SPONSOR: Rep. Smith & Sen. Cook

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

143rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 120

AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAWS OF RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES OF THE DELAWARE REVOLUTIONARY WAR MONUMENT COMMISSION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

1 WHEREAS, Delaware takes justifiable pride in its status as the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States of

2 America on December 7, 1787; and

3 WHEREAS, the state is equally proud, with equal justification, of the famous ride of to in

4 1776 to break an impasse among the Delaware delegation in support of the Declaration of Independence; and

5 WHEREAS, the great emphasis placed on these proud chapters in the state’s history, significant though they are, has

6 tended to obscure a perhaps even more illustrious part of Delaware’s Revolutionary War heritage, namely the part played by the

7 Delaware Regiment and other Delaware troops between the activation of the original Delaware Regiment under

8 the command of Colonel John Haslet in January, 1776, and the cessation of hostilities in 1783; and

9 WHEREAS, many Delawareans, including most of our school children, know little or nothing about the important role

10 played by these Delaware troops in the Continental Army during the Revolution, men who were drawn from every corner, and from

11 all three counties, of our state; and

12 WHEREAS, unbeknownst to most Delaware citizens of the present day, the Delaware Regiment was considered by

13 contemporaries in the Continental Army to have been one of the finest, if not the finest, regiments in the entire army; and

14 WHEREAS, the late Delaware historian Christopher Ward, in his great 1940 work, The Delaware Continentals, admirably

15 summarized the record of these troops when he wrote

16 “From January, 1776, to January, 1783, this regiment had borne the burden of as hard service as was

17 ever imposed upon soldiers. For four years in the North and three years in the South these men had

18 marched in broken shoes or shoeless, on rutted roads and where there were no roads at all, through

19 mud and sand, through swamps and streams, in Summer’s heat and Winter’s cold, thousands of weary

20 miles. They had slept, or tried to sleep, in tents in zero weather, or without tents or any shelter, Page 1 of 4 LC : AWS : JAA 0011430248 21 without blankets or any covering, on the bare ground in rain and snow. They had gone without

22 clothing, food and drink, without pay for years on end. And they had fought in every battle, except

23 Princeton, in which Washington’s army in the North and Gates’s and Greene’s in the South had been

24 engaged; on Long Island, at White Plains, Mamaroneck, Trenton, Brandywine, Germantown, Fort

25 Mifflin, Monmouth, Stony Point, Paulus Hook, Camden, Cowpens, Guilford, Hobkirk’s Hill, Ninety-

26 Six, Eutaw Springs, Yorktown, and in skirmishes and minor engagements without number. They had

27 met on the field of battle, bayonet to bayonet, the veterans of Great Britain and of Germany, the best

28 soldiers the world could furnish.

29 Time after time they had been chosen for the most difficult and dangerous service, at advance

30 posts in battle and as rear-guards in retreat. They had been beaten again and again, but never disgraced.

31 They had been publicly thanked by their general commanders and by the Congress. Their comrades in

32 arms and the contemporary historians had praised them unstintingly, and they had been applauded by

33 all writers of the history of the Revolution from that time to this.

34 Haslet, their colonel in the first year, and Kirkwood, their commander after Camden, have been

35 singled out of the multitude of Revolutionary regimental officers for especial commendation by all

36 who have recorded the military events of those seven years . . . .

37 The regiment was few in numbers, never, in battle, more than 550, as at Long Island, and, at the

38 last, less than 100 as at Eutaw Springs. But, even at its fewest, it was a force to be reckoned with.

39 Forged on the anvil of hardship under the hammer of experience, the Delaware Regiment was a

40 weapon which any of the great captains of history would have been glad to launch at his foe. It is not

41 too much to say that no other single regiment in the American army had a longer and more continuous

42 term of service, marched more miles, suffered greater hardships, fought in more battles or achieved

43 greater distinction than this one of Delaware.” (Christopher Ward, The Delaware Continentals, pp.

