Grave Dedication Ceremony Commemorating the Patriot Service of Capt. Stephen Heard, Capt. John Darden, Georgia slave woman named Kate and her Husband named Jack.

The Unveiling Ceremony of the
Patriot Grave Markers for the
Georgia Slave woman named Kate and her Husband named Jack

October 15, 2011, in the city of Elberton, Georgia at the Stephen Heard cemetery many gathered to commemorate the patriot service of Capt. Stephen Heard, Capt. John Darden, a Georgia slave Woman named Kate and her husband Jack.

 The Georgia Society, Sons of the American Revolution including Button Gwinnett Chapter, George Washington Chapter, Virginia Society,  Samuel Elbert Chapter (Host Chapter), and Washington-Wilkes Chapter, along with the National Society Daugther of the American Revolution- Stephen-Heard Chapter (Trustee of the Historic Heardmont Cemetery -Elbert Country Georgia)  and The Kettle Creek Chapter, Georgia Society recognized four Patriots of the American Revolution, including the first female of color named Kate.    The recognition of this woman named Kate along with three others was a significant event.  

It was truly a proud moment for all Georgians as this occasion also honored the first and only female of Color in Georgia as a Patriot of the American Revolution.

Below are several photos that captured this day.

Posting the Colors
Ed Rigel, Sr.Color Guard Commander, Georgia Society Sons of the American Revolution 

Master of Ceremonies
Compatriot Bob Carr
State Secretary, Virginia Society SAR
President, George Washington Chapter,
Virginia Society SAR

Compatriot Bob Sapp

President,

Georgia Society
 Sons of the American Revolution

Brings Greetings

Compatriot Charlie Newcomer, III

Vice President General South Atlantic - 

 North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida

Patriot Service of Stephen HEARD
Provided by
Ann Whitney
Descendant of Patriot Stephen HEARD
Fauquier Court House DAR

Patriot Service of John Darden
Provided by Dr. John Darden
Descendant of Patriot John Darden 

Patriot Service of
The Georgia Slaves  KATE and Jack
Provided by LCDR Michael Nolden Henderson, USN Retired Vice- President, Button Gwinnett Chapter
Georgia Society, SAR

Unveiling of SAR Marker
for the Slave Woman named Kate and Husband Jack
LCDR Michael Nolden Henderson, USN Retired
and
Rev Sam McIntosh
Pastor, Vance Creek Baptist Church

LCDR Henderson and Pastor McIntosh 
return to their seats after Unveiling of the 
Patriotic Markers

Georgia Patriots of the American Revolution
Kate and her husband Jack

Reading of the Proclamation
Revolutionary War Service of
Governor Stephen Heard
by
Mr. Tommy Lyon - Chairman
of the
Elbert Country Board of Commissioners

Presentation of Wreath and Honors

Compatriot Jim Lynch

President,

Button Gwinnett Chapter

Georgia Society SAR

 William Day Chapter DAR 

Leslie Watkins

LCDR Michael Nolden Henderson, USN Retired
Vice- President, Button Gwinnett Chapter
Georgia Society, SAR

Rendering a Salute to

Georgia Patriots of the American Revolution

Kate and her husband Jack

Colonel Elijah Clark Militia, GASSAR
Renders a Salute

TAPS

Ed Rigel Jr.

Color Guard Member,

GASSAR

and

LCDR Michael Nolden Henderson USN Ret.

Georgia Society SAR, COLOR Guard

Retiring the colors

After the ceremony many gathered for photos and  well wishes:

Members of the Button Gwinnett Chapter Georgia Society SAR
(L) Compatriot Bruce Maney, Compatriot Henderson, Compatriot Terry Manning
And Compatriot Lynch

Guest and Descendants of
Patriot  Stephen Heard and John Darden

(L) Rev and Mrs. Sam McIntosh, LCDR Henderson, Mrs. Diana Mauldin,
Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy O. White

Fellow Compatriots Representing the
Virginia Society, SAR

LCDR  Henderson Congratulate Mrs. Julia CARR a descendant of Stephen Heard
and wife of Compatriot Carr for her authorship and narrative of the Life of
Patriot Stephen Heard
and his association with the
Georgia Patriots Kate and Jack 
For without the Heard family's oral remembrances passed on and told today this
would not have been possible. 

We will always remember the Patriotic Service
provided by Georgia Patriots
Kate and Jack
No longer Forgotten Patriots of the
American Revolution

The actual mentioning of Honoring the Service and Memory of Georgia’s Revolutionary War Patriots  Stephen Heard, John Darden, Mammy Kate, and Daddy Jack, Dionyuis Oliver and Peter Oliver in Congressional Record.    See page 208 of 229 or in the search box, type in Mammy Kate.

double click here: Congressional Record :

For the Historic Record

For additional coverage  see AJC article dated Oct 14, 2011, titled: Ceremony to honor patriotic Georgia slave woman

By Tammy Joyner 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

In 1779, colonial Georgia was under siege and a future governor was set to be executed by the British. But the world's most powerful army at the time was no match for a shrewd and spirited slave woman.

Stephen Heard was wounded and jailed in Augusta for fighting against the Tories in Valentine's Day skirmish called Kettle Creek, just outside what's now Elbert County. When the woman known as "Mammy Kate" learned of Heard's capture, she rode 50 miles by horse to Augusta to help her owner. She devised a plan to wash clothes for the Tories which ultimately won Kate their trust, according to oral accounts of the incident which took place over a couple of months. Shortly before Heard's scheduled hanging, she asked soldiers if she could wash Heard's clothes so he wouldn't die in dirty clothes. They agreed. The six-foot-tall woman toted the diminutive Heard out of the prison in a laundry basket full of clothes. She and her husband, Daddy Jack, then carried him to safety. The couple's daring escapade saved Heard who was later appointed governor of Georgia. (Heard offered Kate her freedom but she preferred to stay with the Heard family).   See more here     

Mammy Kate Georgia Patriot in the American Revolution