Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-08-10

about By giant locust trees
and venerable spruces md SO
overlaced with trumpet vines that
only few sunbeams. even at summer
noon, fall upon Its roof. Nearby this
old home rest the ashes Of its olden
master and those Of his wife. Though
their spirits started on their mys-
terious flight years before most of
the people who are reading these
lines began LIES course. and though
that good man and woman lived long
before anybody whose eyes are on
this page came into being. the graves
are shaded by trees so old that the
sleepers there must have known them
well.
At one grave stands q marble head
stone. perfectly preserved, and the
inscription. undimmed by the weather
OF seventy years, reads as follows:
Sacred to the memory of John
Chapman Hunter, who departed this
life the 18th day Of February. 1s4s,
aged eighty-seven years"
At the foot Of the grave 10 a white
marble monument, set there perhaps
ten years ago by the women OF the
d. A. r. chapter of Fairfax county.
It 10 inscribed, MAI. John c. Hunter,
9Th Va. Mil. War of 1872" This man
was a soldier in the revolutionary
war, and the Daughters of the Amer
ican Revolution had arranged that
marker setting forth that fact should
be erected at the grave. but In some
way the marker went astray and has
NOT been emplaced. But that is an
other story.
+
BY the side Of the headstone OF
Maj. John Chapman Hunter Is one,
also Of white marble, and unstained
by frost and rain, though it has stood
four more years than have passed
over it's companion tomb. That stone
is inscribed: SACRED to the memory
of Sarah Dade Hunter. wife of John
Chapman Hunter. who departed this
life October 3, 1845. aged seventy
years."
John Chapman Hunter was born IN
1852, thirteen years before Maj. Pit
cairn met the Minute Men under Capt.
Parker at Lexington Green, then
eleven miles northwest of Boston. He
was nineteen years old when YORK
town became one of the most cele-
brated places in the world. No doubt
this man and his friends talked about
George Washington, Lafayette, DE
Grasse, Count st. Simon. Duke de
Lauzun, Baron viomemil and Wash
ington's general, Lincoln, very much
as we speak today of Foch. Petain,
Joifre, Haig and Pershing. Perhaps
this man was there. He may have
been In that body Of Virginia militia
commanded by Gen. Weldon, which.
with Lauxun's cavalry and marines
from De Grasses squadron or fleet.
maintained the siege on the Glouces-
ter side Of the York river. The Ram
bier has not yet found the record OF
John Chapman Hunter as a revolu-
tionary soldier. but will look 1t up.
There 10, OF course, no doubt that he
was Q revolutionary soldier. The
only point to establish is the part he
played in the long and varying strug-
gle by which the independence OF the
United States was established.
Somehow, the Rambler hopes to
find him at Yorktown and throughout
that section Of country SO closely re-
lated to the birth of our nation.
Throughout all that section the RAM
bier has ''toted" his old and shabby
camera, but which is without price
because Of it's associations and faith
full service. and rs he jots these lines
there come to his mind these names:
jamestown Island. williamsburg.
Mil creek. College creek, the Thoro-
fare, King,s mill pond. Kings old
wharf, Mulberry Island. the ruins of
Fort Crawford, old Fort Mcpherson.
miles Of earthworks that are relics
of the peninsular campaign and other
campaigns. Warwick Court House.
JAN point. Warwick river. Lee Hall.
Lee Landing. Shipyard Laading.
MenchvEie. Aohear. oriaaa. Grove.
Halstead's point. Laekey. Baptist run.
Moore House. Harris Grove. Big
Bsthel Church, Little Bethel Church,
Brick Kiln creek, Poquoson river,
Cheeseman creek, Goodwin neck.
Crab Aeck. Fish neck. Tue point,
Goodwin Ialands. Tampico.' Tabb and
Grafton and a hundred other places
where Americans would find more to
enrich their minds and stimulate
their patriotism than on all the sum-