The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-10-20
CELEBRATION IN
OLD YORKTOWN
Fitting Exercises Commemorate
Defeat Of British
PARADE AND SPEAKING
Descendants Of Signers of Declara7
tion of independence and Histori
cal Societies Take Principal
Part In Events.

Yorktown, Va, October 19,-Quaint old
Yorktown, for the second time within the
period of it's national fame, today COM
memorated with fitting ceremonies that
glorious event in American history with
which its name is identified Here was
laid 12S years Ago today the cornerstone
of liberty upon which a great nation has
been builded.
"Cornwallis is takenl' Those simple
words sent broadcast from here this date
three years more than a century and a
quarter ago. meant that the burdensome
yoke of British rule had been cast off by
the long suffering American colonists, and
that new republic, destined to become
powerful, had been born.
Yorktown today is village of less than
100 people. 1t is as though the stage
setting for that final drama of the revo-
lutionary war had been preserved as the
actors left it, a relic of antiquity as well
as monument to American patriotism.
The descendants of the signerg of the
Declaration of Independence and an Off
spring of that organization, the yorktown
Historical society of the United States,
recently decided to hold an annual cele-
bration here this October 10, and hence
forth on this date, and probably 5000 peo-
pie responded to their first appeal. When
the fact that Yorktown is still without
railroad communication is taken into con-
sideration, the attendance was remark
| able.
Picturesque Spot.
| Situated high on a hin overlooking the
| beautiful York river, a broad winding
ribbon of still blue water, this peaceful
/ village is one of the most picturesque
spots in America, as we'll as the most his
! toric. Usually the bosom of the river
| is as barren Of boats as the hillside Is of
houses, but today there rode at anchor
thereon the United States torpedo boats
| Stringham, Dupont, Shubrick and Biddle
and the torpedo boat Summers, attached
| to the Maryland naval reserves. The lone
| dock at the foot of the hill swarmed with
! soldiery, five companies of artillery hav-
| ing been sent up from Fortress Monroe to
| help do honor to the occasion. The mar
| row streets, ankle deep in sand and grown
| up with wire grass, presented an incon-
| gruous sight. Automobiles threaded their
way carefully through the crowds almost
| forcing pedestrians to the walls of crumb-
ling houses when two of them attempted
! to pass In the same street.
Upon every road for miles around were
to be seen OK carts and automobiles, all
bound in the same direction and all loaded
| to capacity.
To most people present the exercises
| were the least part of the celebration,
| although there was parade of mounted
horsemen and horsewomen, led by the
/ Fort Monroe band and the soldiers and
| sailors, then a parade of the school chill
| dren and afterward public speaking from
| a grandstand erected in front of the his
| toric old Nelson mansion.
Parade and Speeches.
| Although the parade did not start until
| after 1 o'clock this feature was disposed
of in time to permit the speaking to begin
| at 2 O'Clock. Earlier there had been
business meetings of the two societies.
| Dr. Henry Morris of Philadelphia, presi-
| dent of the Descendants of the Signers,
| himself direct descendant of Robert
| Morris, delivered an historical address
| after Invocation by the Rev. Donald c..
| Mcleod of Washington. D. c.
| Mayor James G. Riddick of Norfolk
| then spoke briefly on the necessity Of
| preserving American traditions and said
| that 1t wss the duty of every American
| to do So He commented upon the fact
| that the stars and bars Of the Confed-
| eracy had been forever furled, but said
| that what was known as Military Dis
| trict No. H. virginia's reconstruction IT,
| tie, had become the brightest star in the
| star -Spangled Banner"
The school children Of York county, who
were grouped before the grandstand. then
sang America" after which Col. Oswald
Tilghman of Easton, Nd, direct des-
| cendant of Lieut.. Col Tench Tilghman,
| aide-de-camp to General Washington, who
| carried the famous message "Cornwallis
| Is taken" to the Continental Congress in
| PHILADELPHIA made an address. He also
read the correspondence between General
| washington and Lord Cornwallis and tho
| terms of capitulation
The last address of the day was by
Representative J. Hampton Moore of
Philadelphia, president Of the Atlantic
Deep Waterways association, who de-
parted from his prepared speech to com
ment upon Colonel Tilghman's statement
! that It had taken hts ancestor four days
| TO reach Philadelphia by horseback with
| his message He used this illustration
to enforce his contention that the ma
tion needs better highways and deeper
waterways.