HD91 - Interim Special Report: Revolutionary War Veteran Gravesites in Virginia


Executive Summary:
Senate Joint Resolution No. 345 and House Joint Resolution No. 530 from the 1999 Session direct JLARC to compile a list of sites where Revolutionary War veterans are buried and to study issues related to the care and maintenance of the burial sites of Revolutionary War veterans (Appendix A). The mandates provide for assistance from the Department of Historic Resources, and for the cooperation of various entities, including the Virginia Association of Counties, the Virginia Municipal League, the Virginia chapters of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution, and other interested parties.

Specifically, the mandates require that the study address the question of where Revolutionary War veterans are buried through the development of a compiled list. Senate Joint Resolution 345 requires that the study consider "the number and locations of graves and cemeteries of Revolutionary War veterans in the Commonwealth." House Joint Resolution No. 530 requires the provision of "a compiled list of sites where Revolutionary War veterans are buried" in an interim report to the Governor and the 2000 Session of the General Assembly. This interim report, which reflects the work that has been done in this first phase of the project, has been developed to meet these requirements.

The mandate also requires that broader policy or programmatic issues be addressed. These issues concern the development of a program and policies to provide for the care and maintenance of the gravesites into the future. Such issues will be addressed during a second phase of this review, which will lead to the completion of a final report before the 2001 Session.

There are a number of components that are required by the study mandates in the second phase of the review. House Joint Resolution No. 530 anticipates the fact that the compiled listing of sites developed for the interim report is not likely to be a perfectly complete and accurate listing. Thus, it directs that JLARC "recommend a procedure for adding discovered grave sites to the list." This resolution also directs that JLARC "recommend a program to restore and preserve all such sites, including the role of public and private entities in such site restoration and preservation." Senate Joint Resolution No. 345 similarly calls for JLARC to "study issues related to the care and maintenance of the burial grounds and graves" of the veterans. This resolution specifies several elements that are to be included in this review, including the annual funding that might be necessary to restore and maintain the graves, and the optimal percentage of the funding required that might be expected from associations receiving such funds, if the State or local governments choose to provide resources for this purpose.

This interim report addresses five primary topics. First, some background and a historical overview is provided, to address questions such as why the burial sites of Revolutionary War veterans is an issue today, what is currently known or believed about the number of veterans who are potentially buried in Virginia, and why a large number of the grave markers have probably already been lost to the ravages of time. Second, the general approach that is being used to collect data across the two phases of the project is discussed. Third, there is a description of the specific research activities that were conducted during phase one of this review to develop a compiled database. This compiled database lists veterans and the sites at which these veterans are reportedly buried or recognized. Fourth, a section provides an overview of the compiled database and the findings from this interim phase of the review. The section includes an analysis of the localities and cemeteries with the greatest numbers of veterans reported as buried or honored there. This section also explains the content of the data appendixes to the report, as well as the limitations of the information. Finally, the research activities that are planned or expected during the next phase of the study are described.