44 483-484); and

45 WHEREAS, despite this remarkable record of achievement, a record which was of inestimable value in the establishment

46 and survival of the Delaware State, the story of these fine Delaware patriots and their unparalleled sacrifices for freedom and

47 democracy is largely forgotten among rank and file Delawareans of the present day; and

Page 2 of 4 LC : AWS : JAA 0011430248 48 WHEREAS, most, if not all, of the original states of the United States have suitable monuments and statuary on the

49 grounds or within the walls of their state capitol buildings which stand as permanent reminders of the importance of the role played

50 by their state’s troops in the Revolution; and

51 WHEREAS, Delaware, whose troops established one of the proudest records of service of any in the entire struggle, has no

52 such historical monument or statue; thereby denying our citizens, most particularly our school children, hundreds of whom visit

53 Legislative Hall each year, an opportunity to learn of and be instructed by the great achievements of our forefathers; and

54 WHEREAS, a number of suitable locations are to be found on the grounds of Legislative Hall on which to place a proper

55 historical monument or statue commemorating the great achievements of the troops of the Delaware Line;

56 NOW, THEREFORE:

57 Section 1. The purpose of this Act is to establish on the grounds of Legislative Hall a commemoration to the Delaware troops

58 who fought in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War by erecting a monument or a statue, along with appropriate

59 descriptive material, of a Delaware Continental soldier, which accurately represents the dress, arms, and accoutrements of the

60 soldier for that time period.

61 Section 2. The Delaware Revolutionary War Monument Commission is hereby established to plan, coordinate, and implement

62 the erection of a Continental soldier monument or statue on the grounds of Legislative Hall. The Commission consists of:

63 (1) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

64 (2) one member appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;

65 (3) one member who is the Director of Legislative Council, or the Director's designee;

66 (4) one member who is the Director of the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, or the Director's designee;

67 (5) one member who is the Director of the Delaware Public Archives;

68 (6) one member who is the chair of the Delaware Heritage Commission, who shall serve as chair of this Commission;

69 (7) one member who is the president of the Delaware Society of the Sons of the , or the president's

70 designee;

71 (8) one member who is the president of the Delaware State Society Daughters of the American Revolution, or the

72 president's designee; and

73 (9) one member who is the Adjutant General of the Delaware National Guard, or the Adjutant General's designee.

74 Section 3. The Delaware Revolutionary War Monument Commission shall exist until such time as its purpose is fulfilled.

Page 3 of 4 LC : AWS : JAA 0011430248 SYNOPSIS

This Act creates the Delaware Revolutionary War Monument Commission, which is charged with placing a monument or statue on the grounds of Legislative Hall to commemorate the heroism and sacrifice of the Delaware troops who fought with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

The idea of having a statue honoring Delaware’s Revolutionary War Soldiers at Legislative Hall has been presented to two Delaware first grade classes. The students thought a law to bring this about was a good idea and have enthusiastically endorsed this bill. The classes are Mrs. Elsje Kumpon’s First Grade of Room 105, Mount Pleasant Elementary School in the Brandywine School District and Mrs. Grace Overstreet’s First Grade Class 1A of Holy Cross Elementary School in Dover.

The members of Mrs. Kumpon’s class are: The members of Mrs. Overstreet’s class are: Benjamin Smith Lauren Alava Brett Leichtman Kaitlyn Bergold Duncan McRae Nicholas Biddle Eric Moore Kayce Boller Elysia Stevenson Mark Bonnie Harrison Borders Gwendolyn Borer Hewitt Hallberg Madison Cole Jack Marshall Morgan Cook Jacob Newschaffer Lindsay Cote Jan van Amerogen Lauren Derocili Janice Scott Matthew Gsell Melody Zheng Marissa Johnson Nathan Nickerson Mikayla Kremer Nayah Tilghman Darien Manges Patricia Tse Joshua McNulty Rachel Loney Adam Messner Rachel Ragan Tyler Moore Thomas Lam Hannah Morris Madison Northshield Joanna Petrosky Evan Postle Gabrielle Renzi Elizabeth Schofield

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