On April 19, 2005, the Marshes of Glynn SAR Chapter conducted a Ceremony in
the Christ Church, Frederica Churchyard to honor Coastal Georgia Revolutionary
War Patriots: Cyrus Dart, Robert Grant, William Page and Samuel Wright.
Assisting to conduct the service were the Georgia Society, Sons of the American
Revolution and the Brunswick and Fort Frederica Chapters, Daughters of the
American Revolution.
The service, attended by over 200 people, incorporated elements of military
reviews dating from the time of the Revolution including: formation of troops,
presentation of colors, and musical salutes. Descendants
read biographies of the Patriots which included a description of their military
service. Twenty-five members of the
Georgia and Florida SAR Color Guards led a procession to the burial sites of the
Patriots. They stood at attention while SAR bronze Markers were unveiled, flags
and wreaths presented, and bagpipe salute performed followed by Taps. George
Thurmond, Georgia SAR President, said that the Frederica Ceremony had the
largest attendance of the seventy-three cemetery marker services previously
conducted in Georgia.
William Page, Revolutionary War Teenager
William Page was born on January 2, 1764 at Page’s Point, Prince William
Parish, South Carolina. His father, Thomas Page, sided with the Loyalists in
the American rebellion. When he died in 1780, sixteen-year-old William joined
Francis Marion to fight in the irregular combat in the South Carolina
countryside. As a result, the Tories burned his house at Page’s Point. In 1781
he married Hannah Timmons. After the war, William Page moved to Georgia, and
in 1804 purchased land on St. Simons Sound, which he named "Retreat." In
total, the Retreat Plantation properties exceeded 2,000 acres; and on it he
grew prized long-stable cotton. In 1808, he became a major in the 7th
Battalion of the Glynn County Militia, a position he held the rest of his
life. Major William Page died on January 12, 1827 at age 63. Buried Christ
Church, St. Simons Island, Lot A016.
Robert Grant, Revolutionary War Doctor
Robert Grant was born at Leith, Scotland on July 15, 1762. He received his
medical training in Scotland, and in 1781, emigrated to Charleston, South
Carolina. There he joined those fighting the King of England and served as a
surgeon on the staff of Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox." In 1799 he married
Sarah Foxworth. Robert Grant came to Georgia about 1808 and purchased land on
the northern part of St. Simons Island, which he called "Oatlands." He
accumulated almost two thousand acres at Elizafield on the south bank of the
Altamaha River in Glynn County. The plantation’s products were rice and sugar
cane. Robert Grant and William Page became the first wardens of Christ Church,
Frederica when it was incorporated in 1808. Doctor Robert Grant died on
September 17, 1843, at age 81. Buried Christ Church, St. Simons Island, Lot
A016.
Samuel Wright, Georgia Militia Officer
Samuel Wright was born in 1738 in England and served as an officer in the
Georgia Militia during the Revolutionary War. He was a merchant and Vendue
Master for the Port of Savannah at the time of his marriage in 1790 to Rebecca
Bruce, the only child of James Bruce, a planter and resident of St. Simons
Island. In 1791, they moved to Orange Grove Plantation, located on Dunbar
Creek about two miles south of Frederica. Samuel Wright was elected
Representative from Glynn County in 1791 and served in the Legislature as a
Senator through 1798. He served as a Major in the Glynn County Militia
Regiment, a Commissioner of Glynn Academy, Justice of Glynn Inferior Court and
as a Commissioner for the Town of Frederica until his death in 1804, at age
66. Buried Christ Church, St. Simons Island, Lot A002.
Cyrus Dart, Connecticut Continental Private
Cyrus Dart was born June 11, 1764 in Haddon, Connecticut. In 1782, he
enlisted as a Private in the 1st Connecticut Regiment Continental Line and
served for one year. After the Revolutionary War, he completed medical studies
in Connecticut, and in 1792, moved to Glynn County where he operated a medical
practice in the Town of Frederica. In 1796, Cyrus married Ann Harris, was
appointed Surgeon in the U.S. Army, stationed at Coleraine in Camden County.
In 1802, he resigned from the Army and was appointed Quarantine Officer for
the Port of Brunswick and served in that position until his death on June 29,
1817. The untimely accident that took his life at age 53 was caused when his
rowboat capsized as he and his son, Urbanus were enroute to inspect an
incoming vessel. Buried Christ Church, St. Simons Island, Lot B021A.
Captain John Cutler Braddock was born on October 3, 1743 in Beaufort,
South Carolina and died in early 1794 on St. Simons Island, Georgia. He
commanded the galley "Lee" in the Revolutionary War, one of the ships under the
command of Colonel Samuel Elbert during the April 1778 incident at St. Simons
Island near Frederica. John Braddock received two land grants in Georgia, one on
St. Simons Island where he settled with his family. Many descendants have been
documented but John Braddock’s burial location has not been determined.
Thomas Cater was born on December 17, 1751 in St. George’s Parish,
South Carolina. A book summarizes an Obituary in January 1800 that Thomas Cater
died St. Simon’s Island without any date. The DAR Patriot Index and other books
indicate that Thomas Cater died April 20, 1803 at Cater Hall in Beaufort, South
Carolina. His Revolutionary War Activities include the following:
Lieutenant, Volunteer Co. of Beaufort, SC in 1776; Captain, Commanding Officer,
Beaufort, SC. Volunteer Artillery; Supplied Provisions for a scouting party in
February & March 1780; Representative of St. Pauls Parish in SC Commons House of
General Assembly- January & February 1782.
