Contributed commentary by Gail Longton as part of the essay series “The Road to 250: Community Spirit in Action,” celebrating the history of unity in Clarksville ahead of America’s 250th anniversary.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) was founded in 1890 and incorporated by an Act of Congress in 1896. DAR is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and is a non-profit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America’s future through better education for our children.

DAR was founded during a time that was marked by a revival in patriotism and intense interest in the beginnings of the United States of America. Women felt the desire to express their patriotic feelings and were frustrated by their exclusion from men’s organizations formed to perpetuate the memory of ancestors who fought to make this country free and independent. As a result, a group of pioneering women in the nation’s capital formed their own organization, and the Daughters of the American Revolution has carried the torch of patriotism ever since.

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DAR members volunteer millions of service hours annually in their local communities including supporting active duty military personnel and assisting veteran patients, awarding thousands of dollars in scholarships and financial aid each year to students, and supporting schools for underserved children with annual donations exceeding $1 million.

As one of the most inclusive genealogical societies in the country, DAR currently boasts about 190,000 members in 3,000 chapters across the United States and internationally. Since its inception DAR has admitted more than 1 million members. Any woman 18 years or older – regardless of race, religion or ethnic background – who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution is eligible for membership.

The objectives laid forth in the first meeting of the DAR have remained the same in 125 years of active service to the nation. Those objectives are:

  • Historical: To perpetuate the memory and spirit of the men and women who achieved American independence.
  • Educational : To carry out the injunction of Washington in his farewell address to the American people, “to promote, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge, thus developing an enlightened public opinion.”
  • Patriotic : To cherish, maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom, to foster true patriotism and love of country, and to aid in securing for mankind all the blessings of liberty.

Locally, the Capt. William Edmiston Chapter was founded by 20 women on Nov. 7, 1914. Edmiston was the patriot of our organizing regent, Willie Erwin Daniel. He was from Virginia and was killed in 1780 at the Battle of Kings Mountain. Our membership is now 170. Tennessee has 94 chapters with some 7,000 members. Each month, our chapter collects and donates personal products and supplies to start a new residence for ladies who had to escape their abusive homes. Also, we donate a small box of books – a “little library” – to people who move into their new home built by the Habitat For Humanity group. We collect and donate books, socks, underwear, coats and gloves each month to one of our schools with many low-income students. We take water and snacks to the VA Clinic here in Clarksville

Capt. William Edmiston Chapter meets in the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public library in the large meeting room on the third Tuesday of the month from September through May. There is a Flag Day luncheon held on June 14 each year to honor our veterans. For several years, we have partnered with Quilts of Valor to present a handmade quilt to veterans.

We take part in the Montgomery County Veterans Day Parade with the Sons of the American Revolution and the Children of the American Revolution each year; we are the administrator of the Wreaths Across American at Resthaven Memorial Gardens; we join with the SAR to host the Reading of the Declaration of Independence on the Courthouse lawn every July 4 at 9 a.m.; we present ROTC medals to each of the local high schools as well as APSU each year; we give DAR Good Citizen awards at each of the public high schools as well as two of the private high schools; and we host an essay contest with those students and give a scholarship to the winner.

Gail Longton

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