Ballard County’s Fort Jefferson Memorial Park to be seen of SAR/DAR Patriotic Grave Marking Ceremony for the deceased soldiers and civilians from George Rogers Clark’ 1780-1781 Fort Jefferson on September 21, 2024, at 2 pm
An SAR Patriotic Grave Marking Ceremony will take place on Saturday, September 21 at 2 pm on Fort Jefferson Hill adjacent to the Ballard County Visitor Center, one mile south of Wickliffe, Ky within the Fort Jefferson Memorial Park. This ceremony will mark the beginning of Ballard County’s celebration of this Nation’s Semi-quincentennial (1775-2025), and the extremely important contribution made by the men, women, and children of George Rogers Clark’s Fort Jefferson during the American Revolution!
The Patriotic Ceremony is hosted by the City of Wickliffe, and the Stephen Trigg and Virgil McCracken chapters of the Sons of the American Revolution; additional assistance is provided by the Paducah Chapter of the DAR/CAR, and the Ballard-Carlisle Historical and Genealogical Society of Wickliffe, Kentucky. Because parking space on Fort Jefferson Hill is limited and reserved for the historical reenactors and participants, the public is encouraged to assemble at the Wickliffe Court Square no later than 1:15 pm where a bus will transport them to the event and return them to the Court Square when the event is over around 3 pm.
The public attending this event should bring their own seating, as seating space is limited and reserved for the descendants of Fort Jefferson and those who gave donations in support of this monument. Physically challenged persons, or persons with special medical needs, who require special transportation to the site may use their own transportation, but that parking must not interfere with the ceremony, musket & cannon firing areas, or occur in areas that will impede marching troops or on-site emergency vehicles.
The primary focus of this first annual ceremony is to honor those civilians and soldiers who gave their lives at George Rogers Clark’s Fort Jefferson between 1780-1781, whether man, woman, or child, or free or enslaved Natives or African Americans, as well as the descendants of those frontier pioneers. The ceremony also recognizes the British and Native American who attacked Clark’s fort and civilian community of Clarksville. Descendants, who will be in attendance, are coming from all over the United States and Seville, Spain. After the reading the names of the deceased, a musket firing and cannon salute will be presented, as well as the laying of three different wreaths (one for the Fort Jefferson civilians, one for the Fort Jefferson military, and an SAR wreath recognizing the patriotism of civilian and soldier alike).
Money for the outdoor stone and bronze memorial marker was raised this past year through private donations to the Ballard Carlisle Historical and Genealogical Society. This Memorial Marker, commemorating all who died at Fort Jefferson during the American Revolution, has been recognized as an official Sons of the American Revolution patriotic grave marking site. The base of the monument also bears the SAR marker.
The marker is flanked by two outdoor exhibit panels that provide the story about Fort Jefferson’s history including the fort’s regional and national significance. The two exhibits are also flanked by two flag poles that will fly the only documented colors currently known to have been associated with Clark’s Regiment in the frontier West, the Bosseron or Helm Flag, and Clark’s “Long Knife” flag.