Michigan NSDAR or NSSAR members, state and city representatives and descendants of the patriots. Red, white and blue wreaths were presented next to each gravestone’s new marker, and the color guard gave its sword salute, followed by six shots of cannon fire — three for each veteran.

“These are the stories that you don’t see in the stones,” said David Van Hoof, NSSAR Great Lakes District vice president general. “We need to at least protect these stones … so that future generations can see these stones and see that they served in the American Revolution and hopefully inspire them to look deeper into our country's history.”

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Revolutionary War veterans honored with grave dedications in Saline